A Mississippi State administrator who has headed the university's English as a Second Language program since 1999 is the new director of the International Services Office.
Philip Bonfanti succeeds Helen Zuercher, who recently retired. In addition to his ESL duties, Bonfanti also served for the past year as MSU's interim director of the Division of Continuing Education.
"Phil Bonfanti has shown administrative leadership in his roles at Mississippi State, and he brings an extensive knowledge of international education issues to this position," said Jimmy W. Abraham, interim vice president for student affairs.
While ESL manager, Bonfanti served as Designated School Official, a position required by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to ensure compliance with federal laws and regulations. He is a member of the Association of International Educators and the World Neighbors Association.
The International Services Office, a part of the Student Affairs division, provides services and programs to assist students and scholars in meeting their responsibilities as non-immigrant visitors. The office annually serves approximately 900 students and scholars representing 73 countries.
"One of our immediate challenges is responding to the new federal tracking system for international students," Bonfanti said. Known as the Student Exchange Visitor and Information System, the INS-developed Internet system requires the tracking and monitoring of non-immigrant students and exchange visitors and their dependents.
In addition to meeting new federal requirements, Bonfanti said the office will expand cultural programming to benefit international students and the MSU community.
An MSU doctoral candidate in educational leadership, Bonfanti holds a bachelor's degree in French from Louisiana Tech University and master's degrees from the University of New Orleans in English, from Eastern Washington University in creative writing, and from the University of Arizona in library science.
