A highlight of the day-long celebration was the panel “An Education for Global Competence: The Case of Germany and the U.S. Meet.” Participants included leaders from German industry, Ivan Allen College faculty, and benefactors of the school’s German study abroad programs.

Among those attending the day’s events were Gail and Barry Spurlock who, this spring, endowed the Gail R. and Barry L. Spurlock Study Abroad Scholarship Endowment in the School of Modern Languages. Funded in perpetuity, the $50,000 endowment supports students of German and of the German Languages for Business and Technology (LBAT) programs to study for a semester in Germany. Barry Spurlock also participated as a panelist. 

Marnite Calder, Executive Director of The Halle Foundation, also participated during the day.  A three-year grant from The Foundation supports the German programs.  During the panel, Calder noted founder Claus Halle’s personal commitment to advancing German- American relations.

Earlier in the afternoon, a ceremony was held in the Swann building garden to dedicate a commemorative bench honoring former Modern Languages Chair Phil McKnight who passed away last year.

German Day sponsors included Deutsche Bahn, EBD Group, Grenzebach, Spurlock & Associates, and The Halle Foundation.