Dr. Dolgormaa (Dolly) Jamiyan, chair of the English Department at the University of the Humanities, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, is about to conclude her semester-long affiliation with Belmont University. A Humphrey Fellow from Vanderbilt University, Jamiyan came to America to study higher education and faculty professional development. She chose Belmont’s Teaching Center for her professional affiliation.
Dolly chose Belmont because of its likeness to the University of the Humanities. According to Dolly, the University of the Humanities has around 3,000 students and a similar focus as Belmont. Dolly said, “In Mongolia we don’t have teaching centers, so I thought that in Mongolia, in higher education, it would be a good idea to start teaching centers.”
As part of her training at Belmont, Dolly has attended Teaching Center meetings, symposiums, retreats and reading groups. She particularly enjoyed a spring faculty retreat where various faculty members that may not interact otherwise got together to discuss teaching and learning. She has also toured major American cities (including Buffalo, N.Y., Washington, Boston and San Francisco) and has interviewed faculty, students and former Teaching Center directors to get a full picture of American higher education.
Dolly arrived in Nashville in August, and this is her first experience in America. Her fellowship concludes at the end of May, at which time she will return to Mongolia. Dolly’s favorite thing about America is “the friendliness of American people—especially in Nashville.”
The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program is a non-degree mid-career professional development program for professionals from designated countries throughout the world. Fellows are selected based on their potential for leadership and their commitment to public service.
