The International Students and Faculty Office is searching for a new director.

Notrida Mandica, international student and graduate assistant for the International Training Office, said all the candidates who are seeking the position have experience in this area of work.

The candidates are Lily Gao, the former director of international student programs and study abroad for East Washington University; Nancy Mark, a cross-cultural educator, consultant and trainer in Ontario and a University of Iowa graduate; and Susan Rachouh, director of international and intercultural education at Ramapo College in New Jersey, she said.

Open forums were held last week and earlier this week for candidate interviews by various international student organizations.

Deborah Pierce, the executive director with international programs, said the position is important and that it supports social, educational and cultural programming with an international focus.

“It’s a crucial position because it serves the roughly 950 non-immigrant students and over 50 international scholars at Northern Illinois,” she said. “In order for NIU students to be fully prepared for the globalized marketplace of the 21st Century, they need an internationalized education.”

She said all the candidates are qualified for such a position and that they were required to have three to five years experience advising non-immigrant students.

The search for the candidates was conducted by posting the position electronically on certain Web sites and in “The Chronicle of Higher Education,” and Pierce said these are the places where people with experience would look for a non-entry level job.

“I’m really looking forward to great new things from the International Student and Faculty Office,” she said.