Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Recommendation from Dr. Zelinka






TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN - Letter of Recommendation for Mr. Carlton Rounds

FROM: Dr. Elisabeta Zelinka
Academic Director, American University of Central Asia - AUCA
205 Abdymomunov St., Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic 720040
Mobile: +996-0550-166-012, Skype ID: elisabeta_zelinka1
American University of Central Asia - AUCA - NGA

I have had the life chance and the honor to collaborate with Mr. Carlton Rounds since August 1, 2001, when I was selected as a Bard College USA PIE Program Scholarship Student within the IILE- PIE Program (Institute for International Liberal Education), Bard College, NY, USA, http://iile.bard.edu/pie/.  Mr. Carlton Rounds became my mentor and advisor.


It is my moral duty to emphasize that Mr. Carlton Rounds is one of the most professional and dependable persons I have ever collaborated with. Not only is he extremely knowledgeable in his multiple and wide areas of expertise, but he is a born pedagogue, whom all students and colleagues respect and love. His pedagogical skills stem from his heart and soul, not only from dry, reason-dictated trainings or workshops. For Mr. Rounds, mentoring and teaching large, complex, international and intercultural groups are not a job, but his calling.

Moreover, Mr. Carlton Rounds indeed does possess all necessary leadership skills, outstanding sense of work discipline, exemplary stress and time management skills and immense sense of open mindedness  - vital for a Western professional in order to complete his pedagogical  mission(s) with large groups of teenager (or older) students who come from different(even oppositional) cultural, ethic, religious and linguistic backgrounds.

As soon as Mr. Carlton Rounds appeared on the academic stage of Bard College, USA, he immediately inflicted huge positive change, the IILE –PIE international exchange program boomed. Its success was unprecedented, due to Mr. Rounds’ intercultural conflict management and mediator skills, rare dedication to each of his student’s individual issues, Spartan rigorousness with details, punctuality and most importantly – his high moral standards

It is a well-known fact that very soon after his hiring Mr. Carlton Rounds brought so much improvement to the entire Bard HESP Network (Central European University, Hungary, Smolny College, St. Petersburg, Russia, Bard Globalization and International Affairs, BGIA, NYC, USA, Bard College at Simon's Rock, MA, USA, European Humanities University, Vilnius, Lithuania) that he became much respected and admired by the entire staff and faculty of Bard College and its HESP partners.

Personally, I am more than convinced that convinced that Mr. Carlton Rounds will pursue a very successful career in international teaching and student advising. Mr. Carlton Rounds has always proved exemplary life wisdom in managing a highly internationalized, multicultural environment, he attends to each student’s and to each faculty’s needs with utmost politeness, welcoming and warm attitude and with promptness. 

Mr. Rounds has exemplary cultural adjustment skills and social skills, as well as time and stress management skills. Having gained massive international exposure Mr. Rounds is critical, yet in a highly constructive way, without being confrontational or prejudiced.

It has been a pleasure and a constant life lesson of existential wisdom to collaborate with Mr. Carlton Rounds over the last thirteen years. Regardless of any differences in our cultural backgrounds, he has always acted as a true role model for entire generations of IILE – PIE Program students.
Should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me any time.

Thank you.

Dr. Elisabeta Zelinka
Academic Director

American University of Central Asia – AUCA

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