UD honored for innovative international programs

11:44 a.m., Jan. 24, 2007--An early leader in international education and study abroad programs, the University of Delaware has been selected to receive the prestigious 2006-07 Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education in the category of Internationalizing the Campus from the Institute for International Education (IIE), one of the world's largest international education and training organizations.

The University's curricular and co-curricular international programs, many coordinated by the Center for International Studies (CFIS) and others by academic units and Residence Life, will be featured as a “best practice” in international education by IIE's Networker magazine and best practices web site.

IIE, whose sponsors include the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of Energy, the World Bank and several prominent private foundations, will present the award on Friday, March 30, at a luncheon at the United Nation Delegates Dining Room in New York, during its second annual IIE Best Practices Conference.

“The University of Delaware has a long and proud tradition of promoting international education, dating back to 1923 when it established the first Study Abroad program,” UD President David P. Roselle said. “In recent years, many at the University have worked hard to increase study abroad opportunities, to add scholarship support for study abroad students, to negotiate agreements with foreign institutions and to administer programs in agriculture, business and other disciplines to aid foreign nations. Our academic units also have increased the number of foreign students at the University and the number of countries they represent. This recognition of the good work of our University colleagues by the Institute for International Education, is thus especially gratifying.”

UD Provost Dan Rich said, “Our goal has been to add an international aspect to all facets of a student's life, and the fact that more than 40 percent of our students now are involved in Study Abroad programs has greatly enriched the academic experience for everyone. Students not only benefit from their own personal experiences, but they and the faculty members who direct these Study Abroad programs also bring that new global perspective back to campus.”

Lesa Griffiths, CFIS director, and Lisa Chieffo, CFIS associate director of student programs, nominated UD for the award for offering students opportunities for “an education on a truly global scale.” The two earlier coauthored an article, “LIFE Abroad: A Unique Model for Study Abroad,” focusing on UD's LIFE (Learning Integrated Freshman Experience) Program, which appeared in the fall 2006 IIE Networker.

In addition, Roselle wrote a letter of nomination. In his letter, he cited CFIS oversight of UD's 75 plus agreements with partner institutions around the world and the center-run programs, which have brought “literally hundreds of international scholars and students” to Delaware.

“Indeed,” he wrote, “our campus has no boundaries as the curriculum now includes programs with an international focus that take place in the traditional classrooms and laboratories, the residence halls, the Delaware community and the international community.”

UD's long tradition of international education dates back to 1923 when it established the first study abroad program in the United States. In keeping with a Faculty Senate resolution in 2000 “to develop an international perspective in order to live and work effectively in an increasingly global society,” CFIS was established to provide leadership and support in international study and programming.

“The award is a celebration of UD's commitment to global citizenship and the enthusiastic manner in which the entire campus community has embraced internationalization,” Griffiths said. “Our goal has been to provide opportunities and programs to encourage globalization in and out of the classroom and to provide study abroad initiatives that circle the world, on all seven continents.”

In the nomination for the award, Griffiths and Chieffo noted more than 40 percent of UD students participate in Study Abroad programs, making UD the leader in participation rate among U.S. public universities. There also has been a 70 percent increase in UD Study Abroad programs over the past five years.

One example is the visual communications program, which enrolled its entire junior class of approximately 30 students, in its annual summer program in London. In the LIFE freshman-only programs, 123 students have studied since 2002 in Australia, Costa Rica, London, Mexico and Spain, with more trips scheduled in the future.

To encourage all students to study abroad, CFIS has awarded more than $350,000 in need-based scholarships and academic scholarships to students.

Among the innovative classroom-based curricular initiatives cited in the nomination is the recently created bachelor of science in international business studies, a joint project of the Lerner College of Business and Economics and the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. According to Lerner College Dean Conrado (Bobby) M. Gempesaw, “In an increasingly globalized world, it is important to provide a meaningful international experience for our students. The new program in international business studies will offer an excellent opportunity for students to pursue specialized studies in international business and advanced foreign language training.”

“The International Business major focuses on an in-depth region of the world while emphasizing advanced language skills, international studies, study abroad and a strong curriculum of business and international business courses,” Richard Zipser, chairperson of foreign languages and literatures, said.

The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures also has joint majors with the departments of Political Science and International Relations in Spanish, French and German, requiring a semester of overseas study. About half the majors at UD have a language requirement.

“I am delighted that UD has received the Andrew Heiskell Award,” Zipser said. “Many academic units, including the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures have contributed substantially to the internationalization effort. Our most important contribution has undoubtedly been in the area of study abroad, which is the foundation of UD's internationalization efforts.”

Another initiative cited by Griffiths and Chieffo is the Global Citizenship Faculty Fellows. It encourages faculty to include global content in their courses and has enlisted about 60 faculty members. The University also offers area studies, such as the African Studies, Latin American Studies, East Asia Studies, Continental European Studies and, in the future, Islamic Studies programs.

There are specific exchange programs that contribute to globalization, as well. The UD Discovery Learning Experience encourages service learning or study abroad and has a student exchange with Imperial College of London. The Office of Service Learning has awarded grants to develop service-learning components in Study Abroad programs in such locations as Australia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Fiji and South Africa.

UD also has partnered with the University of Sarajevo, with support from U.S. Agency for International Development to open the Sarajevo Graduate School of Business, which graduated its first class of 22 MBA students in May 2006.

The Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management has had a student exchange and degree program with the Swiss School of Tourism and Hospitality.

UD is providing technical assistance to Romania in preventing the spread of avian influenza and has an existing partnership in public policy with Babes Bolyai University.

Cocurricular activities outside of the classroom on campus are also important in promoting internationalization, Griffiths said, such as the America and the Global Community Speakers series, the Global Agenda Speaker series and the International Film Series.

The Office of Residence Life sponsors international programs, and one residence hall includes “global citizenship” as its goal and has established a Study Abroad Living Community. On campus, there are 30 registered student organizations with an international component.

“International initiatives have increased tremendously,” according to the Griffiths and Chieffo, who pointed out “efforts have extended into all aspects of University life, curricular, cocurricular and extracurricular, on campus and abroad.”

For more information on CFIS, go to [http://international.udel.edu]. For more information on IIE, visit [www.iie.org/].

Article by Sue Moncure

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