Public Policy
Lincoln Commission Issues Final Report
A Message from NAFSA Executive Director Marlene M. Johnson
On November 3, the Commission on Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program approved its report to the President and Congress. The final report was released on November 14, 2005, during the internationally celebrated International Education Week.
“This is a seminal moment for the field of study abroad. The Lincoln Commission’s report introduces study abroad as a topic for national discussion. International educators must seize this opportunity to accomplish our longstanding objective to make study abroad the norm, rather than the exception, for undergraduate students,” said NAFSA Board Member David Larsen of Arcadia University. The fact that the Administration and Congress appointed this bi-partisan commission to recommend a national program to greatly increase the number of Americans studying abroad, particularly in diverse locations, demonstrates the priority our government has given to Americans becoming better educated about the rest of the world.
NAFSA’s members have been long-standing advocates of study abroad, and our Strategic Task Force Report on Education Abroad (“Securing America’s Future”) released in November 2003 called for this sort of national attention to the importance of enabling more Americans to study abroad.
NAFSA congratulates the Commission on the completion of its work and for producing this report. The Commission’s task was to recommend a national program to dramatically increase study abroad, particularly in developing countries and serving diverse populations of students.
There are three key points in the Lincoln report that bear repeating. If we are to achieve an internationally educated citizenry through study abroad:
1) National leadership is required within the highest levels of government;
2) Higher education leadership will have to step up to the plate more than ever and internationalize campuses across America; and
3) The diversification of destinations, students, and fields of study will help both to serve our national interests and to democratize study abroad.
We had the great honor of working with the late Sen. Paul Simon both on our report and on his bold vision for study abroad, which was responsible for the establishment of the Lincoln Commission. We are very pleased to witness this important first step in realizing his vision. NAFSA intends to carry out that vision and looks forward to working with congressional leaders and higher education leadership to establish a bold, visionary study abroad program that will serve our national interests.
To view the report, click here.
On November 3, the Commission on Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program approved its report to the President and Congress. The final report was released on November 14, 2005, during the internationally celebrated International Education Week.
“This is a seminal moment for the field of study abroad. The Lincoln Commission’s report introduces study abroad as a topic for national discussion. International educators must seize this opportunity to accomplish our longstanding objective to make study abroad the norm, rather than the exception, for undergraduate students,” said NAFSA Board Member David Larsen of Arcadia University. The fact that the Administration and Congress appointed this bi-partisan commission to recommend a national program to greatly increase the number of Americans studying abroad, particularly in diverse locations, demonstrates the priority our government has given to Americans becoming better educated about the rest of the world.
NAFSA’s members have been long-standing advocates of study abroad, and our Strategic Task Force Report on Education Abroad (“Securing America’s Future”) released in November 2003 called for this sort of national attention to the importance of enabling more Americans to study abroad.
NAFSA congratulates the Commission on the completion of its work and for producing this report. The Commission’s task was to recommend a national program to dramatically increase study abroad, particularly in developing countries and serving diverse populations of students.
There are three key points in the Lincoln report that bear repeating. If we are to achieve an internationally educated citizenry through study abroad:
1) National leadership is required within the highest levels of government;
2) Higher education leadership will have to step up to the plate more than ever and internationalize campuses across America; and
3) The diversification of destinations, students, and fields of study will help both to serve our national interests and to democratize study abroad.
We had the great honor of working with the late Sen. Paul Simon both on our report and on his bold vision for study abroad, which was responsible for the establishment of the Lincoln Commission. We are very pleased to witness this important first step in realizing his vision. NAFSA intends to carry out that vision and looks forward to working with congressional leaders and higher education leadership to establish a bold, visionary study abroad program that will serve our national interests.
To view the report, click here.
