2012 Internationalizing the Campus

Introduction

We are pleased to present our tenth annual report, Internationalizing the Campus: Profiles of Success at Colleges and Universities, which profiles the institutions selected to receive this year’s Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization. The report cites exemplary practices, model ap...

We are pleased to present our tenth annual report, Internationalizing the Campus: Profiles of Success at Colleges and Universities, which profiles the institutions selected to receive this year’s Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization. The report cites exemplary practices, model approaches, and key trends related to international education on these outstanding U.S. campuses.

In seeking out institutions where international education has been broadly infused into all facets of the institution, the 2012 selection committee was particularly focused on identifying institutions and programs with the following characteristics:

  • The campus has been widely internationalized across schools, divisions, departments, and disciplines.
  • There is evidence of genuine administrative or even board-level support for internationalization.
  • The campus-wide internationalization has had demonstrable results for students.
  • The institution’s mission or planning documents contain an explicit or implicit statement regarding international education.
  • The institution’s commitment to internationalization is reflected in the curriculum.
  • The campus-wide internationalization has had demonstrable results within the faculty.
  • There is an international dimension in off-campus programs and outreach.
  • There is internationalization in research and/or faculty exchange.
  • The institution supports education abroad as well as its international faculty, scholars, and students.

NAFSA received many outstanding nominations from a diverse group of distinguished institutions across the United States. Each of the five institutions chosen by the selection committee—College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University in Minnesota, Juniata College in Pennsylvania, Northern Arizona University, San Francisco State University, and the University of Michigan—is profiled in this report. NAFSA will present the award to these institutions at a special ceremony on November 13, 2012, in Washington, DC, as part of this year’s International Education Week events.

Three other institutions received the Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award and are featured for their outstanding accomplishments in specific areas of internationalization. Providence College in Rhode Island is recognized for its major in Global Studies; the University of Arizona is recognized for its Latin American Summer Research Program for underrepresented undergraduate students; and Washington and Jefferson College in Pennsylvania is recognized for developing its Magellan Project Program.

The late Senator Paul Simon served Illinois and the nation as a strong voice for civil rights, peace initiatives, and international understanding. Throughout his career he was a dedicated advocate for international education, using his positions on various committees in the Senate to advocate for exchange. His leadership in this area was especially evident in his robust support, along with Senator David Boren of Oklahoma, for the creation of the National Security Education Program, which addresses critical national security deficiencies in language and cultural expertise, and his advocacy for legislation to enact the recommendations of the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program, which later led to the introduction of the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Act, a legislative proposal that continues to be championed by Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois.

We hope that international educators will share this report with their institution’s top leadership—including their trustees—in order to underscore the value of international education and to broaden the reach of best practices in internationalization. Internationalizing the Campus is also of great value in communicating with communities beyond the campus. Legislatures and government agencies may find it helpful in discussing and understanding international education and exchange. We believe once again this year that Internationalizing the Campus highlights the power of international education to advance learning and scholarship, to develop a globally competent workforce, to enhance constructive leadership in the global community, and to promote a more just and peaceful world.

Read

Acknowledgements

NAFSA acknowledges and is very appreciative of the considerable work of five volunteers who constituted the selection jury responsible for choosing the institutions profiled in Internationalizing the Campus 2012: Gil Latz (Chair), Portland State University Peter Coclanis, University of North...

NAFSA acknowledges and is very appreciative of the considerable work of five volunteers who constituted the selection jury responsible for choosing the institutions profiled in Internationalizing the Campus 2012:

  • Gil Latz (Chair), Portland State University
  • Peter Coclanis, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
  • Thomas D’Agostino, Hobart & William Smith Colleges
  • Paul McVeigh, Northern Virginia Community College
  • Woody Pelton, Elon University

Their careful review of the nominations and thorough deliberations were truly invaluable.

This report was researched and written by Christopher Connell, formerly the national education reporter for The Associated Press (AP), and later assistant chief of the AP Washington Bureau. Mr. Connell is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant who works with foundations, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. He also contributed many of the fine photographs accompanying the profile articles on the Senator Paul Simon Award winners.

Many thanks go to the representatives of the colleges and universities who participated in the project, including all who submitted nominations. We especially thank the institutions featured in this report for their assistance in helping us research and report their stories.

We continue to be indebted to the family of Paul Simon for lending the late senator’s name to the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization and the Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Awards, bestowed upon the five and three institutions, respectively, in the 2012 report.

Internationalizing the Campus reports from previous years and information about the competition can be viewed online at www.nafsa.org/itc.

Read
Amid the woods, lakes, and prairies of Central Minnesota, the College of Saint Benedict (CSB) for women and Saint John’s University (SJU) for men provide a liberal arts education suffused with international experiences and coursework. Saint Benedict
Comprehensive Award

Saint Benedict and Saint John’s

A Well-Coordinated Approach to Internationalization at Saint Benedict and Saint John’s
Amid the woods, lakes, and prairies of Central Minnesota, the College of Saint Benedict (CSB) for women and Saint John’s University (SJU) for men provide a liberal arts education suffused with international experiences and coursework. Saint Benedict

NAFSA Membership Required

Please log in to your NAFSA account to access this member-only content.

If you are not a member, we welcome you to join us. Thank you!

Log in Now
Political scientist Emil Nagengast was hired by Juniata College in 1996 to teach international politics, with Europe and the former East Germany—he’d studied at Karl Marx University in Leipzig shortly before the Berlin Wall fell—his special province
Comprehensive Award

Juniata College

Faculty Discovered the World and Students Followed
Political scientist Emil Nagengast was hired by Juniata College in 1996 to teach international politics, with Europe and the former East Germany—he’d studied at Karl Marx University in Leipzig shortly before the Berlin Wall fell—his special province

NAFSA Membership Required

Please log in to your NAFSA account to access this member-only content.

If you are not a member, we welcome you to join us. Thank you!

Log in Now
The strides that Northern Arizona University (NAU) is making on all fronts in international education—doubling international enrollments, tripling participation in education abroad, marshaling enthusiastic faculty support for a Global Learning
Comprehensive Award

Northern Arizona

Accelerates Global Learning at Home and Abroad
The strides that Northern Arizona University (NAU) is making on all fronts in international education—doubling international enrollments, tripling participation in education abroad, marshaling enthusiastic faculty support for a Global Learning

NAFSA Membership Required

Please log in to your NAFSA account to access this member-only content.

If you are not a member, we welcome you to join us. Thank you!

Log in Now
It’s no surprise that San Francisco State University (SF State) is a magnet for international students. The green campus sits in a tranquil corner of one of the world’s most enticing cities, with Muni trolleys running up to its door and the Pacific
Comprehensive Award

San Francisco State

Shines in Long-Term Study Abroad
It’s no surprise that San Francisco State University (SF State) is a magnet for international students. The green campus sits in a tranquil corner of one of the world’s most enticing cities, with Muni trolleys running up to its door and the Pacific

NAFSA Membership Required

Please log in to your NAFSA account to access this member-only content.

If you are not a member, we welcome you to join us. Thank you!

Log in Now
They were just brief remarks in the wee hours of the chill October 1960 night on the stone steps of the Michigan Union from a tired John F. Kennedy who had flown in after debating rival Richard Nixon in New York. But the future president threw out a
Comprehensive Award

University of Michigan

Stamps Its Block Letter M on Far Corners of the World
They were just brief remarks in the wee hours of the chill October 1960 night on the stone steps of the Michigan Union from a tired John F. Kennedy who had flown in after debating rival Richard Nixon in New York. But the future president threw out a

NAFSA Membership Required

Please log in to your NAFSA account to access this member-only content.

If you are not a member, we welcome you to join us. Thank you!

Log in Now
When Sonia Penso enrolled at Providence College, it was the dream of her autoworker parents—Portuguese immigrants whose education stopped in grade school—that she become a doctor or lawyer. Sonia herself envisioned law school as a strong possibility
Spotlight Award

Providence College

Global Studies Major Draw at Providence College
When Sonia Penso enrolled at Providence College, it was the dream of her autoworker parents—Portuguese immigrants whose education stopped in grade school—that she become a doctor or lawyer. Sonia herself envisioned law school as a strong possibility

NAFSA Membership Required

Please log in to your NAFSA account to access this member-only content.

If you are not a member, we welcome you to join us. Thank you!

Log in Now
Educators and political leaders alike have worried for years that too few college students were taking the courses that would prepare them for becoming the nation’s future scientists and engineers, and there has been special concern about the numbers
Spotlight Award

University of Arizona

Builds a PhD Pipeline for Latin American Students
Educators and political leaders alike have worried for years that too few college students were taking the courses that would prepare them for becoming the nation’s future scientists and engineers, and there has been special concern about the numbers

NAFSA Membership Required

Please log in to your NAFSA account to access this member-only content.

If you are not a member, we welcome you to join us. Thank you!

Log in Now
When Tori Haring-Smith was in seventh grade, her imagination was captured by a book the journalist and war correspondent John Sack wrote about his travels to the 13 smallest countries on the planet. Nine years later, with Swarthmore College diploma
Spotlight Award

Washington & Jefferson

Students Carve Their Own Path on Magellans
When Tori Haring-Smith was in seventh grade, her imagination was captured by a book the journalist and war correspondent John Sack wrote about his travels to the 13 smallest countries on the planet. Nine years later, with Swarthmore College diploma

NAFSA Membership Required

Please log in to your NAFSA account to access this member-only content.

If you are not a member, we welcome you to join us. Thank you!

Log in Now