21st century education for young women in an ancient Tudor manor house

And yes, we were off again this afternoon with WFU banners and bookmarks in hand, moving through the Underground to find the appropriate train station to "call" at Kent--most precisely to land at Cobham Hall, a magnificent Tudor manor house set in 150 acres of historic parkland.  Again the historic proportion of these ancient homes and schools have continued to amaze me as I see these places of deep wisdom and challenge stretch forward to meet twenty-first century realities.  This school, Cobham Hall, located between Gravesend and Rochester in Kent, is situated in a manor house, ancestral home of the Earls of Darnley, and is described in the brochures as "one of the largest, finest, and most important houses in Kent."

How does this all-girls school meet the 21st century sitting in an ancient landscape belonging to the 16th century?  It was easy to see.  Founded in 1960, this school was a vision of an international brand of education long before Tom Friedman reminded us that the world was really flat. The International Baccalaureate program is a natural fit for this school and for these students.  Aiesha from Nigeria gave me a campus tour, and as we walked through the classrooms, the gardens, and the residence halls, (some of the rooms had been built precisely for a visit by Elizabeth I) she spoke of her love for Mandarin Chinese and shared her goal of completing a gap year in China learning the culture and language.  Her parents, still living in Nigeria, considered learning about China very important for her future.  So they sent her to a girls school in Kent, England, where she studies and dines in a huge and very beautiful Tudor mansion, where Pocahantas was supposedly buried, so that she can be prepared to live and work in China!  Go figure!

It is a flat world, Mr. Friedman!  And Wake Forest University is on the way to making friendships around this flattened world so that it will not be a lonely, flat world but one filled with people who engage the mind, the heart, and each another along the way.   Twenty-five students, faculty, and administrators from Cobham Hall and surrounding schools heard the WFU story tonight.  And the world once again just became even flatter!

LUX--Ringing in the Light (Meredith College Baccalaureate on May 11, 2013

On Saturday, May 11, 2013, I returned to Meredith College (my alma mater) and delivered the Baccalaureate Address for the women of the Class of 2013.  This was a tremendous honor for me.   "Miss Ida" Poteat, chair of the Art Department and sister to Wm. Louis Poteat, who served as President of Wake Forest College, designed both the Meredith and Wake Forest College seal in the early 1900's.   Miss Ida provided the word "Lux" and "Pro Humanitate" for both Meredith and Wake Forest respectively.  Those words continue to guide both of these communities of learning today.  Thanks to these leaders the mission of education comes clear for both Meredith and Wake Forest in the 21st century--to show "light" for "the benefit of humanity."  Thank you, Miss Ida Poteat.  Today Meredith women proudly wear their onyx ring with this Latin word boldly printed in the seal.

My address focused on "LUX--- RINGING IN THE LIGHT".

From Winston-Salem, to Chicago, to Beijing and beyond!

I am currently in route to Beijing China.  With WFU banners in tow, display table runners, small hospitality gifts (branded of course with the full name WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY), and two boxes of business cards, I am off to spend over three weeks traveling through China.  I will be visiting over 25 Chinese high schools, interviewing students who want to study at WFU, making new friends, and learning more about education reform in China.  Wake Forest University continues to find opportunities for educational programs and collaborative ventures with high schools and colleges/universities in China.

Because this blog is part of the Google family, I am not confident that I will be able to continue these musings once I arrive in China.  Compatibility between China and Google, as you know, is not always available.   If you do discover that there are blank notations, please rest assured that as soon as I can make connection I will continue to make these records.  I will be traveling all across China looking for the brightest and best Chinese students to come to Wake Forest University.  I will return to the United States November 1.

I hope to see you here before then.   You can reach me:  bridgelm@wfu.edu.  I will be checking email and keeping up with correspondence.

Onward  . . . . . .. . . . . .

WFU at the Lycee Francais in Uccle, Belgium

Another adventure this morning! I was invited to speak to the American Literature class of Madame Karine Salek at the Lycee Francais Jean Monnet in Uccle, Belgium. I left Waterloo,where I am staying, with taxi driver and now my new friend, Woytek, who came to Belgium from Poland several years ago. Fortunate for me, Woytek,knows the back streets well and manages to deposit me at the right address and the right time. We also have French lessons on the way. Woytek speaks Polish, Russian, Dutch,French,and thank goodness, English. This morning's ride and language tutorial was especially important because of this exclusive invitation to visit a very influential French school in Belgium who belongs to a host of other French school across the world, including Shanghai! Their focus has traditionally been to send their high school students to France, or maybe England, but not the USA. To receive this invitation for WFU was not to be declined. But I needed to at least begin my presentation in French. You know how French speakers are to English speakers. So we practiced in the taxi. When I met the headmistress of the school, I could at least introduce myself and respond with a greeting in French. It was very important to at least try--it always is. But the strange part of this Belgium morning spent in this famous French school was that I was speaking in their Chinese language classroom. And these beautiful European faces, with the blond hair and blue eyes, along with the jet black hair and dark eyes and their tall noses, could speak Chinese. And when we could not uderstand the word--spoken in English or French, we reverted to spoken or written Mandarin. Is the coming,future, lingua Franca of the new world going to be Chinese???? It certainly seemed like it this morning! Who knows? If so, as Americans we certainly need to be willing to engage the world in whatever language. And as WFU takes its place as an international educational community, we need more students to come to us who see the world through not just one language, but many tongues, including French and Mandarin. Onwards. Heading home to North Carolina tomorrow, where I can rest my head and my tongue, check on my dear family and friends, and change suitcases. Heading to China next week--there the words come easier than French. I can understand and be understood. C'est bon! Tres bien! Hen Hau! Onward we go...........

WFU in Belgium

The Chateau--International School of Brussels

The taxi entered through a security gate, announced my name, and we entered. A lovely, imposing European chateau was in front of us. With imagination, I could see the eighteenth-century carriages waiting for the powdered-wig and silk-bustled mesdames and messieurs to descend the steps and enter their waiting coach for a ride through the forests. In another glance,what I saw was an universal end of the school day event--laughing kids hanging out on the front steps of their school waiting to go home at the end of a long day. This was the International School of Brussels (ISB). This school located in the middle of a most beautiful forest hosted the Fulbright College Fair last night. Ninety-nine USA colleges/universities were there, and over 700 European students, American students from expat families,teachers,and administrators were there. Education USA taped a 10-minute spot about Wake Forest University for their European marketing. They also asked for another 10-minute advertisement about WFU in Mandarin Chinese. I was happy to both. But wandering around Belgium these four days, I realize that to do well here I really need to work on my French and Dutch. Thank goodness for some patient French teachers in high school and college I can muddle through. But alas, Dutch---I have no idea. But this is the reality of last night--just about every third culture student I met could speak all three--French, Dutch,and English. We invite them to consider WFU! It's a big world out here!

Looking back on London--tea with Marie-Anne Duncan

Left London last night. Before leaving I had afternoon tea with one of our new WFU families--the Duncans of Kensington. I met them last year while visiting in London. They were introduced to WFU at the Fulbright Fair in Kensington. Because of that evening their son Pierre decided to apply to WFU, was accepted, and then was enrolled in the entering class of 2012!   And this year, while Dad Matt is visiting Pierre and WFU for Parents Weekend, I have opportunity to have tea with Mom Marie-Anne in their lovely home in Kensington.  Pierre, she reports, is loving WFU--everything about it!

One of the most delightful parts of my work is meeting our WFU parents--especially our international ones. Pierre's mother is from France. In her kitchen in her beautiful traditional British home, she has three huge clocks positioned on the wall in order to keep up with her international family.  One clock keeps time for the oldest daughter who is studying at USC-California. The second one holds time for Pierre, Eastern Standard Demon Deacon time. The third clock holds the time for the family in London,especially for the youngest daughter,Claire who attends the French high school in London. More and more international families are calling Wake Forest University home. Pierre Duncan and his family have made the connection to North Carolina time from Paris and London.  From France, from the United Kingdom, from China, from India, from the Middle East---our new students and their families are connecting to Deacon time. And it is about time!  

It's Deacon Time in London at the home of Matt and Marie Anne Duncan in Kensington, London!

In Brussels

I am in Brussels, Belgium preparing to represent Wake Forest University at The Fulbright College Fair at the International School in Brussels tonight. I am looking forward to a breakfast meeting with our USA Ambassador Gutman in the morning. Ambassador Gutman is a friend to USA higher education and is very interested in WFU.  One of the reasons we are finding Belgium to be such a warm and receptive place is due in no small measure to the hard work of Ambassador Gutman.  Our USA Ambassador is truly a public servant; he has visited 479 cities, towns, villages in Belgium.  Where there was no town center, he has literally knocked on the door of the house and introduced himself to the owner.  They love him in Belgium.  He is serving us well!   I enjoyed meeting our Ambassador to Belgium, sharing breakfast in the ambassador's residence, and thanking him for his support of Wake Forest University.  After our breakfast he went to his daily French and Dutch class then prepared the last-minute edits of his speech to be presented to the new branch of the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) from Greensboro.  Small world, isn't it?

Go Deacs! On a less positive note, but also a reality of the road and the defective batch of new computers, my computer has crashed. So glad to have IPad and phone to stay connected. Good road warriors learn to adapt. I am learning!

USA Ambassador Gutman
Ambassador's Residence
Brussels, Belgium
October 2, 2012

London's Calling: Fulbright College Fair

The Fulbright College Fair at the Kensington Town Centre

 

The Fair started tonight!  No roller coasters and cotton candy--just high school students from the UK looking to study in the USA!   This was a huge exposition of USA colleges and universities all huddled together in the Kensington Town Center in London.  Over 700 students and their families arrived tonight.  Officials predict some 3500-4000 more coming tomorrow.  The British are coming!  The British are coming!

Students from the UK are coming to the USA in huge numbers--larger than ever before.  I have tried to find out why.  First the main reason that I have been given is sharp tuition increase for higher education in the UK.  Some students and their families say that the tuition increase for higher education is driving them to the USA.  In the last ten years here in the UK, tuition has risen from free to over 9000 GBP.   So if they are going to pay tuition why not go to the USA?  Second, students are required to study a strict professional curriculum from the beginning of their collegiate career without the benefits of a liberal arts focus.  Students are wanting the benefits of being able to study many different subjects instead a narrow occupational focus from the beginning of their college career (that often begins in their secondary education years).  Third, UK students want a more holistic collegiate experience--one with collegiate sports, extracurriculars, and the social campus life of a USA college or university.  Fourth, Oxford and Cambridge are admitting fewer and fewer students due to funding and higher admission standards.  And last but certainly not the least, is the cultural reality that renewed interest in USA colleges and universities is being driven by a weekly UK television show called "Gossip Girl" that features a young woman in a USA college.  ( I will have a little research to do on that one!).

For whatever reason, USA higher education is considered the gold standard by students here in the UK.  Just like students in China, students in the UK are wanting to come to the USA to study.  This is a wonderful opportunity for us here at Wake Forest University.  I hope that we are ready 'cause London is calling!

Wake Forest University and The American School in London

Imagine your work takes you to an international destination.  You are happy, your spouse is somewhat happy, but what about your children?   We all know that a school for the children that can serve as a social center for the entire expat family can make living abroad a very pleasant experience.  Students who study in these schools have advantages of their own country but also have the extra advantage of living in another country and seeing the entire world from a different point of view. These students have the best of both worlds. They come to the USA for their college experiences with a view of the world that only a few of their peers have been able to experience.  These students, sometimes called "third culture students," bring a perspective desired in the American college classroom.  They usually show a high level of toleration, interest in world affairs, and a respect for other cultures.  I met some of those students today at The American School in London.

The American School in London, established in 1951, serves 491 high school students with a K-12 enrollment of 1352 students. These students hold passports from more than 45 different countries. Over half of these students live in households where at least one family member holds a second passport.  Studying in a robust Advanced Placement curriculum, these students are described as having "intellectual curiousity, emotional resilience, and an inclusive world view."

I really enjoyed touring this school and seeing the commitment of their counselors, Kristen Dreazen, graduate of Gettysburg College, and John Reilly, from Baltimore, their love for London and the UK, their commitment to international education, and their focus on  these students.


Mission of the American School in London




Ms. Kristen Dreazen--Counselor

The Library at the American School in London

Kristen J. Dreazen, College Counselor (www.asl.org), international educator!

Allison Perkins

Director of WFU Reynolda House of American Art and TASIS Alumna !!

TASIS Artist Annabelle Elford

TASIS Art Teacher John Smally

 



Traveling to London

In keeping with a covenant made with my dear colleagues in the office of undergraduate admissions I have promised to keep a blogging record of my fall international travels--tweets too.  So here I begin.  I have just landed in London, the first visit of several countries in the next six weeks. Five days in London, followed by Brussels, then about four weeks in China.  Home before Thanksgiving!!  Save some turkey for me.

I have just arrived in London.  Smooth flight from Dulles airport.  Sleeping on the plane still not easy, no matter how many pillows and blankets I can pack.  But the trip from USA to London is not as long as China.  And I can stand 6.5 hours of off and on catnaps!  No problem.  I arrived at the London hotel at 8:00 am.  Room is not ready so I wait in tired travel clothes surrounded by steaming cups of coffee.

I have arrived in London just in time to freshen up and then make my first appointment with the TASIS School in Surrey, Thorpe at noon today.  I am really happy to make this visit.  This school is the alma mater of our own Allison Perkins, Director of the Reynolda House.  I want to see the school and hopefully meet the beloved art teacher who inspired our wonderful Allison to be the sacred keeper of beauty of American art and lush landscapes for Wake Forest University.  I look forward to meeting their faculty and staff and introducing prospective students to Wake Forest University.  I will be visiting the American School in London and Cobham Hall in preparation for a huge Fulbright College Fair to be held on Friday evening and all day on Saturday at the Kensington Town Centre.  They are expecting 4,500 people.  Students from the UK are looking to study in the USA.  We will talk about some of those reasons here in this blog this week.

Wake Forest University continues to establish our international focus by searching for students from all over the world.  I am honored to be a part of this outreach.  As Tom Friedman's words continue to remind us that this world is flat, we also acknowledge that higher education competes in this new flattened universe.  And I am convinced that Wake Forest University has a distinctive niche in this new universe of global education.  And here I go!    Onward to Londontowne!

Wake Forest University, China, and the GIFT OF MUSIC

Early last fall WFU music professor and classical pianist, Peter Kairoff, came to visit me in the office of the Byrum Welcome Center.  He, along with the Chair of the Music Department, Stew Carter, came to say thanks for helping to recruit the wonderful Chinese students who were choosing to minor in music at Wake Forest University.  Peter asked what they could do to help in recruiting more of these talented students.   As we talked we three began to dream--"what if we offered a musical concert in China."   "Could we possibly be able to offer a musical concert that would attract our students, potential students, and their families and friends?" We continued to think of the possibilities.  Sitting there, we also talked of the difficulty of logistical planning for such a huge event, how hard it would be to produce materials in bilingual format, the challenge of organizing a performance from so far away.  But the more we talked, the more we were beginning to consider this as a possibility--despite the great challenges.  "Could we even think of such a possibility?"  I asked.  And Drs. Carter and Kairoff said, "Yes, by all means, let us consider this."  And the spark was lit!

This idea was right.  Time has shown it to be true.  While we could have planned other events, such as an athletic showcase, debate tournament, executive education, or even a symposia on current issues,  none seem as fitting as this one---to offer the gift of music.  A liberal arts institution that promotes not only the quest for academic excellence but also a love for beauty, Wake Forest's inaugural visit to China will feature beautiful classical music--and lots of it.  Professor Kairoff will perform selections from J.S. Bach as well as American composers for a delightful evening of piano music played on a beautiful Steinway generously provided by John Patton and the Steinway Company in Shanghai in the lovely performance hall of Dulwich College, Shanghai, Pudong, with hospitality provided by Fraser White and the Dulwich College management team.  On Sunday afternoon, Peter will lead a master class, which will feature his own WFU music students who are home in China for the summer and will join him on stage to help illustrate current practices in piano pedagogy.

Music, this lovely gift for the senses, with capacity to lift us to a place of civility and compassion, to calm our fractured lives, and to create a space for clarity and focus of mind, will be our gift to our new friends in China.  A spark has been lit!   

Onward we go.

global affairs.provost.wfu.edu/china

Wake Forest University in Shanghai--the WFU CHINA INITIATIVE

As we begin this inaugural journey to China this week, I want to document some thoughts about higher education, Wake Forest University, and China. 

This is a most unusual moment in higher education.  I know that every generation feels unique and special. This particular moment in time, however, truly seems monumental.  At this moment, the international opportunities now available to USA higher education are enormous--especially between China and the USA.  Right now, this moment, the potential for shared educational experiences seems limitless.   The opportunity to share our American culture, our way of thinking, our way of teaching and learning, our way of being in this world is truly now!  And the opportunity to learn from the Chinese culture, their way of thinking, their way of teaching and learning, their way of being in this world is truly now! 

Wake Forest University has invited 39 undergraduate students from China to join our Deacon Family for this fall entering class 2012.   Our responsibility is huge as we seek to provide an opportunity for this mutual exchange of  Sino-American intellectual life and social exchange to take place on our campus.  The benefits for all of us are tremendous.  We will learn; they will learn.  And we will all improve our very own culture, our way of thinking, our way of teaching and learning, our way of being in this world. 

Our WFU Creative Services team, led by creative designer Hayes Henderson and project manager Gretta Kohler, designed the above banner.  The icon, shaped in the form of an ancient Chinese seal, symbolizes this historic educational  exchange with two hands, or two cultures, positioned side by side.  We reach our hands to new students and families and new partners in educational collaborations in China.  In turn, these new students, some with parents who will never have the opportunity to visit us here in North Carolina, reach their hands to us by being willing to travel far away to study on our campus and join our Deacon family.   

The design team also captured the art of  Chinese paper design and intricate ornamentation in the design of the delicate header that surrounds the icon of hands.  While China and the USA may differ in styles of teaching and learning, classroom presentations, and innovation and creativity in education, the love of beauty remains a common expression for both cultures.  The mutual love for art, for nature, for music, for beauty powerfully transcends any cultural barriers.  For this reason, Wake Forest University travels to China, for our very first visit, with music, lots of it----featuring Dr. Peter Kairoff and his wonderful artistry at the classical piano.  

Represented here in this delicate design is the color red, symbolizing the joyful and happy educational collaborations that await for us in the future.  Red, a color symbolizing great joy and happiness in both Chinese and American cultures, aptly describes our long-awaited ,joyful anticipation of this exchange between Wake Forest University and China.  

We eagerly await this trip!

Wake Forest University in Shanghai July 14-15, 2012

globalaffairs.provost.wfu.edu/China

Wake Forest University will be going to Shanghai, China July 14-15.  With fourteen WFU representatives of our faculty, staff, alums, and members of our student body, we will be personally welcoming the newly-enrolled students and their families to our entering class of 2012, introducing WFU to prospective students for next year, meeting new friends in higher education, and visiting faculty and schools area high schools.  Dr. Peter Kairoff, classical pianist and WFU Professor of Music,  will be performing at Dulwich College, Shanghai on the evening of July 14.  A Chinese banquet will follow that evening to honor our corporate sponsors for this event:  Boston Scientific, CNA-USA, Edison Learning, Lenovo, Steinway Shanghai, and Kilpatrick,Townsend Stockton. On Sunday, July 15, Dr. Kairoff will offer a master class for students and parents, educators and performers, who are interested in piano pedagogy.  Several of our current students who are from the Shanghai area will be performing with Dr. Kairoff on Sunday afternoon. 

The week prior to the concert, Wake Forest University representatives will be:

 meeting enrolled students and their families; 

making contacts with area corporations for future internship and recruitment opportunities for our WFU students in Shanghai; 

visiting high schools, 

and meeting educators who are interested in exploring opportunities for greater collaboration between Wake Forest University and China.

We are going to Shanghai to say thank you, xie-xie, to our new Wake Forest University families from China.  We will keep you posted on our experiences here.

Wake Forest University will host an inaugural musical event in Shanghai China with Peter Kairoff and Friends on July 14-15.  asOUr

popop

International Education--Education USA Forum (June 22-24, 2011)

What an interesting week in Washington, DC! I spent last Tuesday (June 21) attending sessions on international education at the Malaysian Embassy Higher Education Showcase. I met education representatives from the following embassies: United Arab Emirates, People's Republic of China, Kosovo, Bahrain, Brunei, Finland, Indonesia, Bangladesh and others. This event, hosted by the Embassy of Malaysia and Alhambra-U.S. Chamber of Commerce brought together educational representatives from 46 US colleges and universities and international embassies from around the world. We were all focused on the exchange of students. Education is global!

Peter Morris, known as the "business shrink" was the plenary speaker for the event. Morris, with 40 years of experience the disciplines of law, psychology, and business, challenges Friedman's idea that the world is becoming flat by stating that cultural and linguistic difference continues to create barriers to effective collaborative communication. He states that "the need to develop ways to cross the barriers grows by the day--the stakes have never been greater." Morris leads us to consider psychology and other interdisciplinary skills to promote more successful cross-cultural communication. Emotional intelligence, social intelligence, moral development, cultural IQ, are important matters to consider when considering global education.

I took these thoughts and numerous new contacts from embassies around the world to the Education USA Forum held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center Wednesday through Friday afternoon, June 22-24. And what a lively group of American educators, international recruiters, college administrators! Hosted by the Department of State, this event presented educational updates from EDU USA representatives from all over the world. Regional and thematic sessions were offered that covered topics from the use of social media in international recruiting to recruiting for community colleges. One of the most lively sessions was on Wednesday afternoon titled, "EducationUSA's Policy on Incentive-Based Recruitment". The room was packed and the energy high. And of course, the spotlight was on China. The intense debate was focused on the use of agents compensated by US colleges and universities to recruit international students. The panelists were articulate and passionate--David Hawkins, Barmak Nassirian, Fanta Aw, and Diane Weisz Young. The audience listened patiently. Then at the Q&A time, the pros and cons flew across the room, as if someone had opened a pressure valve. The energy was palpable. The debate was exciting!

As any good debate, many points presented by the audience made sense for each side. Those who were in agreement with paying Chinese agents for student recruitment spoke of the competition for students, decreased budgets in higher education, the costs of American education, the increased tuition rates, the decrease in full paying American students, the free market principle in American higher education of supply and demand, and on and on. Those voices who spoke against warned against creeping unethical practices, elitist education where education is available only for those with money, of promoting admissions counseling like a car salesman more interested in profit than the benefit of the customer, of moving toward seeing college admissions simply a business transaction.

As I sat there finding "dau-li" (Chinese for reason) in almost every point, I recalled Peter Morris admonition to use an interdisciplinary way of understanding across cultures. Yes, Chinese culture depends on agency. In Chinese history, as well as some rural settings today, the Chinese matchmaker is an agent who finds the best match for each family and is compensated for this transaction of matching a bride and groom. In our culture, E-Harmony.com functions in a similar manner--with on-line transactions rather than personal family visits. In Chinese culture, business transactions are usually conducted by an intermediary, so that the primary CEO does not lose face or honor, an important element of Chinese culture, should the transaction appear unsuccessful. One could also propose that the American lawyer (or religious priest for that matter) functions in the same manner. An advocate, or agent, stands in the middle of two parties who are both trying to be successful but need someone to negotiate the terms and to represent the other in the case of failure. This idea of agency prevails in both cultures--Chinese and American.

But this is where the fork in the road occurs for me! Even with a matchmaker, online or ancient, there is personal connection. Even with a lawyer, priest or business intermediary, there is some intimate knowledge of both parties--some sense of accountability and awareness of the transaction not simply a financial transaction based on volume and delivery. American history has never seen education in this fashion, as a commodity to be bought and sold to the highest bidder. American education has historically been seen as a sacred trust, an honored privilege, and a social responsibility.

American education is the best right now in the world for some particular reason. At this moment in time, we have the coveted spot of having the best schools in the world. I ask why? Was it because we really believed, even at the birthing of our republic, that everyone needed access to education in order to create a more equitable and successful country? Was it because at the base of our understanding we realized that education was truly a humanitarian enterprise, grounded in religious values of personal and community transformation, a promise that served the good of the individual as well as the promise of the young nation? Was education rooted in the belief that a person's knowledge about themselves, their community, their nation, their world was truly beyond a price---perhaps even priceless? So priceless that the young republic considered education a social responsibility and not a commodity to be sold on the market place, like sneakers and furniture, widgets and microchips! Public education at primary and secondary levels, land-grant colleges and universities, state educational systems with low tuition and high-level resources became the hallmark of higher education in the United States of America.

Why would we want to lower our standards, initiated at the beginning of our republic, simply to meet some market expectation? Why would we want to create an inferior process, American-compensated Chinese agents, for a superior product that currently stands as our number one offering to ourselves and the world, American higher education? Can we not hold the tide on this one, just for a little while longer? Can we not take the high road? Can we find a way to honor the sacred gift of learning, the exchange of knowledge between a student and teacher, as a priceless, honorable transaction even when exchanged around the world?

Naive I am not. I understand the costs of education, the tremendous financial pressures in the current economy--especially that of private education without state funding. I also understand that some of our greatness of education in this country is directly related to the free market system, competition and growth, of higher education. We have good schools because we can compete with one another. We have no central government organizing our institutions. Without a central authority, able to freely compete on the market has created some of these financial pressures. But that same constraint is also a powerful benefit.

To those who say we must pay agents to recruit students from China so that we can support our budgets, I understand these market pressures. I am not against recruiting international students--absolutely not! We need international students in our American classrooms for a host of reasons, including financial ones. I, however, cannot support the idea that the strong ideals of higher education, the holy act of learning and individual transformation, can be determined only by the buying and selling of the marketplace. I cannot support the idea that international students are a commodity to be selected by the most aggressive and highly compensated agent and institution. I believe that people matter--that learning is priceless. The United States of America believed this in the early hours of our republic. And that has made us strong and the best--right now--in the world. Of course, we continue to struggle with the social responsibility of education in this country as we allocate budget cuts and reconsider more effective strategies for teaching and learning. Yet we are not willing to give in to the market pressures and say that education should be left entirely to the marketplace--at least not yet! That idea goes against the historic grain of our entire nation.

Placing recruitment solely in the hands of a Chinese agent, who may or may not have any affiliation with the institution, preys upon vulnerable Chinese parents, who want the best for their only child and may have the financial resources but lack international experience and have no facility in English language. And that is simply not right! No matter how tight the market! This process does not match our ideals. We have a unique opportunity to consider aligning our process with our ideals--our historic ones. I hope that we have, as Peter Morris admonished, the cultural IQ, the emotional intelligence, the psychological awareness, and the ethical fortitude to stand up and do the right thing on this one!

The End of Internationalization???? On my way home from Vancouver

"Or are we having an identity crisis? Or are we losing its true north? Are we losing some of the key values about what is behind and supporting and guiding internationalization?” These were the questions behind one of the most stimulating conversations for me at NAFSA this week.

This is the reason why these huge conferences can be so very helpful. One knows that not all of the events are equal. The exhibits are interesting but not earth-shattering. Any vendor can advertise anywhere. Some of the seminars and workshops are less thought-provoking and more commercial advertisements for the many for-profit companies seeking to turn profit from higher education ventures. But this seminar, "The End of Internalization, with three panelists speaking to a filled room, had the audacity to ask the educators and the vendors: What does all of this mean? Why are we so keen to internationalize our campus? I am so glad that someone is asking it!! That question must always be at the center of any program--it just keeps us honest. Kudos to NAFSA who would include such a thought-provoking critique. Otherwise, we are simply educated lemmings. Read the report of this seminar below.

Panelists at the session argued that as internationalization has moved from a fringe to core university activity, it remains imperative for professionals to scrutinize what they’re working toward and why. Every university now says it wants to be “international,” but what does that mean -- as Knight said, “internationalization has become a catch-all phrase for everything” -- and to what end?

“Internationalization is not a goal in itself,” said Uwe Brandenburg, a consultant with the Centre for Higher Education, in Germany. “It’s a means to an end. It’s an instrument to achieve something. It’s not good just because it’s international.” Instead of looking at internationalization as its own end, Brandenburg said, universities should focus on the way it contributes to improving teaching, learning, research, innovation and civic engagement."

THANKS NAFSA. Good meeting.

100,000 Strong Initiative: US and China Study Abroad

In 2009 President Obama announced that we would have 100,000 students from the USA studying in China in the next four years. Secretary Clinton announced the program directed by the State Department --"100,000 Strong"-- in Shanghai last December. This program is now moving forward at slow but steady speed. No money is available from Congress and this program will move forward by private donors only. With over 7 million dollars already pledged since January of this year toward a goal of almost $70 million, the idea is gaining momentum from both United States and China. I learned today that the Chinese government has promised 30,000 full scholarships to USA students for short term study abroad experiences, full master, and doctoral level degree programs for US students willing to study in China. Chinese universities are building new dorms and expanding English language programs to accomodate newly arriving American students. This new goal will be a challenge for us. Traditionally, we have had more Chinese students studying here in the USA than American students studying in China. More Chinese can speak English than Americans can speak Chinese. But this goal is an important one for us at this moment. Our knowledge of China needs to increase. Our US students need to learn to speak more than one language and Mandarin is the language spoken by over a billion people around the world. In addition, Secretary Clinton underscores the point that the US/China relationship is the most important relationship that we have at the moment because any issue moving forward will require that US and China sit down and talk together as the top two powerful countries in the world. http://www.state.gov/p/eap/regional/100000_strong/c40115.htm In other words, we need to make friends with China. And students can do that better than any other population. Every friendship we make, said Michele Obama, makes our country stronger.

And so we all work to help make this happen for the sake of our great grandchildren! Wake Forest University, let us consider China!

World University Rankings

Rankings--higher education has a love/hate relationships with rankings. We love them if the numbers move up and we hate them if we move down. We cavalierly say that those numbers are not that meaningful; yet we wait impatiently for the US News and World Report to issue their latest release. Fortunately, for WFU, we have risen up those ranks in the last few years. That makes presenting WFU to international parents much easier. But if we are truly in a global market for higher education, how does WFU stand in relationship to schools around the world? If US parents patiently wait for the publication of the latest rankings, international parents are even more anxious as they must make decisions often without first-hand knowledge of an American campus. Ranking systems do matter.

I spent most of this day with QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) learning about their products, particularly their world ranking system of colleges and universities. They have devised a way to rank international schools that honor the individual character of the school in a way not dependent on the performance of other institutions. In the current system of ranking, there is only one #1. Yet, we all know that there are many, many excellent universities in the United States that also deserve a top spot. I intend on watching and learning more about this innovative, new system of international ranking that highlights the attributes of many excellent schools without limiting the rank to only one spot (www.qs.com).

Education in a Global World

I am in Vancouver, BC, Canada for the NAFSA Conference: An Association of International Educators. WOW! This is a huge industry, evidenced by the size of this conference. With over 9000 registered attendees from all over the world and hundreds of exhibitors in the expo hall hawking everything from on-line applications software to Chinese recruiters, I am in a high learning curve!

I spent yesterday afternoon with 30 educators/recruiter types from China, England, Ireland, Netherlands, India. We were spending four hours together thinking about the international opportunities in the U. S. Higher Education, sponsored by Institute for International Education. We are still the best--for right now--for this moment--for now. With our 4,633 colleges and universities (1, 705 public, 1,713 private, not-for profit, and 1,215 private, for profit) we still have some of the best colleges and universities in the world. Our belief in limited government (a Jeffersonian democracy), capitalism, equal opportunity, and firm belief in the value of liberal arts undergraduate foundation have created schools of unparalleled reputation and influence. I would also add that our most noble notion of higher education, which assumes that education serves to benefit not only individuals and families, but also our country, contributes to our success (stated best in the reverential terms of Wake Forest University motto---Pro Humanitate--for the benefit of humankind). In addition, the early notion of our nascent republic was that education was a God-given opportunity--that to educate a mind was to deepen a heart in preparation for service to others--still stands as a guidepost for our most noble institutions of higher learning. In more pragmatic terms, US Higher Education is a $200 billion enterprise, whose employees comprise about 2% of our national workforce. We must stay strong, even with budgetary constraints of this moment in time. Sharing with the world our noble aspirational vision of higher education may be our best export yet. Nike, McDonalds, Starbucks worked internationally with solid business plans, but the exporting and importing of higher education might just exceed the international influence of things you can wear and eat! And we just might be able to create a better world for all of us in the meantime.

To cherish these values of American higher education, however, is to be willing to share them with the world. And we are. International students come here; American students go there. The Institute of International Education (IIE) has been keeping stats on international education since its founding in 1919. The Open Doors Report (since 1954) produces an annual census. The most amazing fact is that one generation we have seen a 120% increase of students of American students studying abroad. We are going there! Non-traditional places, like China, Argentina, South Africa, Denmark, Peru, South Korea, are replacing the traditional places of study abroad, such as UK, Italy, and Spain. They are coming here! In 2009/10 the number of international students in the US increased 2.9% from the previous year to 690,923 students. Of that number 52% of the degree seeking students are from China, India, and South Korea.

This is a new world. And I am glad to be alive at this particular moment in time to see it unfold and to be a small part of this large movement of global education.