From the Desk of the Chancellor, June 6, 2011

Chancellor Charles R. Bantz View print-quality image

During a ceremony this past Friday, I was in Vancouver to accept the 2011 Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization on IUPUI’s behalf. At the event I was joined by IUPUI colleagues who were attending the annual conference of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, which sponsors the award. IUPUI was recognized for its comprehensive approach to internationalize the campus.

IUPUI earned this recognition by the broad commitment of faculty and administrators over the past decade. Those attending NAFSA reflected that commitment, including Professor of Law George Edwards as well as the team from the Office of International Affairs. Professsor Edwards just received word that the United Nations recommended that the Program in International Human Rights Law at our Law School be granted “Special Consultative Status.” That recognition by the U.N. illustrates the level of commitment on the campus. The level of collaboration across disciplines creating rigorous academic programs and global learning experiences is impressive. Doing so for a population of students that presents special challenges means lives are transformed by these opportunities.

•In terms of recruiting international students to IUPUI, we have an advantage because they often feel more comfortable at urban universities where they are more likely to find greater cultural supportiveness and diversity.

•For in-state students, many of whom are place-bound with families and jobs, we have to develop international learning experiences that go beyond the traditional junior year abroad by having shorter term but equally rich programming.

•This is possible, in large part, because we have developed a strategic partnership approach building partnerships with universities abroad with which we have natural affinities and mutual interests, making these collaborations deeper, richer, and more long term than the traditional programs

•At the same time, IUPUI brings its natural strengths in civic engagement to these partnerships by incorporating community-based service learning into study abroad experiences. This practice-based approach to international learning has the additional advantage of being a more rewarding, meaningful, and enlightening experience—something that has been mentioned many times by students who post blogs while abroad on IUPUI’s web site.

One recent example of this is the Department of Tourism, Conventions, and Event Management, which is sending a team of faculty and students for a second year to the High Altitude Training Centre in Inten, Kenya. Last summer, TCEM students and faculty participated in a 22-day mission to help the Centre become a national sports tourist destination. During the second trip, TCEM will focus on two women’s groups located in nearby villages. One is famous for traditional dances, while the other is known for the clothing and beads the women make. The goal is to expand amenities for tourists so that more people living in the area benefit. As Jay Gladden, dean of the School of Physical Education and Tourism Management, has noted, “The High Altitude Training Centre presents a great platform for our students to apply what they have learned in an international context.”

In recognition of the Simon Award, IUPUI will be featured in a special NAFSA report titled “Internationalizing the Campus: Profiles of Success at Colleges and Universities” to be published in fall 2011. For more information, visit http://www.nafsa.org/.

Comments? Write chancllr@iupui.edu.