Think Globally, Educate Locally

Colleges’ Mandate: Preparing Students for Connected World

When Harvard runs an idea up the flagpole, the education community is usually quick to salute. So when a faculty and student panel recently called for critical changes in the undergraduate curriculum, more than a few people took notice.

The committee, which undertook the first comprehensive evaluation of Harvard’s undergraduate curriculum in nearly three decades, most significantly urged that greater opportunities be provided for students in international studies.

William Kirby, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences, wrote that Harvard must prepare students to be “citizens not only of their home country, but also of the world, with the capacity not only to understand others but also to see themselves, and this country, as others see them.”

Kirby and the committee are right on target. Schooling global citizens is the educational imperative of the 21st century. Groundbreaking developments in communication and transportation technology have transformed our world. The networking and spread of information, production, finance, trade and, unfortunately, disease and terrorism, weave together the fates of billions.

But while the forces of globalization bring people closer together, education has largely failed to keep pace and the result is that we still do not know each other very well. The result of such misunderstanding and ignorance can often lead to tragic results.

This is why Fairleigh Dickinson University — with two campuses in northern New Jersey and a third in England — made global education the cornerstone of its institutional mission more than fours ago. Like Harvard’s panel concluded, we believe that in a world marked by interdependence, diversity and rapid change, we need graduates who are comfortable in foreign environments, familiar with different cultures and skilled in drawing connections between the local and global.

It is crucial that Harvard approve and enact the committee’s recommendations, not only for the benefit of Harvard students but for the benefit of the entire higher education community. Because of its significant influence, Harvard’s actions will be emulated. Such inspiration is desperately needed because too many universities either ignore the importance of global lessons or only offer lip service.

According to a study last fall by the American Council on Education (ACE), only 28 percent of the 752 institutions surveyed included internationalization as a top strategic priority, and only 21 percent of institutions allocated funding to help faculty internationalize their courses.

But if Harvard can inspire greater global lessons, the specific pathways are up to individual institutions. Harvard’s antidote to the shortcomings in international education includes the expectation that all students study or work abroad. It’s true that there is no substitute for becoming immersed in another culture. That is why FDU has owned and operated Wroxton College in England since the 1960s and has partnerships and programs with more than 20 educational institutions around the world.

But more must be done close to home as well. Foreign language studies should be enhanced. Global perspectives and global issues must be integrated and infused throughout the curriculum. The reality is that the overwhelming majority of American students do not venture abroad. So we must make sure that while we provide learning opportunities afar, we also bring the world to our students.

Technology, especially the Internet, can help connect students to new worlds. At Fairleigh Dickinson University, we believe the Internet can be a fundamental learning and educational tool, and we also believe it can facilitate collaborations and help educate global citizens. That is why, in 2001, FDU became the first traditional university to require that all undergraduates take online courses (one for every 32 credits). One particularly powerful part of our distance-learning initiative is the creation of a Global Virtual Faculty™. These scholars and practitioners (now numbering nearly 50) from around the world partner, on-line, with campus-based faculty to contribute diverse views and perspectives via e-mail.

At the same time, profound lessons can be conveyed without such technology. The key is to expose students to different ways of looking at the world. Through FDU’s close relationship with the United Nations, for example, we regularly invite foreign ambassadors and other dignitaries to speak with students.

The point is there are many ways to school global citizens. And the lessons should start at the earliest ages possible. The ability and knowledge to make global connections is fundamental not just for personal enlightenment, nor solely for professional success in the global economy, but ultimately, for the very preservation of our planet. Understanding problems through the eyes of others helps reduce fears and misunderstandings that breed contempt, conflict and terror. Learning to work together across geographic and cultural borders helps counter international crises and insidious forces that threaten humanity.

Whether or not society is up to the task of combating global challenges will be determined by the caliber of global citizens and global leaders our schools and colleges produce. Fairleigh Dickinson is rising to the challenge. Harvard is ready to take its familiar leadership role. Who else will follow?

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