President's Update – November 9, 2004

Our Global Mission and Internationalization Participation

Dear Colleagues,

Associate Professor Terry Montani, Professor Elise Salem and I recently shared with you the ACE Internationalization Lab Team's self-study as well as the external reviewers' report. If you haven't yet examined the reports, I encourage you to do so by going to http://globaleducation.edu/ge/labteam.html. The recommendations concerning global education at FDU are in-depth and comprehensive.

I studied carefully the ACE Lab Team's work and the external reviewers' report. From my view, the primary recommendation was the creation of a team or teams to develop a detailed global education implementation plan.

We know from several recent University-wide surveys that global learning as a pedagogical concept is widely endorsed by both faculty and students. But despite the fact that a number of individuals and offices have produced significant accomplishments, our mission has not yet been translated fully into practice throughout the institution. We must take steps to further incorporate global education into our curriculum and coordinate our international programs and services.

I do not wish to create additional administrative structures - especially in a time when I am seeking reductions. However, there must be greater coherence in our administrative structure and real focus on new and continuing initiatives. To that end, I am repositioning several existing resources and announcing the creation of the Global Education Coordinating Team and the Internationalization Strategic Planning Group.

Global Education Coordinating Team

This team brings together those individuals who currently have administrative responsibilities in the international arena. The intent is to coordinate and align goals and actions.

To that end, there will be several title changes and new reporting lines. Dr. Mark Campbell, Senior Vice President for Government & Community Affairs, will become Senior Vice President for Strategic, International and Government Affairs. Dr. Michael Sperling, Associate Provost for Interdisciplinary, Distributed and Global Learning, will become Vice Provost for Global Learning. Both titles are more descriptive of their actual responsibilities and daily activities.

Dr. Richard Isquith, Executive Director for Global Partnerships, will report to Dr. Campbell. Dr. Sperling will report to the President, through Dr. Campbell.

I have asked Dr. Campbell to chair the Global Education Coordinating Team. The team includes the following individuals:

Chris Capuano, Director, School of Psychology, and academic coordinator on the International Campus Task Force
Diana Cvitan, Manager, Global Learning Initiatives
Rick Isquith, Executive Director for Global Partnerships
Jessica McMillan, University Director of International Student Services
Tom Shea, University Director of International & Graduate Admissions
Michael Sperling, Vice Provost for Global Learning
Dalila Suhonjic, Director of Global Initiatives
Brian Swanzey, Director of Wroxton Study Abroad

This reporting structure and oversight responsibility anticipates the arrival of a University Provost/Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs to whom this team will eventually report.

Internationalization Strategic Planning Group

I have asked Michael Sperling and Elise Salem to help me configure a faculty group that will develop a detailed action plan to guide the continued growth of our global education mission. Together, Drs. Sperling and Salem will serve as co-chairs of the group. A subsequent communication will share the faculty participants who agree to serve.

I have also asked Dr. Sperling to join the President's Cabinet as a conduit from the Strategic Planning Group and as a reflection of my commitment to this initiative.

Several weeks ago I sent you a brief communiqué offering my personal view of what defines a global education. If you did not receive a copy please let me know. As I wrote in that piece,

. . .global education is not a static concept that we can define readily and arrange neatly in a drawer. It is a living, evolving and sometimes messy process. If the heart of global education is the interaction between teacher and learner, the lifeline of global education flows with the vast collection of our diverse and multiple efforts.

Repositioning these existing positions and forming a faculty planning group will address issues of coordination and planning, and help translate our mission into even more meaningful activities across this exceptional community.

Thank you,
Michael Adams