FAC U LT Y S P OT LI G H T
L A N G U A G E C O N N E C T S P E O P L E BY DR. ROBERT LLOYD
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INCE FORT HAYS’ ORIGINS
as a military outpost set on the border of an unexplored expanse of the Western Plains, we have always been uniquely positioned to engage new parts of the world. The university’s sustained and unprecedented buildout into China 25 years ago echoes a lingering commitment to the same ideal. Today, the Global Affairs office remains intensely focused on expanding the international reach of Fort Hays, underwritten by our institutional value of global engagement. We operate by the axiom of “bringing Fort Hays to the world, and the world to Fort Hays.” The manifold, budding partnerships developed in recent years in Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia afford us exposure to unique cultures. As we invest in this new portfolio of partnerships, I believe the moderating factor and great connector is language. There is no shortage of bilingual staff and students in the Global Affairs team. The assortment of languages in this office includes fluent speakers of Chinese, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, local African languages, Guarani, and Hindi. An inventory of the broader
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FHSU campus would demonstrate even wider breadth. When I was asked to join the Global Affairs team, I became intensely eager to use and expand the various languages I have pursued. At the age of five, I became fascinated with the idea of mastering another language. Living in West Germany during the Cold War exposed me to the multi-lingual milieu of Europe (hearing neighborhood kids speaking German, and the occasional weekend vacations in France, and Switzerland). My early childhood left me incredulous that someone could go their entire lifetime without speaking a single word of English. I wanted to understand and interconnect, and have spent the last 35 years pursuing this captivation. In my role in Global Affairs, opportunities abound to utilize language skills. On a recent trip to our Bolivian partner, I was able to speak with parents in their native Spanish. This is the language I have studied longer than any other (and speak every day at home with my Colombian wife and children). I was completely comfortable answering their questions and engaging in meaningful conversations about their children’s
educational aspirations. Being able to do so in Spanish gave them additional comfort as they considered sending their children to another part of the world. I was hired as the Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship international coordinator during the pandemic. And knowing that 1) I couldn’t use funds to attend conferences, and 2) FHSU was pursuing partners in West Africa, I leveraged two years of my professional development funds to study French intensely – private lessons, software, and subscriptions. While my French in that time has developed to a lower intermediate level, I voyaged to Africa this year equipped with enough to talk conversationally with students, parents, and partner administrators.
