a student newspaper of the university of tulsa
october 8, 2012 issue 6 ~ volume 98
WORLDWIDE
VISION
In a globalized era, TU expands its international reach At TU, internationalization is more than a buzzword: it is part of a concrete plan guiding the university’s future. Victoria McGouran Staff Writer
With the University of Tulsa situated as a top-100 university, “internationalization” is a term more and more frequently thrown around. While TU’s administration considers internationalization to be important, and many assume that good universities want more of it, few people seem to know what internationalization actually means and why universities are so dedicated to making it happen. Contrary to common perception, internationalization goes beyond recruiting international students and sending American students abroad.
A 21st-Century Reality Our generation is living in an increasingly globalized world and it is becoming unrealistic for a university to think solely within its nation’s own borders. Internationalization seeks to provide a foreign policy of sorts for the modern university, guiding the institution and its students towards a well-rounded and more universally engaged educational experience. Dr. Allan Goodman, President and CEO of the Institute for International Education offered advice for American university trustees in 2010, saying, “U.S. institutions of higher education need foreign policies, but not in the traditional sense of the phrase. Their leaders need to formulate institution-wide policies to assess their current engagement with the world and future strategic agenda.” The implications of internationalization for TU may not be immediately apparent. What many TU students may not realize is
that university administration has made numerous changes in the past year and a half that are specifically designed to expand TU’s global connections. The primary change that impacts students on a daily basis is the Strategic Plan for Comprehensive Internationalization. This plan, enacted in May 2011, is designed to examine how TU interacts with the global community, and keep the school competitive in an ever-changing world. “Direct, tangible benefits include the ability to attract and retain higher-caliber students and faculty and to prepare them to be more competitive for external funding,” said Dr. Cheryl Matherly, the Vice Provost for Global Education and co-chair of the initiative. “Another benefit of internationalization is the cultivation of a student body prepared for the realities of a changing world and global workforce.” Matherly said that internationalization will help TU “situate itself to provide leadership in local,
national, and global communities on crucial questions facing world societies today,” questions including “energy, technology and the environment, cyber security, indigenous populations, community health and entrepreneurship.” Changes at home The initiative’s impact at TU has been very tangible, and includes more globally focused curricula, international faculty members, research collaborations and of course, international student exchange. However, some students are growing concerned that such an intense focus on internationalization might not be ideal for TU. “I think that (bringing in) exchange students (is) a good idea,” said Jennifer, a sophomore in the business college, “but if the purpose of having them here is to learn more about their culture and have them learn about ours, we are not really making that happen.” “There is a kind of segregation,”
said John, a freshman. “The international kids and the non-international ones don’t really hang out.” However, his story is not representative of all international students at TU. “It is hard to integrate,” said Anshmund, another international student, “language is maybe a big problem for many but I also feel that it is our fault because many international students group together.” Others, including international student Liu Zi Jbao, disagree. Jbao said that his friend group is “very diverse,” and that despite his incomplete knowledge of English, “people are willing to communicate.” Matherly said that administration was aware of the problem and that “the university has been looking at a number of activities to encourage more interaction between international and domestic students. Perhaps the most visible is the International Living Community,
See Global on page 4