ISP News

"What Has Changed"

I begin by quoting briefly from two documents.

DOCUMENT ONE
The impacts of globalization are widespread and strengthening, and with both strong critics and proponents. Study after study reveals a woeful lack of basic knowledge among Americans about world affairs and skills in cultural exchange, mobility, and languages. The U.S. falls far short on virtually all indicators of such competence and awareness. Our educational system must help redress these deficiencies and prepare the next generation for the responsibilities and challenges of global leadership. Since the end of the Cold War, the world has become more diverse in the sources of conflict and threats to national security, and more interdependent through world-spanning systems of communication, culture, markets, and technology. These changes are accelerating and will not wait for us to meet the challenge. We must act now.

DOCUMENT TWO
Like it or not, Americans are connected with people the world over. And-driven by advancing technology-the rapid movement of people, goods, financial transactions, and ideas has generated new global and regional challenges in areas ranging from security and politics to business, health, law, the environment, and more. . . . The global transformations of the last decade have created an unparalleled need in the United States for expanded international knowledge and skills. But the nation is unready. And our future success in international endeavors will rely almost entirely on the global competence of our people. . . . Over the last several decades, however, expanding needs, rising costs, and declining investments in international and foreign language training have led the United States to a dangerous shortfall of individuals with global competence-a problem we have noted particularly in recent months.

The first document was written a year before September 11, 2001, and is from the Association of International Education Administrators policy document on internationalizing education . It borrows from MSU's International Studies and Programs strategic plan written nearly three years ago. The second document was developed over the last year. It is the International Policy Paper of the American Council on Education, released in May 2002, titled Beyond September 11: A Comprehensive National Policy on International Education.

We obviously live in a different world today than we did on September 10, 2001. But I am struck by the parallels in the two documents. We are reminded once again that national boundaries do not isolate us from the global environment. And we are reminded of the consequences of world poverty, untreated causes of social and political unrest, and inadequate investment in language training and acquiring area knowledge.

Since 9/11 we are more cautious and less naive about our relative safety and isolation from forces and events elsewhere on the globe. But MSU will still send more than 2,000 students abroad in 2002, and study abroad will remain a priority for us. We continue to be a welcoming and supportive environment for our international guests, and we still have over 3,700 visiting students and scholars on campus. We will have thousands of international students and scholars here next year, although new challenges will present themselves as we learn to work with and through the new Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). Our faculty will continue to be involved throughout the world in international development and problem solving. Perhaps one of the most important outcomes of 9/11 is that it forcefully reminded us of things already known, reinforcing the importance of our institutional commitment to internationalization.