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Faculty Engagement with Internationalization:
Strategies from members of the ACE Internationalization Collaborative

During plenary and small group sessions at the Annual Collaborative Meeting (January 2002), participants discussed the following:

• What strategies has your institution used effectively to widen the circle of faculty involvement in internationalization?
• In what creative ways has your institution supported faculty efforts to internationalize?

The following strategies emerged from discussions:

1. Engage faculty in development and leadership
   of education abroad programs.
2. Facilitate faculty exchange agreements.
3. Financially support faculty travel abroad.
4. Offer incentives for curriculum development.
5. Provide on-campus faculty workshops.
6. Support faculty initiatives.
7. Support faculty reflection and integration of international experiences.
8. Transform the general education structure.
9. Transform hiring, tenure, and promotion criteria.

From these discussions, further questions also emerged: Is transformation of the curriculum and campus culture a goal of engaging faculty in internationalization projects? Is it assumed that faculty who are engaged in education abroad or faculty exchange, for example, will transform their curriculum when they return? Is it necessary to put more strategies in place that ensure faculty have the time, resources, motivation, and other support to engage in internationalizing the curriculum, as a result of an experience abroad or other development opportunity? Finally, do hiring, tenure, and promotion criteria need to be rewritten to promote further faculty engagement?

1. Engage faculty in development and leadership of education abroad programs.

Arcadia University purposefully sends faculty abroad who are not "true believers" in international exchange. Administrators have, for example, taken faculty along when they perform evaluations (both internal and external) of their study abroad programs. This is an annual, one-week experience for one to three different members of the Arcadia University faculty, paid for by the Center for Education Abroad. Small sums ($2,000 or less) can have big payoffs on campus. This initiative has raised faculty understanding and support for Arcadia's study abroad programs. For information about these study abroad programs, see http://www.arcadia.edu/cea.

Chatham College requires faculty teams that lead study abroad programs to come from different disciplines. This motivates faculty to work closely with colleagues that they may not talk to on a daily basis. It also has noticeably broadened participation to include fields that are less well-represented in internationalization efforts, such as the sciences.

Dickinson College provides special research and development funding for both groups and individuals who wish to study abroad, through the Presidential Innovation Fund, which provides subsidies of up to three years. The International Program Fund, a tithe from international programs, also supports further development and is used to sponsor foreign scholars who interact with faculty and students throughout the college. In addition, Dickinson uses its faculty, about half of whom are experienced directors, to evaluate the college's study abroad programs by conducting periodic site visits.

Juniata College encourages its faculty to get involved in site visits and faculty development seminars under the umbrella of its non-institutional study abroad organizations. The programs provide a cost-efficient way to send faculty abroad while offering them opportunities to research exchanges with international colleagues. Juniata College also offers a vacation or conference allowance of up to $500 to any faculty member who visits a study abroad site or partner school while abroad. Upon return, faculty members are expected to serve as a resource for students in pre-departure programs and for other faculty.

Manchester College supports faculty interaction with colleagues from other institutions through its annual International Faculty Seminars program. In addition, the college supports staff participation in off-campus enrichment activities, such as international programs and study tours. College staff involvement in these activities contributes to a deeply felt international emphasis within the campus climate. For example, an administrative assistant to the president recently joined a two-week, credit-bearing study tour of pre-Colombian civilization in Peru with a class of current students.

Tidewater Community College praises those who get involved in internationalization so others want to get on board. The college has found that encouraging enthusiastic young faculty to collaborate with more experienced (but less internationally focused) faculty can also be very productive. One technique that Tidewater has used is to require faculty who lead programs abroad to take a second (less experienced) faculty member as an assistant.

University of California, Davis offers seed grants to encourage faculty development and leadership of education abroad programs. An expanded, four-week summer session abroad (offering eight credits) has been developed and is supported with a $10,000 stipend with all expenses paid, for faculty directors.

Webster University has charged a faculty committee, appointed by the Faculty Senate, with creating a vision of international programs for the entire institution, advising the university of international development, and facilitating international initiatives.

2. Facilitate faculty exchange agreements.

Dickinson College maintains faculty exchange agreements with all of its partner universities, funded by the college's international endowment. Dickinson encourages its faculty to teach abroad on both short- and long-term exchanges.

Grinnell College, through its Center for International Studies, each year organizes a series of visits to campus by international scholars, writers, artists, and others. Visitors are invited by faculty, and frequently work closely with host departments in teaching courses, working in the fine arts, or other similar capacity. Grinnell's Environmental Studies Program has recently received a grant to support a number of two-way exchanges among biologists, anthropologists, and other scholars, as well as students from the United States, Belize, and Guatemala.

Kalamazoo College has addressed the need to socialize visiting faculty to American teaching expectations (especially those from "classic," European-style universities). Visiting faculty arrive on campus at least four weeks before the start of the term in which they will be teaching so that they can visit other courses being taught in their discipline. The college also assigns them a faculty teaching mentor and includes them in the new faculty teaching workshops.

Kapi'olani Community College arranges for its faculty members to receive international content training through programs with national and regional organizations such as College Consortium in International Development and American Association of Community Colleges. It also involves faculty in training programs that are facilitated by its international agreements with institutions, governments, and nongovernmental organizations.

Maricopa Community College District has allocated $60,000 in internal grant funds to support faculty exchange programs. Proposals receive funding based upon the priorities identified in the district's Strategic Plan for International & Intercultural Education, which is the MCCD Governing Board's mandate to "internationalize" Maricopa community colleges. The program enables the faculty to participate in a variety of assignments, determined in conjunction with the host institution. The district is currently participating in programs in China, Australia, and Mexico, and expects that the exchange will ultimately enhance faculty's ability to teach and advise across cultures.

University of California, Davis has found that the best way to motivate faculty to engage with internationalization is to intentionally facilitate those institutional agreements of international cooperation that faculty have expressed the most interest in pursuing.

University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse believes that undergraduate research and faculty development should be tied together. To that end, the university provost asks each faculty member to participate in international programs. To follow up on the interest that the provost generates, the university uses existing institutional agreements for faculty exchange.

3. Financially support faculty travel abroad.

Grinnell College, through its Center for International Studies, supports faculty participation in international development seminars and has recently begun to organize its own fully funded international seminars in London, China, and future sites in Africa and Japan. Seminar participants are expected to pursue individual research projects and explore ways to internationalize their teaching. They also are encouraged to lead off-campus study programs and other related opportunities. The Center also funds faculty visits to off-campus study programs. In addition to funding the seminars, Grinnell College actively supports faculty travel to conferences and professional meetings around the world.

Kalamazoo College offers Faculty Study Abroad Grants (FSAG) that provide faculty with stipends of $1,500 to $2,500, in addition to making funds available through the regular faculty development program. Both resources allow faculty to visit a study abroad partner site while attending a conference or doing research abroad. Faculty must spend three days at the partner institution to allow sufficient time for meaningful conversation with professional colleagues in the departments. Upon their return to campus, faculty must submit a report and do a faculty study presentation or assist with study abroad orientation.

Lock Haven University is currently working on a new week-long faculty orientation program for one of its overseas sites. Targeting tenure-track faculty, this project will eventually bring international experience to all, or nearly all, faculty. The program will serve to instill in faculty early in their careers the importance of Lock Haven University's international experience.

Missouri Southern State College allocates between $40,000 and $100,000 each year for faculty study abroad. The college covers all reasonable expenses, up to $3,600, for faculty who lead approved student groups abroad. Faculty who present a paper at an international conference or participate in any recognized educational experience outside the United States can receive up to 80 percent of their travel costs, up to $3,000.

Tidewater Community College designates a number of financial awards to encourage faculty to engage in travel, study, research, or language study abroad. These faculty travel stipends are provided by the college's International Education Committee's Faculty Professional Development Funds.

University of Richmond offers a Faculty Seminars Abroad program for 10 to 12 faculty members each year. This program is internally funded by the president and provost. Over time, this program has had a dramatic impact on the university's institutional ethos. For more information about the goals and a history of the Faculty Seminar Abroad see the University of Richmond web site.

Webster University has several grants that support faculty international mobility. The institution's overseas campuses and teaching locations, as well as its flexible administrative structure, allow faculty to teach abroad as part of their regular duties. Teaching abroad is thought of not only as a benefit but also as a responsibility and is directly connected to faculty tenure and promotion.

4. Offer incentives for curriculum development.

Arcadia University couples the awarding of Faculty Development Grants with an expectation that, whenever possible, the recipient will develop new courses, programs, and course components upon return that are infused with the overseas experience. The applications that hold the most promise for curriculum development are typically the most frequently supported.

Dickinson College's international research seminars fund faculty research at Dickinson sites abroad, the results of which are added to the study abroad curricula. As a result, this program unites faculty research interests with study abroad curriculum development. In the summer, Dickinson sponsors a workshop to train its directors and faculty in international curriculum program development. In summer 2002, the workshop will focus on incorporating field research into study abroad curricula.

Drake University supports faculty travel abroad when trips are tied to curriculum development, including new courses or significant revisions of existing courses. Each year, the provost's office issues a call for proposals, which are then reviewed by the Deans Council to ensure consistency with the academic mission and strategic plan. In addition, the university requires two faculty members to collaborate on all summer international seminars.

Grinnell College offers curricular development grants to internationalize coursework—from $500 to $1,000 (for course modules), to $2,000 (for an entire course). Faculty submit proposals, which are reviewed by the Instructional Support Committee. Successful proposals are followed by a report on the developed course or module.

Maricopa Community College District offers faculty grants to internationalize and "multiculturalize" their courses. Ten grants of $1,200 each fund faculty release time so that they can develop new modules to infuse international or multicultural perspectives into existing courses. To date, more than 30 courses have received international or intercultural perspectives. The list of these courses is posted on the district's web site, for reference by the faculty.

Missouri Southern State College offers grants ranging from $500 to $5,000 for internationalizing the curriculum. Faculty can draw on these funds to create new courses with global and international perspectives or develop international/multicultural modules for existing courses. Projects funded during the past year have included arranging international internships for students, developing a "Survival Japanese" multimedia CD, adding nine items to the college's collection of African art, acquiring library resources for a course in Asian religions and philosophy, and beginning a collection of world music CDs to support the geography curriculum.

The University of Kansas sponsors a grant competition for developing international courses. Each year, approximately eight grants of $800 each are given to faculty who have submitted proposals to either develop a new international course or add substantial international content to an existing course. The grantees attend a workshop to share strategies and experiences.

Webster University offers a grants program that subsidizes faculty curriculum development or revises existing initiatives. The program is administered and funded by the university's Center for International Education.

5. Provide on-campus faculty workshops.

Grinnell College, through its Center for International Studies, plans to hold summer workshops on such internationalization issues as: the use of foreign languages across the curriculum; planning and implementing collaborative, interdisciplinary teaching projects with international visitors; the question of international studies as a major; international humanities courses; literature in translation, and others. Participants in these week-long workshops receive $640 for participation, and are expected to submit reports on the workshop's impact on their teaching. The Center maintains a web site with information about various faculty opportunities: http://www.grinnell.edu/cis.

Juniata College conducts regular workshops on safety and liability in off-campus programs. Workshops cover the special role of a program leader, program planning, student selection, safety and health, and liability issues.

Kapi'olani Community College offers summer institutes for faculty to assist them in developing and infusing Asian or Pacific Island content into their courses. These summer institutes have infused Asian studies into a wide array of courses across the general education curriculum.

Missouri Southern State College hosts a weekly "brown bag" lunch and learn lecture series for faculty and staff. Topics featuring international experiences are among the most popular. In the past year, lectures with international themes included "Can You Survive the Costa Rican Rain Forest?" "Southern in India," "Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall," "Nursing Students in London," "Food in the City: An Istanbul Mosaic," and "A Man Without a Stool Is a Man Without Dignity: A Presentation on African Art."

Riverside Community College provides a home on campus to the World Affairs Council, which brings in speakers and programs for community-wide activities.

San Francisco State University includes an introduction to the Office of International Programs in its new faculty orientation.

University of California, Davis pursues multiple forums for informing faculty about the international opportunities available to them. The campus holds workshops that explain Fulbright and other funding sources, and organizes an international conference for partner institutions. All events are broadly publicized through the institution's international office newsletter.

University of Kansas holds lunches for first-year faculty to orient them to the international opportunities on campus and beyond. The lunches are hosted by the staff of the Office of International Programs.

Webster University sponsors several activities each year that assist faculty with their own international development as well as their awareness of students' international opportunities. One such activity is the luncheon workshop offered each fall to stimulate faculty interest in and knowledge of the opportunities offered by the university's International Studies Program.

6. Support faculty initiatives.

Arcadia University makes it a policy to be flexible and agree to as many faculty initiatives as possible. The institution has found it important to let these initiatives evolve naturally and not force them into a predetermined framework.

Missouri Southern State College waives all fees for full-time faculty and staff to enroll in foreign language classes.

The University of Kansas encourages faculty to apply for Fulbright grants by "topping up" the award to equal the faculty member's KU salary.

Webster University has a dedicated unit in the development office that provides grant-writing assistance for faculty preparing applications to internationally oriented federal and foundation grants.

7. Support faculty reflection and integration of international experiences.

Arcadia University periodically brings together faculty who have traveled abroad, including those whose experience is limited to attending international conferences.

Delaware State University draws upon its students and faculty from abroad to help create an international atmosphere on campus. The university connects visiting and returning students, as well as faculty who participate in activities such as outreach in the surrounding community.

Kapi'olani Community College works with faculty to develop, implement, and evaluate international training proposals. The college's "Social Capital" model includes summer institutes in Asian Pacific cultures, in which there is also ongoing emphasis, as well as employing experts in internationalism.

Missouri Southern State College has established an International Experiences Forum, which brings faculty together each month to share their international experiences, ideas, and insights. The first forum featured six faculty who had led student groups abroad during spring break.

University of Richmond sponsors an international film series that provides faulty with opportunities to share their international experience through their introductions, presentations, and discussions of each film. They have found it particularly effective to combine multicultural and internationalization issues.

8. Transform the general education structure.

Binghamton University introduced a "Global Vision" requirement to its general education program that motivated departments to develop new courses. This requirement shifted faculty hiring criteria, placing new emphasis on meeting the teaching needs of these new courses, in which students have enrolled at twice the expected rate. http://oip.binghamton.edu

Juniata College's general education requirements include two courses with an international designation, as well as a Cultural Analysis sequence for two courses. The first of these is team-taught and addresses Western culture; the second compares, contrasts, or historically examines a non-Western culture. Because these team-taught courses are required for all students, many faculty participate, and are exposed to new ideas. The institution actively encourages such learning through its interdisciplinary programs.

Missouri Southern State College's general education program includes a block of courses with an international focus. Each graduate takes at least one of these courses, which include foreign languages, international geography, comparative cultures, intercultural communication, comparative religion, and international cultural studies.

9. Transform hiring, tenure, and promotion criteria.

Appalachian State University has taken the long view to overcome the concern for lack of resources and look for affordable but effective development methods. For example, the university stresses internationalization to new faculty and it plans to reward substantial efforts with merit and promotion. They expect, over time, that the dynamic will change.

Dickinson College stops the tenure clock for faculty who direct an overseas program, so that faculty are not penalized for their involvement in study abroad programs.

Kapi'olani Community College assigns dedicated time to faculty for international training and curriculum development work. The college also makes administrative adjustments that allow faculty to engage in team-teaching of core Asian courses.

Missouri Southern State College has approved a new policy to increase faculty participation in its international mission and distance learning efforts. The policy reads: "Faculty members who have spent significant time and work developing and expanding Missouri Southern's International Mission Statement are allowed to list these activities under either Scholarship or College Service."

Webster University has instituted a preference system in hiring that places additional emphasis on interdisciplinary skills for new faculty, mainly in the areas of international teaching and research. The institution intends to tie new faculty lines to interdisciplinary commitments.

Last updated: April 27, 2005