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Community Colleges
California Lutheran University
http://www.clunet.edu/
Contents
General Institutional Overview
Overview of Internationalization
Efforts
- Vision and Goals for Internationalization
- Progress
- Successful Strategies
- Future Plans
General Institutional Overview
Founded in 1959, California Lutheran University (CLU) is located on a
290-acre campus in Thousand Oaks, Ventura County. From its original
class of 330 freshmen and sophomores in September of 1961, CLU has
evolved into a liberal arts--based comprehensive university of
approximately 1,800 undergraduates and 1,000 graduate students, offering
34 majors and 28 minors within the College of Arts and Sciences and the
schools of Business and Education.
CLU provides a challenging academic program that combines a
distinguished faculty, a talented and diverse student body, and an
emphasis on ethical reflection and practical engagement. Crossing
disciplinary lines, using state-of-the-art technologies, and
concentrating on a personalized education of distinction, CLU's
innovative curriculum prepares students for significant and rewarding
personal and professional lives. CLU is particularly proud of its
emphasis on diversity and global citizenship. CLU's students come from
41 states and 36 foreign countries, representing a wide array of faiths
and cultures.
Overview of Internationalization Efforts
I. Vision and Goals for
Internationalization
CLU's vision of international education stems directly from its
mission "To educate leaders for a global society who are strong in
character and judgment, confident in their identity and vocation, and
committed to service and justice." Driven by this commitment, CLU is in
the process of creating an intentional, integrative, and comprehensive
approach to international, global, and transcultural education. Rather
than simply filling in gaps (more students abroad, larger choice of
foreign languages, more global perspective courses, etc.), CLU faculty
and staff believe that this comprehensive approach must be
transformative, affecting the university's institutional culture,
values, policies, and practices and reaching across administration,
faculty, and student body.
In keeping with this vision, CLU has outlined one overarching goal:
To design and implement an organizational strategy that provides a
comprehensive approach to the sustainable improvement of
internationalism and diversity across the CLU campus community.
To meet this goal, CLU has developed the following objectives:
- Objective A: Representation--Increase internationalism and
diversity within the student body, faculty, staff, and governing
board.
- Objective B: Campus Climate--Sharpen the respect for and
appreciation of diversity and global awareness in the campus environment
and community.
- Objective C: Teaching and Learning--Expand and deepen the
treatment of various cultures of the world and the United States in the
content and delivery of teaching, academic scholarship, and study.
II. Progress
To implement these goals and objectives, CLU plans to establish a
Center for Global Diversity and International Studies that will
coordinate off-campus studies, support international student recruitment
and retention initiatives, and offer international and transcultural
studies major programs. CLU also plans to establish a President's
Council on Diversity and Internationalism, an administrative structure
to promote and sustain a comprehensive approach to diversity and
internationalization. CLU President Luther Luedtke has been an ardent
supporter and champion of internationalization, and his messages to
stakeholders have clearly advocated internationalism as an important
aspect of intellectual vibrancy and excellence.
The President's Council on Diversity and Internationalism
The council, composed of seven members, will provide leadership
throughout the university. Members would be responsible for the
following areas:
- Admissions (One Council Member)--This member will work with
the dean of Admissions and be part of Enrollment Summit meetings. The
Admissions council member would have control over specific scholarship
funds to attract international and under-represented students. These
scholarships could be used to develop a pipeline with community colleges
known for their international populations.
- Student Programs (One Council Member)--This member will work
with the dean of Students and serve as an ex officio member of the
Student Programs Committee. The Student Programs council member would
sit on the student life programs and speakers board and have access to
funds for campus activities that support internationalism and
diversity.
- Residential Life (One Council Member)--This member will work
with the dean of Students and serve as an ex officio member of the
Residential Life Committee. The Residential Life member would be
responsible for advocating and coordinating intercultural and
international activities in the residence halls.
- Academic Programs (Two Council Members)--These members will
work with the deans and the Center for Global Diversity and
International Studies to award faculty development grants that enhance
internationalism and diversity in terms of scholarship, content, and/or
pedagogical approaches to learning, and to coordinate intercultural and
international learning opportunities.
- Administration (One Council Member)--This ex officio member
of "LINK" (an existing organization of administrators), who is focused
more on campus diversity, would help develop training, mentoring, and
support programs (or portions of existing mentoring programs) that
target the needs of international and underrepresented
administrators.
- Staff (One Council Member)--This member will work with the
Office of Human Resources to develop programs attentive to the needs of
international and underrepresented staff.
The Center for Global Diversity and International Studies
In addition to the President's Council described above, the Center
for Global Diversity and International Studies would, if approved,
provide a multidisciplinary approach to diversity and internationalism.
It is designed to coordinate off-campus studies, support the President's
Council and the dean of Enrollment in international and underrepresented
student recruitment and retention initiatives, and offer an array of
international, domestic, and transcultural studies programs across the
university.
With a focus on the teaching-learning environment, the center would
reinforce the practices of widespread faculty engagement, a commitment
to student needs, an ethos of internationalism, and a supportive
administrative structure for the teaching and learning of diversity and
internationalism.
- Widespread Faculty Engagement
CLU has the human talent and interest among faculty to make important
strides in the direction of internationalism. It recently hired five new
international faculty members (out of a total of 11 openings), and more
than 15 percent of existing full-time faculty members come from
countries outside the United States. According to a recent informal
survey, the interest in international studies extends to more than
one-third of the faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences and
in the School of Business.
- Commitment to Meeting Student Needs
More than a decade ago, CLU faculty developed a general education
curriculum that focuses on international competency within the context
of the traditional liberal arts. As stated in its catalogue, "California
Lutheran University's core curriculum is future-oriented. It embodies
the intellectual legacy of the past, yet its chief aim is to prepare
students to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Core 21 is designed
to instill the habits of mind that are necessary for students to become
lifelong, independent learners and responsible world citizens who can
adapt to, create, and change the society of the future. CLU's core
curriculum is designed to prepare students for the 21st century."
Based on the goals of the Core 21 general education curriculum, CLU
offers a set of interdisciplinary courses titled "Global Perspectives."
At least one Global Perspectives course is required for each
baccalaureate degree program. Global Perspectives courses must address
issues relevant to cultures outside of the United States and Europe.
They can range from world history or world religions to more focused
work on specific regions or cultures.
In addition to global perspectives, all students must show proficiency
in a foreign language equal to at least one year of college coursework.
Currently, the foreign language program accommodates nearly 500 students
per year, with degree programs in French, German, and Spanish. In the
new language laboratory, students have access to language acquisition
programs and teleconferencing equipment, enabling them to study
languages and engage in real-time conversations with students around the
world.
Beyond the core competencies that focus on internationalism, CLU also
offers a major and minor in international studies, both of which are
currently undergoing an informal program review. Although small, they
can be revivified and play a major role in the strategic academic plan
of the College of Arts and Sciences. As part of the enhancement of
international studies, the university has negotiated exchange
relationships with organizations that provide access to programs in 21
countries throughout the world.
- An Ethos of Internationalism
With increased attention to internationalization in the form of both the
proposed President's Council and Center for Global Diversity and
International Studies, CLU can sustain and enhance the cultural change
that is already evident on campus. Increasing levels of excitement about
travel courses and international programs demonstrate that such a shift
is taking place. Providing greater emphasis on recruitment and retention
of international students is fundamental for developing an ethos of
internationalism and an environment for educational excellence at CLU.
To this end, it has initiated an International Master's Degree in
Business Administration. Other enterprises include articulation
agreements at the undergraduate and graduate levels with universities
and community colleges known for their international student
populations. The dean of Enrollment has also made internationalism a
strategic goal in his recruitment planning. If approved, many of these
enterprises will be blended into the new administrative structures being
developed to coordinate efforts and improve the general ethos of
internationalism across the campus community.
- Supportive Structures and Resources
Through the development of the proposed Center for Global Diversity and
International Studies and the President's Council on Diversity and
Internationalism, CLU would be in a position to better implement
financial and administrative support to realize its goals for
internationalization. The Center would work to develop financial and
administrative support to: facilitate faculty exchange agreements;
financially support faculty travel abroad; offer incentives for
curriculum development; provide on-campus faculty workshops; back
faculty-generated initiatives as well as support faculty reflection and
integration of international experiences; and provide more adequate
office and support staff for study abroad. The President's Council would
raise funds through foundations and donors to be earmarked for:
financial support for students enrolling in study-abroad programs;
recruitment and retention of more international students; development of
student programs focused on internationalism and diversity; and the
coordination of training and mentorship programs for international and
underrepresented administrators, faculty, and staff.
III. Successful Strategies
- Internationalization and Information Technology
CLU is in the process of implementing the methodology of the
"Transnational Classroom," which has recently been introduced to the
literary world and is fostered by the university's language program
faculty. This innovative approach is designed to connect people,
languages, and cultures using state-of- the-art equipment. For example,
the university is developing a course on the Organization of American
States through telecommunication links with ambassadors in Washington.
It is also developing classrooms that link students at CLU with students
in countries across the world.
- Internationalization and Diversity
Too often, the themes of internationalization and diversity are kept
distinct—one focusing on domestic issues while the other focuses
on global issues. CLU is combining the study of internationalization and
globalization with the study of diversity without eclipsing the
importance of either one. For example, the way in which people in
francophone countries understand multiculturalism is often quite
different from the way we conceptualize it in the United States. A
comparative analysis of diversity in a global context is fundamental to
students' understanding of the differences and commonalities they will
encounter in the world.
- Internationalization and Service Learning
CLU hosts international programs in Costa Rica and Thailand that focus
on service learning. During the programs, students work with service and
humanitarian agencies as they study abroad. Bringing the benefits of
service learning within the framework of international and off-campus
studies, these unique programs are unprecedented at CLU.
IV. Future Plans
CLU is in the process of refining the structures and responsibilities
of the President's Council on Diversity and Internationalism and the
Center for Global Diversity and International Studies. Both
organizational approaches will have an important impact on the future of
internationalization at the university.
Last updated: April 27, 2005
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