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Comprehensive Institutions
Fairleigh Dickinson University
http://www.fdu.edu/
Contents
General Institutional Overview
Overview of Internationalization
Efforts
- Vision and Goals for Internationalization
- Progress
- Successful Strategies
- Future Plans
General Institutional Overview
An independent, nonsectarian institution of higher education,
Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) serves nearly 10,000 students and
features campuses in Teaneck and Madison, New Jersey, as well as
Wroxton, England. FDU is a Carnegie-classified "comprehensive
university" that offers nearly 100 degree programs at the associate,
baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral levels.
Created in 1942 as an institution "of and for the world," Fairleigh
Dickinson has long dedicated itself to internationalizing the campus and
cultivating a rich understanding of our global society. FDU reaffirmed
this historic commitment in 2000 when it became the first university in
the United States to make global education the cornerstone of its formal
mission. Adopted by the Board of Trustees and endorsed by the faculty,
the mission declares that FDU is devoted to "the preparation of world
citizens through global education." It continues, "The university
strives to provide students with the multidisciplinary, intercultural,
and ethical understandings necessary to participate, lead, and prosper
in the global marketplace of ideas, commerce, and culture."
This mission, building on FDU's traditions in global education and
capitalizing on its strategic location in the New York metropolitan
area, focuses on bringing the world to FDU students and helping prepare
them and send them into the world.
FDU strongly emphasizes internationalization throughout its
curriculum and provides students with global and multicultural
perspectives. In addition to numerous study-abroad options, the
university has formed many affiliations and partnerships with
institutions overseas whereby international students study at FDU. The
university features one of the largest international student bodies in
the region, with more than 900 students (nearly 10 percent of the total
student body, or 20 percent of the student population of FDU's
metropolitan campus) from more than 70 countries. In addition, FDU has
developed a "global virtual faculty" that includes 35 scholars and
practitioners from around the world. Detailed background on all of FDU's
internationalization initiatives can be found at http://globaleducation.edu/gv.
Overview of Internationalization Efforts
I. Vision and Goals for
Internationalization
When FDU was established, the idea—as expressed by founder
Peter Sammartino—was to create an institution "of and for the
world." This required students to learn about the world by working in
the world, about social concerns by getting involved in the community,
and about global issues by spending time abroad and in different
cultures. Cultural and global awareness were hallmarks of the
institution; bold moves, such as rapidly expanding the international
programs and forming relationships with institutions throughout the
world, enabled the university to distinguish itself in the field of
international education. These traditions continue with growing
relationships overseas, significant international student enrollments,
diverse study-abroad programs, and an institution-wide commitment to
disseminate global issues and perspectives throughout the
curriculum.
In 2000, FDU formalized this historical commitment when it made
global education the focus of its formal mission. At FDU, a global
education involves much more than having international campuses or
exchange programs. It is an education that ensures its students' ability
to succeed in a world marked by interdependence, diversity, and rapid
change. Global education provides knowledge and understanding of
culture, language, geography, and global perspectives. More important,
it enables students to understand their roles in the global community
and teaches them how their actions may affect people throughout the
world, as well as how the actions of others affect them.
Underlying all the university's efforts is the promise that its
graduates will be known for two things: (1) The understanding that just
because someone is different does not mean that person is
wrong—just different, and (2) the ability to communicate with and
look at the world through the eyes of those who are different from
themselves.
Corporate leaders tell us that the next workforce generation will
need to be able to function as easily abroad and across different
cultures as it can within this country. To instill this skill within its
graduates, FDU works to make understanding global issues part of the
learning experience. The university also strives to instill in students
a sense of adventure and responsibility to make the world a better place
in which all cultures live and work.
In offering a global education, an institution needs to support its
faculty to become global resources and its campuses to become hubs of
global education initiatives. FDU has adopted such a global spirit, a
mindset that says we live in a world with boundaries made porous by
advances in technology and by needs that do not end at borders.
FDU faculty and staff believe that higher education must create an
environment in which all members of the university community can develop
greater empathy, creativity, and adaptability to people and situations:
a deeper understanding of what is universal among humans and what is
unique to specific peoples. In developing a sense of global citizenship,
one also becomes able to think more clearly about the uniqueness of
one's national citizenship.
As FDU provides a global education:
- Its students will learn how to prosper in FDU's global village.
- Alumni will forever be linked and viewed as part of a leading global
force.
- Faculty will know the joy of teaching future global citizens and
leaders.
- The university's business colleagues will be able to call on
countless talented graduates who can succeed anywhere in the world.
- FDU communities will benefit from the presence of civic-minded
innovators.
II. Progress
FDU has a documented history of action, achievement, and results in
international education, emphasizing simultaneously the importance of
bringing the world to its students and its students to the world.
Several recent initiatives illustrate FDU's progress and commitment to
leadership in global education. One unique endeavor combines
international education with educational technology and has been the
subject of national and international media coverage. Effective in fall
2001, FDU became the first university to require that all undergraduate
students take one online course per year. This distance learning
initiative begins with the freshman interdisciplinary course, "The
Global Challenge," which probes global issues within the context of
cultural, economic, moral/ethical, and scientific dimensions. Sophomores
choose from online offerings within their respective colleges, and
juniors and seniors choose from a variety of more discipline-specific
courses.
Working with campus-based faculty and interacting with students
online, the global virtual faculty (professionals and scholars from
around the world) bring a vibrant international dimension to the
learning experience by offering diverse perspectives on the issues.
Among the faculty are a senior journalist from India, a literary scholar
from Jamaica, an economics professor from Malaysia, and a European Union
lobbyist from Belgium. As of fall 2002, approximately 35 global virtual
faculty members are partnering with FDU onsite faculty in the teaching
of online courses; the number will increase to 75 by 2004.
Another recent effort bringing the world to FDU students is the
university's link with the United Nations (UN). In 2002, together with
The Ambassador's Club at the UN, the university established a lecture
series in which current and former UN ambassadors will present programs,
teach courses on campus, and broadcast discussions among panels of
ambassadors from the UN to FDU campuses. Ambassadors provide students
with insight into today's most critical issues. Spring semester
participants included Pakistani, Indian, Israeli, Spanish, and Japanese
ambassadors, as well as the president of Malta. In fall 2002, FDU will
host ambassadors from Jordan, Argentina, and South Africa, among other
countries.
FDU has become one of only three universities in the country to earn
accreditation as a nongovernmental organization associated with the UN
Department of Public Information. As such, FDU can provide its faculty
and students with special access to UN facilities and programs.
FDU's global curriculum extends beyond the freshman year to full
degree programs with global themes. For example, FDU features an MBA in
global management, and the BA in international studies is one of only a
few such programs in the country. The new BA in interdisciplinary
studies will focus on globalization and international organizations. The
Rothman Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies also is introducing a
global study certificate program. The new Global Scholars Program
provides special housing, academic programming, and scholarships for
incoming freshmen interested in global living and learning.
To bring the world to students and provide them with opportunities to
study abroad means forging partnerships with institutions overseas. Such
programs have resulted in dynamic options for students and the creation
of a multicultural and international campus setting known as the
Metropolitan Campus for Professional and International Studies, in
Teaneck, New Jersey.
Years before it became fashionable to do so, FDU reached across
borders to extend its educational community. In 1965, it became the
first American university to open its own campus overseas (Wroxton
College in England). The campus provides students with challenging
undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as special seminars and
cultural experiences in England and throughout Europe.
The Wroxton College program is complemented by a wide variety of
other international programs and relationships with institutions in
countries such as Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, Poland, and
Switzerland. FDU's latest partnership with Intercollege enables students
from Cyprus to complete a bachelor's degree at FDU. The partnership
eventually will enable FDU students to travel to Cyprus to complete a
cultural immersion experience and will enable faculty exchange programs.
FDU is forging new agreements with institutions in Thailand, India,
Malta, and China. The university's summer English cultural immersion
program for students from Korea has been expanded to three Korean
universities.
Providing Americans with a gateway to the world has long been a
hallmark of this institution. FDU's Office of Global Relations regularly
introduces exciting study-abroad opportunities and this year offered
trips to Mexico, Russia, and Italy. Next year, the university will offer
programs in Mexico, Peru, and South Africa. Students in many programs of
study take advantage of the Wroxton Campus and other study-abroad
opportunities. For example, students in the School of Hotel, Restaurant,
and Tourism Management explore global hospitality issues while studying
in Switzerland.
But FDU also brings faculty and students from throughout the world to
its New Jersey campuses. The uiniversity enrolls more than 900 students
from more than 70 different countries (this represents nearly 10 percent
of FDU's total student body, or 20 percent of the student population at
the Metropolitan Campus).
III. Successful Strategies
Three of FDU's successful strategies are detailed below.
- Fusing educational technology with international education (via
online contributions from global virtual faculty).
Online learning at FDU is viewed as part of its mission to prepare
global citizens. Faculty and staff at FDU believe that distance learning
can offer something different from traditional classroom education,
something that will enhance the total learning experience. That view has
led FDU to develop a new paradigm for distance learning and its
benefits. In addition to providing proficiency in web-based instruction,
distance learning can offer global perspectives unavailable through
standard classroom models (http://globaleducation.edu/ge/mission.html).
Perhaps the most innovative part of FDU's distance learning initiative
is the Global Virtual Faculty—world-class scholars, professionals
and experts from around the globe. Working with onsite faculty, the
Global Virtual Faculty program brings a global dimension to the learning
experience by offering an online dialogue of different views and
observations on the issues being studied. Typically, a Global Virtual
Faculty member partners with an onsite faculty member to teach an online
course. The faculty come from a variety of backgrounds and include such
individuals as a former head homicide investigator for Scotland Yard, a
senior journalist from India, a historian from the Caribbean, an Arabic
language and literature instructor from Egypt and an economist from
Australia. (http://www.globaleducation.edu/gv).
- Establishing collaborative partnerships with institutions
overseas.
FDU forms partnerships and collaborations with institutions overseas in
order to provide distinctive and mutually beneficial programs for
educators and students.
For example, according to FDU's agreement with Intercollege, students
from Cyprus can complete bachelor's degrees at FDU. They spend their
first two or three years of study enrolled in the Intercollege programs
in Cyprus that are articulated with the FDU curriculum and then attend
FDU for one or two years of additional study. This partnership will
eventually allow FDU students to study in Cyprus, as well as enable FDU
faculty to teach at Intercollege and Intercollege faculty to become
involved with the Global Virtual Faculty program.
Thus, international students can earn an American degree; students here
have the opportunity for a true cultural immersion experience; faculty
cross-fertilization occurs through web-based and onsite exchange; and
intercultural, international dialogue is enhanced. Perhaps most
important, FDU maintains the integrity of local educational programs,
thus ensuring a distinctive experience for all students.
- Forming close links with the United Nations.
FDU has been associated with the UN since the organization's inception
in 1945. FDU founder Peter Sammartino regularly invited UN Ambassadors
to speak and teach on campus. FDU President J. Michael Adams, who for
the past two years has served as the honorary New Jersey chairman of
United Nations Day, has renewed that emphasis. In addition, FDU has been
granted nongovernmental organization (NGO) status, enabling students and
faculty special access to UN programs and resources (http://www.globaleducation.edu/2un).
With its links to the UN, the university can remain informed about and
involved in issues that concern global leaders. Most important, students
will meet global leaders and gain a greater appreciation for the
international discourse needed to combat the complex challenges of the
21st century. Deepening contacts with world leaders will foster and
inspire the addition of further international components to the
curriculum and campus life.
IV. Future Plans
FDU is in the process of disseminating its global education focus
beyond the bounds of the university through several major national and
international initiatives:
- The university is developing a Global Issues Daily web site, an
educational site for those interested in issues arising from the rapid
exchange of goods and ideas across increasingly porous geographic and
cultural borders. The prime mission is to serve as a discriminating
source of news, information, and commentary that illuminates the impact
of globalization on societies, institutions, and the daily lives of
people throughout the world.
- FDU and the Ambassador's Club at the United Nations have, in the
past year, collaboratively produced interactive videoconference programs
featuring UN ambassadors for student and faculty audiences at FDU's two
New Jersey campuses. The university intends to collaborate with several
UN-affiliated organizations to use communications technologies to
further mutual goals. For example, FDU sees videoconferencing as an
opportunity to bring programming from the UN to a broad network of
colleges and universities throughout the United States, and thereby
foster civil discourse and strengthen the receptivity of Americans to
the work of the UN.
- Consistent with the university's mission of global education, and
its growing expertise in delivering an interdisciplinary distance
learning curriculum that engages global themes and global faculty
resources, FDU will offer "The Global Challenge" via the Internet to a
national audience of high school seniors. This course will carry three
college credits that will be transferable to most higher education
institutions in the United States. FDU coordinators anticipate that at
least one-third of the student audience will come from underserved
populations. Each section of the course will be instructor led, and most
sections will include a Global Virtual Faculty partner. Through this
program, students will be exposed to rich global content and knowledge
resources they will be unlikely to have encountered elsewhere in their
high school studies. Consequently, they can better collaborate with and
react to others with understanding and compassion in an increasingly
interconnected world.
Last updated: April 27, 2005
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