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Comprehensive Institutions
St. Mary's University
http://www.stmarytx.edu/
Contents
General Institutional Overview
Overview of Internationalization
Efforts
- Vision and Goals for Internationalization
- Progress
- Successful Strategies
- Future Plans
General Institutional Overview
St. Mary’s University is a comprehensive, independent, Catholic
university in San Antonio, Texas. The university serves a student
population of 4,200 undergraduate, graduate, and law students and is a
federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution. The oldest and
largest Catholic university in the Southwest, St. Mary’s was
founded and fostered as a community of faith for the advancement of the
human family, dedicated to a common educational venture, to a life of
scholarship, and to the extension of service to society. St.
Mary’s provides a Catholic education experience that evokes
academic excellence while integrating liberal studies, professional
preparation, and ethical commitment.
Founded in 1852 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), the university
was conceived in an international context and has long recognized the
importance of a global perspective to its educational programs. Located
in south Texas near the Mexico-U.S. border, the culture and financial
interests of San Antonio reflect the close international ties between
Mexico and this region. St. Mary’s University recognized more than
10 years ago that it is ideally located to meet the challenge of
providing its students with the education and training needed to be
successful in an increasingly interconnected world: (1) It serves a city
and region interested in securing a share of the transborder business
activities (involving the United States, Canada, Mexico, and other parts
of South and Central America) that are predicted to grow substantially
by 2020; (2) its student body is ethnically and culturally diverse
(e.g., 64 percent of the undergraduate student body is of Hispanic
background); (3) its educational philosophy seeks to achieve a balance
between maintaining a liberal arts foundation and developing appropriate
discipline-based skills; and (4) it has an administrative heritage that
underscores a commitment to meeting the changing needs of its
students.
St. Mary’s University is proud to be a leader in the
internationalization of undergraduate education. The university
undertook early initiatives to internationalize its undergraduate
programs, as evidenced by the successful introduction in 1953 of an
international relations program. St. Mary’s also was a pioneer
among minority-serving institutions in developing an international
business major in 1980 and in introducing its unique multinational
organization studies (MOS) program in 1986. These international program
initiatives have as their educational core an interdisciplinary approach
that provides students with a broad perspective of global issues,
complementing the liberal arts nature of the university. St.
Mary’s University is proud of the longevity, success, and quality
of these international, interdisciplinary programs. The
university’s collegial environment, along with its open form of
governance, facilitated the development of these programs.
Overview of Internationalization Efforts
In addition to recognizing the need to offer well-designed
international undergraduate education programs, St. Mary's University
understood the importance of providing international exposure and second
language competency to a broad range of undergraduate students,
regardless of their major. For example, as of 1986, all undergraduate
business majors are required to take an international business survey.
As part of its Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum (FLAC) program
(initiated in 1991), St. Mary's offers courses that integrate either
Spanish or French language literacy with economics, business, computer
science, drama, engineering, literature, and political science courses.
Undergraduate students also have the opportunity to gain either a broad
or a specialized perspective by participating in a variety of
study-abroad options.
In support of these programs, St. Mary’s University provides
opportunities for faculty to strengthen or develop language skills,
develop new approaches to teaching that include a global perspective,
and stimulate an interest in the international dimensions of their
disciplines. For example, faculty members have the option of
participating in study-abroad programs, engaging in international
research projects, or participating in faculty exchange programs.
I. Vision and Goals for
Internationalization
As expressed in its mission statement, St. Mary’s is able to
adapt quickly and creatively to the changing needs of students and
faculty. St. Mary’s also strives for the continual development of
effective and participative structures and modes of education that
foster excellence. As such, the university has and is responding to a
rapidly changing, increasingly interconnected world by having a vision
that (1) is interdisciplinary, (2) provides flexibility in
international options and experiences, and (3) encourages faculty
growth through international experiences and the
internationalization of their areas of expertise. This vision strives
for coherence in the internationalization of the campus that provides
students and faculty with an international understanding of the world,
regardless of whether they leave the campus.
Goals:
- Expand opportunities for students and faculty to participate in
study-abroad opportunities.
- Increase funding to all areas of study abroad.
- Increase opportunities for students who cannot travel abroad to have
an international “experience.”
- Increase connections with our foreign students in creative ways.
- Improve assessment of all international activities.
II. Progress
Overall, the university has made steady progress in its
internationalization efforts. As a small, private institution, St.
Mary’s continually faces a shortage of resources. Several
organizational changes implemented during the past two years have given
greater visibility to the internationalization process:
- A university-wide oversight committee comprising key faculty and
professional staff was created to monitor and coordinate the various
schools’ and individual faculty members’ international
activities.
- The position of Director of International Education Programs was
created to support and coordinate the activities of the various
international programs.
- The position of Coordinator of International Student Services was
created to handle the academic, technical, and personal concerns of the
university’s international student body. The university has signed
several new agreements with foreign institutions.
III. Successful Strategies
Federal and foundation grants have been critical to the
university’s ability to start new programs and expand others that
have grown beyond funding capacity. For example, the School of Business
and Administration has implemented a new curriculum with strong
international components for undergraduates and graduates.
A funding campaign is currently underway to endow a new Institute for
the Study of Asian Development.
Maintaining an interdisciplinary team to provide a vision for the
overall development of international programs has also been important.
This group brings a breadth of experiences to the discussion of program
review and implementation. It serves as fertile ground for creative
planning.
Strong faculty development initiatives also have proven vital to
implementing and sustaining new programs. They have been key in
developing the creative changes in the Business School. St. Mary’s
needs to do more of this in its other schools.
IV. Future Plans
- Expand the MOS internship program to include Brazil (2002–03
academic year).
- Develop a new interdisciplinary international studies program for
international business (IB), industrial relations (IR), and MOS students
that will lead to a Certificate in Southern Cone Studies
(2002–03). The program leading to this certificate will consist of
three parts:
- First, students will be required to take four courses at St.
Mary’s that will give them a strong interdisciplinary background
in the Southern Cone region (with an emphasis on Brazil and Chile),
including its history, cultural heritage, political economy, and
business environment. Students also will take at least two years of
language instruction in either Portuguese or Spanish.
- These courses will serve as preparation for the second component of
the program, a summer in either Brazil or Chile, where students will
take specialized courses related to the country and the language they
studied at St. Mary’s.
- Third, students will participate in a field team project that will
start before they leave for their summer abroad and will be completed
upon their return. The project will require that students work in
interdisciplinary teams (i.e., MOS, IR, and IB students) and prepare a
report on an assigned topic related to the country where they study
abroad.
- With the help of a third U.S. Department of Education grant, plans
are underway to develop at the graduate level an interdisciplinary
concentration in international business. The new program, tentatively
titled “Managing Across the Americas,” will include three
components:
- An overview of the Americas (e.g., history, economic trends,
political trends in and across the Americas).
- Business strategy formulation for the Americas.
- Operational skills for the Americas. Students will be required to
have a Portuguese- or Spanish-language capability and to complete a team
field study involving a company in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, or Chile;
two Country Analysis Projects (selected from Argentina, Brazil, Chile,
or Mexico); or an internship in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, or the
United States (only if an international student).
- University administrators are making plans to endow an international
education fund across all disciplines of the university and will submit
them to the St. Mary’s Development Office for inclusion in the
next endowment drive. Income from the endowment will be used to fund
student scholarships for study abroad, to further develop the Office of
International Programs, and to provide faculty support when undertaking
international research and international development in their area of
expertise.
- In 1999, the University Board of Trustees approved the creation of
an Institute for the Study of Asian Development. One unique aspect of
this program will be to have St. Mary’s University students join
students from Chengchi University for a research trip to a developing
nation such as Bangladesh, Nicaragua, or Haiti. This truly will be a
cross-cultural experience.
Last updated: April 27, 2005
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