Largest Cohort of ACE’s Internationalization Lab Yet Begins Work
August 20, 2019

​​ACE's ever-popular Internationalization Laboratory reached new heights earlier this month with the convening of the 17th cohort and the addition of several new Lab advisors.

The 2019-21 cohort has a record-breaking 18 members, including three from Brazil. The Brazilian institutions were sponsored by CAPES, a foundation within Brazil's Ministry of Education that coordinates efforts to improve the quality of the country's higher education personnel.

 The participating institutions include:

  • Bethany College​
  • California State University, San Bernardino
  • Loyola Marymount University
  • Mercer University
  • Purdue University Northwest
  • Rhodes College
  • Sinclair Community College
  • Southern Illinois University Carbondale
  • The College at Brockport-SUNY
  • Universidade Estadual de Maringá
  • Universidade Federal de Goiás
  • Universidade Federal do Pará
  • University of California, San Diego
  • University of Delaware
  • University of Missouri-Kansas City
  • University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  • University of North Georgia
  • York College of Pennsylvania

Four new Lab advisors, experts with a wide range of background and experience in campus internationalization, were added to support the growing number of participants though the process. Each Lab institution is assigned a lead Advisor with whom it works closely, but all benefit from the collective expertise of the full advising team.

Joining the team this year are:

  • Penelope “Nell" Pynes, associate provost for international programs at University of North Carolina Greensboro
  • Cheryl Matherly, vice president and vice provost for international affairs at Lehigh University
  • Ross Lewin, associate vice president for international affairs at the University of Maryland
  • David Fleshler, vice provost for international affairs at Case Western Reserve University

At the opening meeting, participants met and networked with each other, learned more about the Lab, and prepared for the work ahead. Robin Helms, ACE's director for internationalization and global engagement, explained how to be strategic about internationalization, saying, “Comprehensive internationalization is not just this checklist of things we're doing," but should reflect an institution's values.

In a group discussion that followed, participants considered the “soul" of their own institutions and how it relates to their internationalization goals. Andrew Carver of Southern Illinois University Carbondale described the Lab as a “now or never" opportunity to bring ACE's resources into his university's strategic planning process and get more eyes on the plan. Others agreed that obtaining institutional support for their participation was not a hard sell, given the need for updated and well thought-out internationalization strategies in today's higher education landscape.

The next gathering of the full cohort will take place in February 2020.

Interested in joining next year's cohort? Contact Robin Matross Helms at rhelms@acenet.edu.