Transcript Document

“FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR
TITLE VI AND FULBRIGHTHAYS PROGRAMS”
William I. Brustein
Associate Provost for International Affairs
University of Illinois
TITLE VI 50TH Anniversary Conference
PROPOSITION:
The future of Title VI/FH depends greatly on
the ability of these programs to respond
creatively to new challenges and opportunities
emanating from the Beltway and from our
campuses
CHALLENGES
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Demonstrate to skeptics that the field of Area Studies is not
dead.
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Respond to allegations by critics that Title VI/FH has underperformed in equipping our graduates with foreign language
proficiency, in-depth knowledge of non-U.S. societies,
familiarity with critical global issues, and in placing our
graduates in national security positions
•
Carve out its own niche as other governmental and nongovernmental programs establish competitive programs (e.g.,
ROTC Language and Culture Project of NSEP)
•
Growing demand for foreign language proficiency for nonlanguage majors
CHALLENGES
•
Emphasize that Title VI/FH aims to combine the learning of foreign languages
with critical thinking skills and in-depth knowledge of world regions while
dispelling the notion that the primary objective and value of Title VI/FH is the
establishment of crash courses to deliver linguists/interpreters fluent in
critical languages
•
Operate in a fiscally-constrained environment where higher education
institutions have limited resources to hire traditional area studies scholars and
where libraries may no longer have adequate resources to maintain separate
area studies libraries and area studies librarians, and where higher education
institutions can no longer support foreign language courses with single digit
enrollments
•
Convince our campus administrators and faculty that the programs of Title
VI/FH add significant value to the institutional missions of teaching, research,
and engagement especially in light of budget rescissions and low overhead (8
percent) from Title VI grants
New Mission for Title VI/FH
•
The education of globally-competent students, that is,
students possessing a combination of critical thinking
skills, technical expertise, and global awareness allowing
them not only to contribute to knowledge, but also to
comprehend, analyze and evaluate its meaning in the
context of an increasingly globalized world so that they are
well prepared to seek and implement solutions to the
challenges of global significance (e.g., economic,
technological, political, and environmental).
Foundational Skills of Global Competence for
Faculty and Students
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Ability to work effectively in international settings
Awareness of and adaptability to diverse cultures,
perceptions and approaches
Familiarity with the major currents of global change and
the issues they raise
Capacity for effective communication across cultural and
linguistic boundaries
Comprehension of the international dimensions of field of
study
Achieving the New Mission for Title VI/FH
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Adding Value, Demonstrating Relevance, and
Enhancing ROI: Title VI/FH Principal Driver and
Locus of Campus Internationalization
– A. Reaching out beyond the humanities and social sciences
(e.g., engineering and business multi-national teams, design,
application, and marketing)
– B. Grounding study of critical global issues within world
regions—the benefits of combining general and particular
knowledge (e.g., Pitt Global Studies, Illinois JACS)
– C. Internationalize the Curriculum
Achieving the New Mission for Title VI/FH
•
D. Foreign Language Proficiency for all Faculty and
Students
– Promote advantage of Title VI/FH over competitors. Foreign
languages, by themselves, do not provide people with insight into
what people think. According to MLA 2007, “deep cultural
knowledge and linguistic competence are equally necessary if one
wishes to understand people and their communities”
– Promote two-prong approach to foreign language proficiency: one
size does not fit all
– Increase Title VI/FH funding and interest in initiatives to train
faculty in content-based language modules—including language
and non-language faculty (e.g., summer study programs both
within and outside of the U.S.)
Achieving the New Mission for Title VI/FH
•
E. Putting Smiles on the Faces of Senior Administrators:
– Internal and External leveraging of funds
– Collaboration among Title VI and other international
programs on campus (e.g., Study abroad, international
students and scholars, thematic centers)
– New approaches to adding area and international studies
faculty (e.g., “sweep-stakes”, incenting departments, focus
on professional schools)
– Embrace new models of shared services and distance
education particularly in areas of LCTLs (e.g., CIC
CourseShare) and library collections and staffing (e.g.,
enhanced web presence)
Final Thought
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Title VI/FH administrators and Program
Officers embracing the proposed added mission
and communicating them to proposal evaluators