International education at a major crossroad

Patrick O'Meara

Dean for International Programs,
IUB

The Office of International Programs is in the midst of organizing the 40th anniversary of Title VI of the Higher Education Act, to be celebrated by a national conference in Washington, D.C., next spring. The conference has a two-fold purpose, to recognize the nation's past achievements in foreign language and area studies, and to consider new directions in U.S. education that meet the global challenges of the future.

Forty years ago, in the wake of Sputnik and the Cold War, there was an urgent need to educate Americans about the languages and cultures of other regions of the world. Today, the world is radically altered, undergoing rapid and profound changes, and challenging us to compete in new ways. Two forces are driving these new competitions. Globalization is bringing about changes within both the traditional academic disciplines and interdisciplinary area studies, and technology is redefining our fundamental concepts of libraries and publishing, creating new modalities of teacher/student interaction in and out of the classroom, and expanding our educational reach far beyond mere physical boundaries.

We are at a major crossroads in international education. While in-depth understanding of other societies and cultures remains an important goal, the new dynamics are also pushing us in the direction of broader cross regional perspectives. New thematically-based international centers are being created at many universities that focus on global and transnational issues, such as the environment, women and international health, population and diaspora studies, conflict resolution and peace studies, among others.

Just one year ago, the Bloomington campus hosted the "CIC Conference on International Activities in Changing Global and Regional Contexts," attended by university chancellors and provosts, and deans and directors of international programs of the member institutions of the Committee for Institutional Cooperation (CIC), to discuss these very challenges.

What does all of this mean for Indiana University and its distinguished international tradition? We must clearly be responsive to the challenges of globalization shaping the realities of today's world. We must be willing to explore new opportunities opening up through communications technologies that promise to link our students, colleagues, and a broad based constituency at home and abroad in ever more creative and interactive ways. At the same time, we must remain dedicated to safeguarding IU's area studies centers and programs, which remain an enormous treasure and resource for the state and for the nation. I feel confident that the solid foundation in international education that IU has built up over the years will guide us steadfastly as we take on these exciting and rewarding challenges.