Chancellor's FYI | December 2005


	I could devote an entire column to countless examples of UW-Green Bay faculty, staff and students reaching out through International Education. Next month alone, we’ll have 60 students traveling overseas via January study tours to places like Costa Rica, India and Ecuador. Numerous UW-Green Bay faculty members travel widely to pursue research on international issues. If you read last month’s “Inside” magazine, the article about our Social Work students assisting the poor in Guatemala was a terrific example of international study with a service emphasis. Periodically, we need to step back and acknowledge the good work being achieved. I’m proud that November’s symposium on indigenous rights and land claims was so well-attended. This year’s edition of the International Social Justice Symposium (inaugurated two years ago to honor the work of our late friend, Gary Weidner) brought together scholars and activists from the United States, South Africa, Chile, Guatemala and Nicaragua. I believe those of us at UW-Green Bay and St. Norbert College were particularly pleased the Symposium put the experience of our program partners, the Oneida Nation, in global perspective. Students in attendance heard clearly the message that land issues involving the Oneidas are of interest around the world. Students benefited, too, when one of the Symposium presenters, Robin Palmer of South Africa’s Rhodes University, an authority on how humans and wildlife can co-exist when nature reserves are subject to settlement pressure, was able to extend his stay thanks to the International Visiting Scholars Program. It made for a busy November, with events spilling out of the officially designated International Education Week, the 14th through the 20th. Perhaps you caught the World Religions Panel Discussion... enjoyed the International Poetry Reading at the campus coffeehouse... or talked with a student considering international travel. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaTOP OF NEXT COLUMN		Prof. Sarah Meredith, our faculty coordinator for international education, led a workshop for those interested in leading tours themselves and expanding the array of international study options. (Prof. Meredith spoke from experience, having traveled only days earlier to the Czech Republic, where she adjudicated the International Dvorak Voice Competition. Her international connections — along with the support of local citizens including Sharon Resch — are why UWGB was able to host a preliminary round of the prestigious Montreal vocal competition.) In closing, I’ll reiterate why so many here believe, passionately, that all this matters. Yes, about 75 percent of UW-Green Bay’s students are “local” — enrolling from a dozen or so nearby counties — and about 75 percent of our graduates return to these communities to live and work. Those with a stake in globalization and the world far beyond Northeast Wisconsin, however, number fully 100 percent. Green Bay’s economy competes on an international basis. Overseas travel is relatively common. Our region grows ever more diverse. That is why our students, even (and especially) those with deep roots in local communities, demand an education with international dimensions. As has been said here before, we are more than the “connected university.” We are inter-connected, linked to people and cultures around the world. Thank you for helping UW-Green Bay pursue these goals today, and for challenging us to do even more tomorrow. Extending warmest greetings of the season, and wishing all a bright new year, Bruce Shepard

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