Administrators are working to make Duke a name known and respected in every house, casa, bayt, fang, maison and dom in the world.
In a report on the University's second stage of internationalization, Vice Provost for International Affairs Gilbert Merkx effectively raised the bar on Duke's goals, adding three new dimensions of internationalization and updating the four dimensions established in 1994.
The Board of Trustees tentatively approved the goals at its October meeting, and the report awaits approval by the University's senior officers before it becomes an official guideline for planning.
"Since 1994, two things have happened: First, every single goal we set for internationalization has been achieved or surpassed; second, Sept. 11 meant that we live in a very different international security environment," Merkx said. "We obviously needed some new targets." Merkx's report to the Board updates progress on the four original categories of internationalization: Undergraduate education, graduate and professional education, faculty development and University development.
It also adds three new dimensions, which Merkx said are more externally oriented: National leadership and international recognition, international partnerships with foreign institutions and cooperation for international development.
Provost Peter Lange, who chaired the committee that generated the initial goals for internationalization a decade ago, said that while the University has come a long way since 1994, there is still room for improvement.
"We can be engaged in more collaborative efforts across the world, and we can better translate our research development on campus to be of assistance in the rest of the world," Lange said. "As globalization proceeds, engagement with the world is increasingly part of preparing students to teach and live in the world."
To strengthen Duke's role as a national leader and increase its international recognition--the first new dimension of internationalization in the report--Merkx suggested that the University maintain a voice in national policy on international education issues.
He noted that Duke is now a member of the major associations that influence and create higher education policy, such as the Association of American Universities.
Merkx estimated that between 20 and 30 Duke individuals have become players in various groups engaged with policies affecting internationalization in higher education. President Nan Keohane, for example, chairs an AAU task force on the internationalization of AAU institutions. Merkx himself is on the Steering Committee of the Coalition for International Education's task force on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, which is up for renewal in 2004.
Among the recommendations outlined in Merkx's report is continued leadership by Duke officials in top education organizations--a presence that could help the University ensure the reauthorization of the HEA in a form beneficial to Duke's interests. This would include maintaining or increasing appropriations from the HEA Title VI International Education Program, which provides funds to the University's international and foreign area centers.
As part of the report's second new dimension--international partnerships with foreign institutions--it recommends the adoption of a standardized policy regulating the formation of Duke's numerous international agreements. "We want to be sure that every agreement is one that the proper people have signed on to," Merkx said.
The third dimension--cooperation for international development--includes a recommendation for the continuation of the Duke Center for International Development academic degree and executive training programs.
"The idea that universities should have a third mission besides teaching and research, namely the mission of service to society through the application of knowledge, has been part of American higher education since the 19th century," the report reads.
It also recommends the increased integration of DCID programs and faculty with other on-campus activities.
"Those are the kinds of initiatives that help more than one school and attract a lot of attention because they're very innovative," Merkx said. "If we are to put some resources into international activities, an effective way to do so is by supporting cross-school collaboration."
The report also updates the four original dimensions of internationalization. Merkx said the University needs to improve its undergraduate course offerings on certain geographic regions--particularly on Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. The report also recommends that if the University establishes new study-abroad programs, it should give priority to those outside Western Europe.
The University is also continuing its efforts to increase enrollment of foreign students. "Duke is not as well known abroad as it would like to be, or as our rankings in the U.S. would suggest it should be," said Bruce Kuniholm, professor of public policy studies and former vice provost for international affairs. "We can develop collaborations with schools abroad to increase financial aid so that students who otherwise could not afford to come to Duke would have an incentive to apply."
Merkx said the University wants to be able to offer financial aid to 40 percent of international students--the same percentage offered to domestic students--in order to increase international enrollment while maintaining a strong applicant pool. Currently only 17 percent of international students receive financial assistance.
"The problem is we cannot depend on federal loans to be a part of the aid package because they don't help with foreign students, so the money has really got to come from donations to Duke," he explained. Merkx said he hopes his report will remain high on the University's list of development goals after the completion of the current Campaign for Duke in December.
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