"INTERNATIONAL education, research and service at home and abroad" -- that was the fuzzy phrase darkened in bold ink that summarized the second priority of the Commission for the Future of the University.
But despite the soothing language of the Commission's report, the only highlight that internationalization truly received was that bold-faced phrase. The University appears to be paying only lip service to this goal while dishing out some lackluster initiatives that are long on promises but short on promise.
The University does not care about what its students think about curriculum internationalization. Over the last year, the Committee on Curriculum Internationalization, headed by Ryan McElveen, had worked tirelessly to come up with a survey to gauge what students thought about curriculum internationalization, sort out the data and then prepare an open presentation to students, staff and faculty at the Dome Room of the Rotunda last week.
Yet, when I attended the presentation by the Committee, I was speechless after learning that not a single dean or provost was present for this ground-breaking event. A week after the event, I spoke to McElveen and was astounded when he told me that not a single faculty or staff member had contacted him regarding the presentation. This is unacceptable. If the administration shows no interest in what students feel about what they study and what changes they want, then we can expect little to be done about this issue.
The administration's ignorance is only exacerbated by the shocking findings that the presentation contained. A full 75 percent of those surveyed are not enthusiastic about the current state of global education at the University. Most want the Arabic, Hindi and Chinese language programs to be expanded, and would like the creation of a new African languages program. Seventy to 90 percent of respondents are unenthusiastic about current courses regarding Non-U.S./Non-European regions, with a disproportionate number of these coming from minority groups. Lastly, present undergraduate study abroad is remarkably Euro-centric in orientation, outweighing all other areas of the world combined.
If three out of every four students at the University want some reform in the curriculum, why is there so much negligence on the part of the administration to let students learn what they want? The answer has as much to do with ignorance as it does with conceit. At the Commission on the Future of the University meeting at the Rotunda held two weeks ago, the spirit of the Commission's findings did not embody the bold initiative that is required to spearhead a curriculum internationalization initiative.
The introduction of the one page handout, entitled "Strategic Directions for the Future of the University," begun with a cautious introduction centered not on massive change, but "building core strength," "further distinguishing the University," and retaining "core values." These are words that indicate very slow reform from an administration that has been averse to many changes in tradition.
"Go anywhere around the world and people will tell you that the University of Virginia has a great undergraduate experience," the presenter said. As a well-traveled international student myself, I could not help but wonder where he had been. Eighty-six percent of survey respondents said they had not gotten enough transfer credits for the International Baccalaureate program, a top notch international program that the University has stubbornly shunned for years. It only recently broke up the backward, awkward and ignorant conglomeration called the "Asian and Middle Eastern Languages" program, which belongs to the prehistoric era. And yet, the University celebrates these long overdue steps as resounding victories, as "strengths", "values" and "distinguishing" qualities. The University is far behind the other top public universities of its caliber in internationalization, like Michigan and Berkeley. Why would an international student want to come here?
And yet, the few late steps the administration does take decades after institutions of its standing have done so are blown up into revolutionary myths to fool students. A case in point was the creation of the East Asian Languages, Literatures and Cultures department -- hailed as the first program in the "southeast." Should we really be raving about how we beat the likes of Furman, Clemson and Georgia? It is interesting who the University sees itself competing with when it comes to internationalization.
Not only is the administration embarrassingly ignorant, it is also half-hearted in the initiatives it does propose. The Commission's proposed "International Center", which was the brainchild of former College Dean Ed Ayers, sounds like a promising bastion of international values. But the center will not internationalize the University as the Commission claimed to be doing in its report. As of now, it does not include schools other than the College, according to McElveen. It makes no attempt to bridge this new initiative with the International Studies Office, which handles international issues. The center will probably end up being a white elephant, a victim of a lack of coordination and narrow, half-baked vision.
The jury rendered its verdict on curriculum internationalization: Most students want it, and they want it now. A tide of change is sweeping through the University community, and the administration can either acknowledge it, or be swept away.
Prashanth Parameswaran's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at pparameswaran@cavalierdaily.com.
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