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Institute of
International Education
809 United Nations Plaza
7th Floor
New York, NY 10017
USA
Tel: +1 (212) 984 5367
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IIENetworker University Presidents Interview Series |
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A Conversation with President John B. Simpson, University at Buffalo
 By Shannon Bishop
In an effort to provide readers with a perspective on how the upper levels of higher education administration interpret the importance of internationalization and the role of the university in promoting it, IIENetwork presents the University President’s Interview Series.
To start off this new series, IIENetwork interviewed University at Buffalo, The State University of New York President John B. Simpson. President Simpson has led UB since 2004 and recently participated in the delegation of 12 university presidents that recently visited China, Japan and Korea, led by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Dina Habib Powell.
This interview was conducted in March 2007
IIENetworker: You recently participated in Secretary Spellings’ Delegation to Promote U.S. Higher Education in Asia. What was your motivation to participate and what were your impressions of the trip?
President Simpson: I was honored to be invited on this first-ever senior level trip to promote U.S. higher education abroad. Recognizing the importance of international education, and the critical role that international students and scholars play at my own institution and at universities across the country, I felt it was important to take part in this unprecedented initiative to engage with students, university leaders and government officials in leading sending countries. The trip allowed us to spread our message about the attractiveness of U.S. higher education, and also to hear what our hosts had to say both about their own systems of higher education and about their concerns regarding access to our system.
By reaching out to students and colleagues in Japan, Korea, and China, we gained a more informed perspective on our own system, and learned a great deal about the extraordinary transformations occurring in Asian higher education today. I marveled at what I saw of recent developments in this regard in northeast Asia--the impressive expansion of higher education, the striking reforms underway, the sense of optimism one sees everywhere. I couldn't help feeling a bit envious at what I saw in Asia, and I came away more convinced than ever of the value to our own students of visiting these countries and gaining experience of their systems of higher education.
One of the highlights of the trip for me was to witness in Beijing the signing of an MOU by Secretary Spellings and Zhou Ji, China's Minister of Education and a distinguished alumnus of the University at Buffalo. Minister Zhou, formerly an international student at UB, is now responsible for the largest educational system in the world. His experience at our university is helping shape China's agenda for educational development in the future.
As my discussions with university leaders and government officials have confirmed, international education plays a critical role in “soft diplomacy.” Academic exchange and collaboration across cultural and national borders are enormously important to fostering goodwill, building lasting diplomatic ties and creating a global culture of understanding and cooperation.
I have to say that participating in the Secretary Spellings-led delegation to Asia and the U.S. University Presidents’ Summit on International Education that inspired it not only were great learning opportunities for me, but also enhanced my own commitment to international education.
IIENetworker: Has your institution’s focus on international education changed since September 11th? How?
President Simpson: UB’s international focus long predates 9/11. However, that event certainly focused attention, both locally and nationally, on international affairs, and especially the United States’ role in the world. I think it also highlighted the need for Americans to better understand the cultures, histories and perspectives of peoples around the world, and especially those wishing to do us harm. The difficult truth is that prior to 9/11 there had been a significant degree of insularity in the U.S., particularly with respect to the Middle East and the larger Islamic world.
At institutions like UB that enroll a large number of students from countries with significant Muslim populations, 9/11 also heightened awareness of domestic attitudes toward international students. I am happy to say that after 9/11, UB did not experience even one incident of anti-Muslim or anti-Arab harassment. While our international students were understandably anxious following the attacks, they were reassured that they continued to be valued at our institution.
Of course, our government’s limits on access to higher education by foreign nationals made it appear that the United States did not welcome international students. I am pleased to say that that situation has changed recently with strong efforts by the federal government to reduce obstacles to access, facilitate the student visa process and promote U.S. higher education abroad.
In light of what the past few years has shown us about the U.S. role overseas and the need for better understanding of the world outside our borders, I would say that 9/11 and its aftermath have renewed and strengthened our commitment to international education. We have been gratified that our students, like many of their counterparts around the country, have not been deterred from going abroad as a result of 9/11.
In fact, UB has seen a doubling of our study abroad participation rate, suggesting that our students have learned from 9/11 how important it is to better understand the larger world by gaining firsthand experience through education abroad.
IIENetworker: In your opinion, what are the most effective ways to produce globally competent citizens?
President Simpson: Producing globally competent citizens is a critical challenge for UB. While education abroad is essential if students are to gain global competence, it is not, by itself, sufficient. UB currently is undertaking a strategic planning exercise that will identify ways our institution can better enhance curricular offerings that not only support foreign language and area studies offerings, but serve to internationalize the broader curriculum—beyond general education—to ensure our students graduate with a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the larger world.
One initiative we are implementing at UB is a unique “Undergraduate Academy” focused on “Global Affairs/International Community,” which not only provides much needed curricular emphasis on this area, but also brings U.S. and international students together in structured ways to promote cross-cultural exchange.
Ensuring that the next generation of students acquires global competence—the knowledge and skills needed to succeed both professionally and personally in an increasingly globalized, interdependent, and cross-cultural working and living environment—is critical to their own success and the long term competitiveness and security of the United States. In the global marketplace of the 21st century, our students face growing competition for jobs and economic opportunity from university graduates from Europe, China, and India, most of whom are multilingual and at home in cross-cultural environments.
For a long time, there has been a sense that UB is a haven for people who want to go out and make their community a better place – either here or abroad. We therefore need to ensure that we are equipping students with the skills and experiences to do just that.
IIENetworker: Have any international experiences shaped your career? How?
President Simpson: As a young scientist working in the field of neurophysiology, I found myself part of an international community of researchers from the very beginning of my career. My early mentors and collaborators included a number of scientists either from, or based in, other countries. I tended to take for granted the international makeup of the scientific community. In a sense, I had colleagues everywhere and we all spoke the common language of our discipline.
My first extended overseas experience came during a sabbatical I spent at the Howard Florey Institute at the University of Melbourne, Australia’s leading brain research center. While the purpose of my trip was to do research at one of the best institutes of its kind, my time in Australia afforded me the opportunity to appreciate the extraordinary natural beauty and distinctive culture of that country. The people I came to know there were most welcoming and helpful, and I found myself quite at home in Australia. It was a very enriching experience.
IIENetworker: What do you see as the main challenges in internationalizing your campus?
President Simpson: Our university has many longstanding international connections and is well known around the world. We have extensive experience with bilateral and consortial exchanges, joint research and scholarly activities with foreign colleagues, the delivery of academic programs overseas, and partnerships with overseas institutions on a variety of innovative projects.
Moreover, we have one of the largest international enrollments in the country, with over 4,000 international students from more than 100 countries. In fact, among public research universities in the U.S., we have the highest proportion of international students in our total enrollment. However, we have been somewhat less successful in bringing the benefits of internationalization to our students and faculty on the home campus. We need to afford increased opportunities for our students, as well as our faculty and staff, to gain meaningful and relevant international experience. I have made this a priority for my administration.
This is an area in which UB can learn from the outstanding example of institutional leaders in the task of campus internationalization. Many fine institutions around the country have taken the lead in this regard, and we are seeking to learn from their best practices—recognized through IIE’s Heiskell Award competition and NAFSA’s Simon Award—how to more fully globalize our university and the education our students receive.
IIENetworker: How do you get the community involved in your institution’s internationalization activities?
President Simpson: All of us at UB witnessed the extraordinary value of community engagement in our efforts to internationalize when the university recently hosted His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama’s three-day visit afforded us the opportunity to work with a variety of local organizations and groups to promote community involvement and to maximize the educational impact of the visit.
UB and the community collaborated on a variety of successful programs organized in connection to the visit, including a special course on Tibetan Buddhism, a Tibet-in-Buffalo film festival held in downtown Buffalo, a major interfaith service during the visit involving leaders from all the major religious communities of Western New York, and a range of special exhibits, lectures and performances in which the larger community was encouraged to participate.
We were overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response of the Western New York community and the strong participation in campus activities by many in the Buffalo area and beyond.
That’s because community engagement, like international education, is one of the priorities of our university. We partner with the community in the international area in many different ways. For example, our International Education Week celebrations, which we have observed annually since 2001, not only bring community members to campus for special lectures, performances and other international cultural activities, but also include outreach programming in the community such as international film series and other events.
As well, we work with a variety of community organizations such as the International Institute of Buffalo in conducting international programming, hosting international speakers and other visitors, and arranging home hospitality with local families for international students and scholars at UB.
Situated at the border with Canada, UB engages the community on many levels with respect to our larger bi-national region and is involved actively in a myriad of activities—in research, education and public service—carried out with Canadian partners and having a positive impact on the larger cross-border community.
One example is the Regional Institute in our Law School, which monitors and analyzes the “state of the region” in its many dimensions—economic, political and cultural—and whose purview is the Niagara region comprising Western New York and Southern Ontario.
UB is also involved in a host of collaborative international research endeavors in partnership with companies in Western New York and throughout the state. In fact, through such partnerships UB often serves as a catalyst for local business and trade initiatives overseas.
Internationalization Fact Sheet:
Name of institution: University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
Location: Buffalo, New York
Total enrollment: 27,220
Number and percentage of international students on campus: 4,072 (15% of total enrollment)
Number and percentage of students that go abroad: 472, 10.72% of undergraduates
Number of Fulbright grantees (outgoing): 41 students since 1994; 30 faculty since 1994
Number of Fulbright grantees (incoming): Approximately 125 grantees since 2000
Number of Gilman Grantees: 4 students since 2001
Number of foreign languages offered on campus: 16
Foreign language requirements at the institution: Undergraduates must complete second-semester course or demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English equivalent to completion of one second-semester course.
Number of university-run study abroad programs: 55
Number of exchange programs: 50 active bilateral exchange programs with leading institutions in all world regions.
Shannon Bishop is Program Manager at the Institute of International Education.
This interview was initially published in the Spring 2007 issue of IIENetworker magazine.
Photos Captions:
John B. Simpson, President
UB international students meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama
President Simpson with Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings on higher education delegation in Asia
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