Spectrum - Volume 18 Issue 02 August 31, 1995 - Provost forms new council

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Provost forms new council

By Clara B. Cox

Spectrum Volume 18 Issue 02 - August 31, 1995

A University Council for International Programs has been organized to serve as an advisory group to the provost and the University Office of International Programs on the policies, guidelines, programs, and activities in support of the internationalization mission of the university.

"Over the last few monthas, I have developed a strong appreciation for the international initiatives that each college is pursuing. I believe that with greater collaboration among the colleges we could achieve a higher degree of synergy for our total international efforts," Provost Peggy Meszaros said.

Meszaros appointed Patrick Liverpool, vice provost for international programs, to provide leadership for the council. Ned Lester, director of business and community affairs, provides administrative support.

At the council's first meeting in June, Liverpool told the group that "the genesis of the council is based on the recognition that there needs to be a mechanism to ensure the involvement of a wider sector of the university community in our internationalization efforts."

Meszaros said that the university already has a good, solid foundation in international activities. But, she added, "we're not where we want to be. A land-grant university must have a strong international presence." She also asked the council to think strategically to determine what can be done in the first year, then the second and third years, because of the university's funding problems.

She suggested that the council look at international programs "in the context of our students and the exposure they will need. If we are educating people for the next millennium, we've got to open up dimensions of the world to them."

The council, she said, "will be the most visible group in promoting international activities."

Members of the council are administrators who have direct responsibility for international programs and activities in each college and related academic centers. They include S.K. DeDatta from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Paul Knox, Architecture and Urban Studies; Ron Johnson, Business; David Alexander, Education; Pam Kurstedt, Engineering; Wolfgang Glasser, Forestry and Life Sciences; Marilyn Prehm, Human Resources; Don Cordes, Veterinary Medicine; Arnold Schuetz, Arts and Sciences; John Eaton, Graduate School; and Darlene Grega, Division of Student Affairs.