During her two-day visit to campus, Senior Associate for Internationalization Barbara Hill of the American Council on Education discussed Geneseo’s custom “stamp” and how it can help develop the college’s participation in the ACE internationalization laboratory. Since 2003, ACE has helped 79 institutions with their internationalization efforts. From the get-go, Hill has been involved in the ACE’s Center for Internationalization and Global Engagement that heads the laboratory. She said she knows all of the problems that Geneseo will most likely run into. Hill made it clear, however, that she will “never expect [Geneseo] to just do what others have done.”
Rather, she encourages every institution to “put its personal stamp on whatever it does,” she said. As for Geneseo, the “stamp” is placed upon liberal arts education and student success, Hill said.
Another lies within service learning by “strengthening engagement that promotes the application of knowledge,” Hill said. She recognized the multi-departmental efforts surrounding the service learning in El Sauce, Nicaragua.
Hill said she will provide adaptations and improvements for Geneseo, but similarly, she wants the college to recognize its vision and reflect upon its progress over the years in order to celebrate it and develop it further.
At this point, only a couple months into the 16 to 20-month program, the administration and faculty are just beginning to “develop a capacity, capability and strategy for comprehensive internationalization,” Hill said.
Hill additionally met with Interim President Carol Long, Interim Provost David Gordon and all vice presidents within the college between Tuesday Oct. 22 and Wednesday Oct. 23.
The leadership council and its team will begin to collect data through the fall 2013 semester before analyzing it in the spring 2014 semester.
The team is directed under the leadership council – comprised of co-chairs associate professor of communication Meredith Harrigan and Distinguished Teaching Professor of English Ron Herzman, in addition to Gordon and Assistant Provost for International Programs Becky Lewis.