- The President's Perspective

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- In Memoriam 

A world of difference
By Robert Glidden

It is natural for parents to want more opportunities for their children than they had as young people themselves. The same can be said of university presidents and the experiences they desire for their students. I am proud to be able to speak from both perspectives.

The cover story of this Ohio Today is devoted to Ohio University’s international pursuits. These endeavors have drawn to Athens this year 1,200 students from 104 countries, students who enrich classroom discussions and enhance campus life. Similarly, our international ties allow more than 600 students and faculty to travel abroad each year to glean an understanding of other cultures.

Rick Fatica

Student Nakrob Wanichnukhrox performs at a campus event.

As an institution, these endeavors are among our highest priorities. Considering the academic, professional and personal benefits they provide, it is easy to understand why this is so.

Although I hardly considered education abroad as a student myself, I have been fortunate to see the effect such experiences have had on two of my three daughters. Their time in Italy, England and Sweden awakened their intellectual interest in a number of areas, many related to their fields of study and others that provided deep personal enrichment.

I see the same transformation in Ohio University students returning from Leipzig, Germany; Hong Kong; or Quito, Ecuador. Whether their experiences spanned two weeks or two years, their minds have been opened to new ways of thinking and interacting with others.

Many of us grew up at a time when education abroad was considered a bonus, even frivolous perhaps. In tomorrow’s world, it will be a necessity.

Rick Fatica

The International Street Fair brings culture to uptown Athens.

Technology has made ours a smaller planet, one where a company can conduct a transaction with a business partner around the globe as easily as it can with one around the block. Researchers collaborate with peers not only in their own labs or those of other U.S. universities but with scientists in Asia, Europe and South America.

It would be foolish not to expand students’ horizons to the possibilities around the world. Much more than their parents and grandparents, they will be global citizens.

Fortunately, like most things at Ohio University, our international ventures have a history.

My most recent predecessors — John Baker, Vernon Alden and Charles Ping — were keenly aware of the advantages students could realize from study abroad as well as the insights and perspectives international students could bring to Athens. They forged relationships that remain intact today, agreements that we have been able to build on and supplement.

I have high aspirations for our international relationships, goals that will be accomplished with the success of our ongoing Bicentennial Campaign. Specifically, we want to double the number of students we send abroad by 2004 and recruit more international students to campus.

During my seven years as president, I have traveled throughout the world to establish ties with other higher education institutions. The experiences have helped me see more clearly the cultural nuances one must learn to be effective in a professional setting. I also have a new sense of world history that you just can’t get from books.

I realize more than ever the personal growth students gain from studying in other lands and sharing their classrooms with students from other cultures. When they put themselves in a different context, they see the world — and themselves — much differently.