ACE Reviewers to Assess Campus Internationalization Efforts

A three-member team of reviewers from the American Council on Education’s (ACE) Internationalization Laboratory will visit Syracuse University next week to assess the University’s progress on its internationalization goals and ambitions.

The visit is one of the culminating requirements of the University’s participation in the 13^th cohort of ACE’s Internationalization Laboratory. The University was invited to join the cohort in 2015, and the commitment runs through this spring.

The visiting team, which will be on campus May 2-3, will be led by Barbara Hill, senior associate for internationalization for ACE’s Center for Internationalization and Global Engagement. Also visiting will be Hilary Landorf, professor, director of global learning initiatives and executive director of the Comparative and International Education Society at Florida International University; and David Fleshler, vice provost for international affairs at Case Western Reserve University.

“The purpose of this visit is to share collegial advice regarding the progress we have made over the last two years as a member of the ACE Internationalization Laboratory,” says Mehrzad Boroujerdi, provost faculty fellow for internationalization. “Their feedback will help advance our thinking on the multifaceted issue of comprehensive internationalization.” Boroujerdi co-chairs the University’s Internationalization Council along with Margaret Himley, associate provost for international education and engagement.

Among other activities, the team will meet with Chancellor Kent Syverud and Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly, as well as other members of the University and academic leadership teams; tour the Slutzker Center for International Services and the Maxwell School’s Moynihan Institute for Global Affairs; and meet with the University’s Internationalization Council.

Membership in the ACE Internationalization Laboratory provides participating schools with guidance and support toward advancing institutional goals relating to internationalization. Syracuse’s invitation to join the 13^th cohort followed on the heels of the University-wide strategic planning process, which identified internationalization as a key strategic goal. The plan called for a comprehensive focus—encompassing programming and curricula, expanded study abroad opportunities, cultivating global literacy, and developing strategies for better integrating international students into campus life—so that all students “engage with the world” from the moment they arrive on campus.

“Having the opportunity to be a part of the ACE Internationalization Laboratory really dovetailed with the University’s own determination that this is an area of critical importance to the University and to the students who come here,” says Himley. “The insights we gain from the ACE reviewers will further strengthen both our capacity and our resolve to prepare all students, domestic and international, for success as global citizens and professionals.”