Baylor Hosts Big 12 International Education Conference
Baylor University's Center for International Education will host two former U.S. ambassadors and more than 40 international education directors from Big 12 Conference schools during the Mid-America Universities International (MAUI) conference Sept. 23-24.
This year's conference, which will focus on the role of university deans in international education, will begin at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, in the Gregory Room of the Bill Daniel Student Center.
Baylor Provost David L. Jeffrey will welcome the MAUI participants, including Dr. Edward J. Perkins, U.S. Ambassador to Australia from 1993-96 and currently The William J. Crowe Chair in Geopolitics and executive director of the International Programs Center at the University of Oklahoma, and Dr. Tibor P. Nagy, former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia and currently vice provost of international affairs at Texas Tech University.
At 2:30 p.m. in the student center's Beckham Room, MAUI directors will discuss deans and international education with Dr. Wallace L. Daniel, dean of Baylor's College of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Benjamin S. Kelley, dean of the School of Engineering and Computer Science; Dr. Judy W. Lott, dean of the Louise Herrington School of Nursing; Dr. Larry Lyon, dean of the Graduate School; and Dr. Terry Maness, dean of the Hankamer School of Business.
"This is the first time that this organization has met on the Baylor campus," said Dr. William A. Mitchell, The Jo Murphy Chair in International Education and director of Baylor's Center for International Education. "Baylor has become an active partner in MAUI and will continue to do so as part of Baylor 2012, the university's 10-year vision. Our leaders have put a priority on international education, and the deans are important for the success of the vision's Imperative 11, which is to emphasize global education."
Last December, Baylor was ranked second in the nation among doctoral universities for the number of students who participated in study abroad opportunities for 2000-2001. The Institute of International Education report, "Open Doors 2002," showed 996 Baylor students took advantage of the university's 31 summer and semester study-abroad programs, which are taught by Baylor faculty, and 26 exchange programs in which the student takes classes at a foreign university. Baylor's goal is to increase the participation of Baylor undergraduate students in a study abroad experience to 30 percent.
MAUI originally was founded in 1975 as the Mid-America State Universities Association (MASUA), a consortium of Big Eight universities. The International Council was first organized under MASUA and reestablished under the Association of Big Eight Universities in 1989, when it began actively to develop international projects and proposals involving member institutions. Big 12 universities, including Baylor, and other previously affiliated institutions were included in 1995.
In recent years, MAUI and its member institutions have been awarded six grants from the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) to promote the scholarly exchange of students and faculty between the U.S. and Europe. The MAUI Council also provides ongoing support to its members for development projects, responds to requests for proposals with international objectives and funds initiatives that further the global objectives of the consortium.
For more information, contact Mitchell at the Center for International Education at (254) 710-2657.