massaal-khair

Wan shang how

It is my distinct pleasure to be with you all this evening. Before I go any further, I would like to thank the International Interest Group of the Ball State University Women's Club that has dedicated itself to ensuring that this event is an annual success. Specifically, I would like to thank Sushma Sharma, Jeanette Jones, Hope Robinson and Mary Dailey, and Deb Goens from the Rinker Center for International Programs for their work on tonight's gathering.

What a great time to be involved with international education. Study abroad programs are more popular than ever. According to the Institute of International Education, nearly 206,000 American students studied in other countries last year—that's nearly twice the number of students from just eight years ago.

And of course, as you all know, the other key component of any international studies program is having students from around the globe studying within the United States. In that realm, the current administration in Washington, D.C., is supportive of these programs. Karen Hughes, under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, stated that she is quite supportive of colleges' and universities' academic exchanges because she believes these programs have been our "single most successful public-diplomacy tool over the last 50 years."

Testimonials like that serve us well here at Ball State. But while that support helps open international doors, I believe it is the dedication of individuals and programs on our campus and the personal relationships they continually cultivate which keep those doors open for a growing number of our students.

That personal dedication has helped our programs grow. Last year, 624 Ball State students participated in study abroad programs—which is a slight increase over the previous year. (It's up from 619, which sounds too small if we put the actual amount.) In terms of international students studying at Ball State, we currently have 510 students from 84 countries—up from 495 the year before.

In fact, I would like to acknowledge the international students who are with us this evening. Would you please stand as I acknowledge your area of the world?

Would the students from Africa, please stand.

Would the representatives from India, please rise.

Would the students from China, please stand.

Would the guests from South Korea, please rise.

Would the students from Japan, please stand.

Would the students from Taiwan, please rise.

Would our guests from the Middle East, please stand.

Would the students from Turkey, Iran, the Caucuses, and Central Asia, please rise.

Would the remaining students from Russia and South and Southeast Asia, please stand.

I'd like to ask our guests from the Caribbean, including all of its countries and territories, to please stand.

Would all of the students from Europe please rise.

Would all of our guests from Latin America, including Mexico, Central, and South America, please stand.

Would all of the students from North America, please rise.

Would all of the representatives from Oceania, including Australia, New Zealand, and Papua, New Guinea please stand.

The students you've just seen, as well as the students who travel from Ball State into other corners of the world, are the best indicators of our success. The richness of their immersive learning experiences that the students gain from both traveling the globe as well as leaving their home countries to study at Ball State are our measures of greatness.

Four years ago, Ma Wei initially came to Ball State as part of the Deyang Project, a cultural exchange of 10 business and municipal leaders with our sister city in China. His impression from that initial eight-week visit was so positive, that he later returned to earn his master's degree in telecommunications, which he completed in 2006. Not wanting to end his relationship with Ball State just yet, he is now working on his doctorate in education and has the added benefit of having his beautiful wife and daughter living with him in Muncie to help him reach his goal.

Away from Muncie and half way around the world, students from urban planning, architecture, and landscape architecture are on an 11-week tour of the world. The students will trek through 24 countries seeing firsthand some of the greatest architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning projects in the world.

Other examples of international, immersive experiences include a sociology student who spent three months studying Denmark's educational system. Not only did the student visit the schools, but he was given the opportunity to teach in three of them as well.

One of our students who is majoring in religious studies recently spent a summer in Thailand to immerse himself in a religious setting outside of the United States. His experience was so positive that he was at last week's study abroad fair recommending this trip to fellow students without hesitation.

Even the center in which we have gathered this evening is indicative of the success of our international programs. Last October, we dedicated the Marshall E. Rinker Sr. Center for International Programs to honor Marshall, a businessman and philanthropist who, along with his family, has been a long-time supporter of our international efforts.

There's no doubt that Marshall would be proud of the great transformative experiences the faculty and staff running our international programs provide for our students. We are lucky to have such people who continue to add international diversity to our students' education and who help expand the world in which they live.

I would also like to thank our friendship families who open their homes to our international students and show them what American life is like away from campus. We have more than 200 families who welcome our international students to their typical family gatherings and holidays. And that number is looking to grow as we are developing a campaign to recruit even more families.

Karen Hughes went on to say that when a university has leadership that's passionate about international education, then more students will try it. Looking around this room tonight, I believe we definitely have passionate people leading our program, ones who are dedicated to continually seeking to improve and enhance our students' international experiences.

Thank you all, for what you do.