New and Notable — Global Education Milestones
Over the past five years, Fairleigh Dickinson University has made great progress toward fulfilling its mission of global education. Among the highlights, the University:
• Adopted a new global mission that builds on tradition, while offering direction for new initiatives. The mission, approved by the Board of Trustees on April 12, 2000, declares: “Fairleigh Dickinson University is a center of academic excellence dedicated to the preparation of world citizens through global education. The University strives to provide students with the multidisciplinary, intercultural and ethical understandings necessary to participate, lead and prosper in the global marketplace of ideas, commerce and culture.”• Established new formal identities for each campus. The Metropolitan Campus in Teaneck provides a university atmosphere with an international perspective attracting nearly equal numbers of graduate and undergraduate students from throughout the United States and around the world.
The 300-bed Ruther-
ford Hall at the Col-
lege at Florham is
among the most
significant recent
additions that have
enhanced the living
and learning environment at
Fairleigh Dickinson.
Fairleigh Dickinson’s College at Florham in Madison offers a classical undergraduate and graduate experience for the contemporary world — in a small college setting.
• Increased overall enrollment from 9,091 in fall 1999 to 11,381 in fall 2004, regaining FDU’s place as the largest private university in the state. Also, the number of first-time, full-time freshmen in four-year programs rose 31 percent, from 831 in fall 1999 to 1,085 in fall 2004.
• Developed a groundbreaking distance-learning program, becoming the first traditional university to require that all undergraduate students take one online course per year. The initiative not only prepares students for a lifetime of learning and communicating via the Internet, but also uses the Internet to explore global issues and perspectives. The distance-learning program has grown dramatically and, in the fall, 177 sections of online courses were available (as well as many online offerings for graduate students). The state of New Jersey and AT&T provided significant funding for the development of this program.
The first online requirement for incoming freshmen is The Global Challenge, a University Core course that explores critical global issues. The Global Challenge recently earned the Instructional Technology Council (ITC) Award for Outstanding Online Course. Sophomores choose from online offerings within their respective colleges; and juniors and seniors pick from a variety of discipline-specific courses.
• Established the Global Virtual Faculty (GVF) — now more than 50 scholars and professionals from around the world who partner with FDU faculty and, via the Internet, bring international perspectives to students. In 2003, the American Council on Education selected the GVF initiative as one of 11 programs nationwide deserving recognition for its use of technology to internationalize the curriculum.
• Created the U.N. Pathways Lecture Series in partnership with The Ambassador’s Club at the United Nations. This program brings members of the diplomatic corps to FDU for lectures and dinners. The University also regularly broadcasts videoconferences from the United Nations to its campuses and other universities.
• Earned designation as a nongovernmental organization (NGO) associated with the United Nations’ Department of Public Information. As such, students and faculty enjoy special access to U.N. facilities and programs.
• Formed a new partnership with the United Nations’ World Health Organization (WHO) to provide videoconferences featuring WHO experts and faculty/student seminars in New York City and Geneva, Switzerland.
• Enhanced the living and learning environment with major new facilities and significant renovations. A $63-million bond issue enabled FDU to complete new 300-bed residence halls on each of the two New Jersey campuses, a Fitness Center on the Metropolitan Campus and the expansion of the College at Florham’s Student Center.
The new Fitness
Center on the Metro-
politan Campus has
proven to be very
popular among stu-
dents and faculty
alike.
The University also revamped its dining halls and upgraded the residence halls. The new Chaîne House at the College at Florham is home to the International School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and the national headquarters of Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, the world’s premier gourmet society.
• Earned accreditation for the Silberman College of Business from the prestigious AACSB International – the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, an honor earned by less than one-third of the nation’s 1,200 business schools.
• Established Global Scholars and Florham Scholars programs, bringing together students for academic, residential and co-curricular activities with global themes.
• Introduced many innovative degree programs including a bachelor of arts in interdisciplinary studies, which focuses on globalization and international organizations; a BA in creative writing, the only program of its kind in the state; and an MFA in creative writing. FDU established a theater arts major, an MS in e-commerce, a BA in communication studies, a BS in information technology, an MA in educational leadership and a post-doctoral MS in clinical psychopharmacology. FDU also launched Puerta al Futuro, or Gateway to the Future, an evening and Saturday program tailored to working Hispanic/Latino adults, which allows Spanish-speaking students to develop their English skills and earn an associate in arts degree in just three years. Courses are first taught entirely in Spanish, but in the final year all courses are conducted in English.
• Continued to develop the widely acclaimed Wroxton program, and last spring 65 students — the most in more than 30 years — enjoyed this unique educational odyssey at the University’s campus in England.
An important part
of FDU’s offerings
in global education,
Wroxton College in
England continues
to provide a unique
study-abroad
experience.
Other study-abroad programs have been enhanced and relationships have been extended with institutions throughout the world. Through the newly created Office of Global Partnerships, FDU formed affiliations with institutions in countries such as India, Belize, China, Turkey, Cyprus, Monaco and the Dominican Republic, where the University has introduced a marine science laboratory.
• Extended its presence and service throughout New Jersey. For instance, new community college partnerships enable students from those institutions to earn an FDU bachelor’s degree while staying at their county college campus. Together with selected government and nonprofit organizations in New Jersey, FDU now offers graduate and undergraduate certificate programs and a 30-credit master of administrative science degree in 55 off-campus locations throughout the state.
• Via online learning, established degree-completion programs for the National Guard and associated personnel. The University created online certificate programs in global security and terrorism studies, emergency management administration, and computer security and forensics administration. These offerings can be made part of the master of administrative science degree program, which also is available entirely online. Significant funding from the U.S. Department of Defense made these online programs possible.
The University also became the primary provider of online learning for the national consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton and its 14,000 employees.
• Initiated FDU’s PublicMind, a survey research center monitoring the pulse of the state and the nation. The polling group has garnered extensive media attention with surveys on everything from cultural topics and national issues to state and local elections. (see http://publicmind.fdu.edu)
• Launched Global Issues Gateway (www.gig.org), an educational Web site providing learning resources and in-depth analysis of global topics. Global Virtual Faculty members serve as guest editors or Global Scholars in Residence and offer dispatches from their home countries. The site also offers U.N. lectures and videoconferences via streaming media.
• Responded to the needs of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey following the tragedy of September 11, 2001, when the Port Authority suffered the largest loss of life by a police department on one day in U.S. history. The organization relocated its training academy to Fairleigh Dickinson University for two years, and 548 recruits were trained on the Metropolitan Campus. The University continues to offer on-site programs for Port Authority personnel.
• Gained widespread recognition for its commitment to global education. For example: Madeleine Greene, vice president and director of the Center for Institutional and International Initiatives at the American Council on Education (ACE), said, “Thereis a strong need and an equally strong demand for international studies on campus. Fairleigh Dickinson University has taken a leadership role in the emerging field of internationalization by identifying global education as the cornerstone of its mission and in developing innovative international initiatives. … The leadership at Fairleigh Dickinson University is committed to internationalization and the faculty is engaged and active in the process.”
ACE invited the University to join its Internationalization Collaborative, and FDU was the first member to host a regional meeting exploring global learning.
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