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PM 82-27

8/31/82

President Donald R. Gerth

Support for International Education at CSU Dominguez Hills

1. A Dominguez Hills International Center is established as of September 1, 1982.  The center will serve as a focal point for the concern of the university with international education.  While not all activities that are international in scope are to be administered directly in the center (for example, international student advising and the participation of the university in The California State University International Programs will remain in their present location in University College*), the center will serve as a physical and administrative focal point for the university in the leadership and coordination of our international interests.  The center will also serve as the principal point for the development of new and expanded international interests on the part of the university.

2. The position of Director of International Programs is established as of September 1, 1982 for the initial year, an important developmental period; a regular on-campus search will be held next Spring.  This will be initially a part-time administrative position to be occupied by a member of the CSUDH faculty.  The director of the center will report to the President.  I am asking Dr. Wayne Martin, who serves as chair of the Task Force, to take this assignment.

3. The International Education Committee is established as of the Fall Quarter of 1982.  The functions of the International Education Committee will be those outlined in the report.  This committee is to be perceived as a working committee of campus and community persons with interests and abilities, correlated to one or more of the primary components of a comprehensive international education program.

4. Early items on the committee agenda should include the utilization of the skills and time of individual committee members to address initial developmental work, the encouragement of committee members to become aware and appreciative of a comprehensive picture of international education thereby strengthening a sense of purpose in the university and place for the university in a long-run strategy of development and direction.

Members of the International Education Committee will be drawn from faculty, students, staff, and members of the community.  The Director of the International

Education Center and the President (or a designee) will serve as ex officio non-voting members.

*The program is currently under the Office of Academic Affairs.

At least one member will be appointed from the Council of Deans, and the Dean of University College* will have two appointments on the committee, to represent university concerns with international student advising and with The California State University International Programs.  An international student will be a member.

1.       The center, the director, and the committee should take as their charge the spirit and purpose set forth in a number of key documents addressing international education on this campus, including the reports prepared on foreign students in the Spring of 1980, earlier work of the Academic Senate, and the report of the Task Force on International Studies.

2.       This entire effort is to be evaluated during the Spring Quarters of 1983 and 1984 in order to assess its impact and utility for the university.

I hope for the university to become a leader in public international education by strengthening the international programs which it now has and planning for and developing new ones.  We intend to utilize campus and community resources to meet the general need in our society for global perspectives and for university graduates who are able to meet the challenges and opportunities of an increasingly interdependent world.

There are several things which I hope to see accomplished during the next two years.  One specific objective will be to review the international and foreign language curriculum at CSUDH, an effort now being initiated by the Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts.  Our campus is located centrally in the Pacific Basin which ranges from the west coast of Canada, the United States, Mexico and other Latin American countries to Pacific Island and Asian states.  We must ensure that our curriculum fulfills the need for understanding the peoples, languages, cultures, politics, and business practices of this area.  The university will seek support to strengthen our Pacific Basin curriculum.

Another objective will be to develop and maintain extra-curricular programs and projects that will enhance world affairs education on the campus.  We plan to establish a university-community international support group which will be concerned with a variety of campus activities.  We also plan to institute an international forum where periodic lectures and discussions on important international issues will be held for both campus and community members.  And we intend to further develop our faculty and student foreign exchange programs.

The university will pursue these objectives actively, keeping in mind our long-range educational goals and changing public needs and demands.  I especially want us to take advantage of the upcoming 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games which are truly symbolic of the international importance of Southern California.  Our participation in the Games will extend beyond the Olympic Velodrome to other campus projects and academic programs.  We already have begun to internationalize CSUDH and I hope that the entire campus will contribute to this important university commitment.

*Currently, the Vice President for Academic Affairs or designee.