Members of the Division of International Studies Dean’s Advisory Board came from across the United States and abroad for their annual meeting on September 25, 2009.
During the meeting, Dean of International Studies Gilles Bousquet brought members up-to-date on the evolution of the strategic plan they had established together in 2003. The plan has at its center the goal to advance global talent and engagement at UW-Madison so it can continue to embody what Bousquet described as “an archetype of what a global public research university should look like.”
Board members were pleased to hear that the plan was moving forward beyond their expectations: an increase of 20 percent of study abroad opportunities for students; the creation of 18 new programs focused on forming students competent to work in the global society; and the creation and publication of an international newsletter for UW alumni living outside of the United States are but a few examples of what it has accomplished in the past few years.
After an engaging lunch with students at the Memorial Union (video of student presentations to come) , subcommittees of board members visited three different campus schools and colleges to engage in small group discussions with students and faculty from diverse academic backgrounds on the subjects of global health and sustainability.
Reported by Nina Gehan
The night before, members were greeted at a dinner reception at the Madison Club. Speaking at the reception were advisory board member and UW alum Thomas Sternberg (Chairman, SKCG group, White Plains, NY) and UW System President Kevin Reilly, who reported on his recent travels with the Governor’s Trade Mission to China and Japan.
Dean’s Advisory Board: reception and dinner (September 24, evening)
Sternberg, who sits on both the Division of International Studies Advisory Board and the Wisconsin China Initiative Advisory Board, reflected on the role of each board in helping UW-Madison serve as both a “global player and a global resource.”
Excerpt:
I envision the University of Wisconsin as a place where the world’s businesses can go to find employees who have more than just the required course work to do a job. I see a place that nurtures and trains people to broaden their perspectives beyond the classroom and to embrace cultures, languages, and philosophies that will enable them to do the job effectively in distant places where they are needed.
Read Sternberg’s full remarks here.
Photographs by Derek Jennings