Committee formed to advance international programs

Provost Thomas G. Burish has announced a new committee charged with improving Vanderbilt's international programs.

Tsinakis

In a memorandum dated Jan. 15, Burish called on the 14-member International Affairs Committee to develop "a strategic plan that will serve as a blueprint for Vanderbilt's emerging presence in the global arena."

Constantine Tsinakis, associate provost for faculty affairs, will serve as chair of the committee.

"I welcome the opportunity to participate in a process that will assist the University in repositioning itself in the international arena," said Tsinakis. "Educating students to become productive citizens of an emerging global society and providing the resources for scholars to succeed in such an environment must be a high priority of any great university."

"The objective of the committee is not to evaluate existing academic programs," wrote Burish in the charge letter, "but rather to study and provide recommendations for the coordination of the University infrastructure for such programs."

Initiatives are expected to include study-abroad programs, the recruitment of international undergraduate and graduate students, support services for the University's international scholars and students, integration and quality-of-life issues for international students, faculty development in the international arena, research and educational linkages with universities throughout the world, and the international marketing and cultivation of relationships with international alumni.

"The IAC is particularly interested in receiving information regarding existing educational and research links with international institutions," said Tsinakis.

"As much as Vanderbilt has become a national university, we must aspire to be an international university," said Chancellor Gordon Gee. "Our programs and efforts should reflect the fact that the nature of intellectual life is global. We have to be very creative in seizing that opportunity.

In addition to Tsinakis, the committee members are Robert L. Early, associate vice chancellor for alumni and development; Ellen H. Fanning, the Stevenson Professor of Molecular Biology and chair of the department; Daniel M. Fleetwood, professor of electrical and computer engineering; Deborah C. German, senior associate dean for medical education; Joel F. Harrington, associate professor of history and director of European studies program; Stephen P. Heyneman, professor of international education policy in the Department of Leadership and Organizations; Sokrates T. Pantelides, the William A. and Nancy F. McMinn Professor of Physics; John D. Robinson, director of international student services; Michael J. Schoenfeld, vice chancellor for public affairs; Virginia M. Scott, associate professor of French and chair of the Department of French and Italian; William M. Shain, dean of undergraduate admissions; Christie E. St. John, manager of international relations at the Owen Graduate School of Management; and Nicholas S. Zeppos, associate provost for academic affairs (Zeppos will assume the newly created post of vice chancellor for the Division of Institutional Planning and Advancement March 15).

According to Tsinakis, the internationalization of Vanderbilt will require full participation from its faculty, students, and staff. The committee encourages input from the Vanderbilt community and requests that correspondence be sent via campus mail to 101 Kirkland Hall, or via e-mail at constantine.tsinakis@vanderbilt.edu.