(A Case Study by Rebecca Pisano, Spring
2005)
Chapman
University
supports a variety of campus internationalization initiatives which
include study abroad, international student recruitment and support,
international curriculum and campus activities, and international
research centers. The
following report outlines those endeavors that contribute to a broad
range of international activities reflective of Chapman’s mission
statement: The mission of
Chapman
University is
to provide personalized education of distinction that leads to
inquiring, ethical and productive lives as global
citizens.
Center for Global Education http://www.chapman.edu/resources/cge/default.asp
Study Abroad
Chapman
University holds a distinguished history in education
abroad. The institution
played an innovative role in the present-day Semester at Sea
program, holding academic responsibility for its precursor, the
World Campus Afloat
program, from 1965-1975.
The tradition of
commitment to international education continues. Today study abroad
opportunities are available to a variety of countries through Chapman affiliated
programs with offerings in Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the
Americas. In the 2004-2005
academic year a record number of students studied abroad. Students continue to pay
home campus tuition and are permitted to use their financial aid
while abroad, making overseas study an affordable reality for all
Chapman students.
http://www.chapman.edu/resources/studyAbroad/
Faculty-led travel
course programs are
additionally offered during the Interterm and Summer sessions. In 2005 faculty offered
seven different course options in diverse locations such as
London and the Galapagos Islands in
Ecuador.
http://www.chapman.edu/travelCourses/
The Center for
Global Education hosts a Study Abroad Advisory
Board made up of prominent local business leaders that guide
future programming.
International Student Recruitment and
Support
Chapman
University was
first authorized to admit international students in 1954. Since that
time, over 1,650 international students from 82 countries have
attended Chapman and are now part of their active alumni.
The International Student Services
Office was established to serve the special needs of
international students on the
Chapman
University campus. A source of information and
assistance, the office’s goal is to help to make the international
students' experience at Chapman as productive and meaningful as
possible.
In the 2004-2005 academic year, Chapman’s
international students came from a total of 50 countries. Approximately 65% of their
international students are at the undergraduate level and 35% are
graduate students.
Business and Film are the most popular courses of
study.
http://www1.chapman.edu/cge/iss/iss.html
International Curriculum
The World Cultures component
of the Chapman general education plan requires that students fulfill
nine credits from at least two disciplines, one of which must be at the upper division
level. World
Cultures courses pertain to non-Western
civilizations.
Chapman’s general education program also
includes a foreign language
requirement of two college-level courses in the same
language. Students can
major and minor in French and Spanish, and create a personalized
minor in German and Japanese.
Courses in Italian and Latin are additionally offered.
http://www.chapman.edu/academics/ge/common.asp
Several academic programs consist primarily
of international content, including undergraduate majors in Peace Studies and European Studies. The department of Political
Science offers emphases in
International Relations and
Comparative Politics.
The
School of
Business and Economics has
an International Business
emphasis and the Executive Masters of Business Administration (EMBA)
program regularly takes students to
China and
Mexico as part of the
degree requirement.
Additionally, internationally-oriented
courses are prevalent in many departments throughout campus,
such as the departments of Political Science, Sociology, Business,
and History.
Chapman’s faculty are also on the
international forefront.
In 2004 a professor in the Department of Accounting was
awarded a Fulbright Scholar Grant to teach in the
Czech
Republic.
http://www.chapman.edu/admission/news/news_story.asp?iNewsID=216&strBack=%2Fpubrel%2FDefault.asp
Campus International
Activities
The annual International Food Fair
is sponsored by the International
Student Services office and participated in by the campus as well as
local community.
International food and music are provided representing many
countries and ethnicities.
This popular event has been held for a number of years and
takes place each October.
Each fall the French Club, in collaboration
with the Department of Languages and other organizations on campus
such as the Associated Students and the Office of International
Student Services, sponsors a multicultural evening of international poetry
reading. Participants read or perform
a famous poem in its original language as well as the English
translation. These
renditions are often accompanied by music, videos, photos, and
dancers. Following the reading the public is invited to a feast of
international foods.
http://www.chapman.edu/wcls/languages/activities/poetry.asp
Every semester students in the Spanish
program are given the opportunity to see theater in Spanish
offered by the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts in
Los
Angeles. Trips are organized to see
classical or modern plays in Spanish produced by the Foundation.
Some offerings in the
past have included: La Celestina (Fernando de Rojas),
Bodas de sangre, La casa de Bernarda Alba, and La zapatera
prodigiosa. (García Lorca).
http://www.chapman.edu/wcls/languages/activities/spanishTheatre.asp
The French Club promotes the
study of French language and culture by speaking French outside of
the classroom and getting hands-on experience with elements of
French culture. Popular
events include French movie nights and Café
Conversation.
http://www.chapman.edu/wcls/languages/activities/french.asp
Stammtisch offers the opportunity for the Chapman
community to gather informally to speak or listen to German in a
relaxed atmosphere in the student cafeteria each week during the
lunch hour. All
language levels are welcome. Led by two professors, the
group provides a lively atmosphere where faculty, staff, and
students can expand their conversation skills in
German.
http://www.chapman.edu/wcls/languages/activities/stammtisch.asp
Other international clubs on
campus include the International Student Club, the Asian Pacific Student Association, the Hindu
Club, the International Culture Club, the South Asian Student
Organization, and the Student Organization of Latinos, to name a
few.
http://www.chapman.edu/lead/clubsorgs/
International Research Centers
The Barry and Phyllis Rodgers Center
for Holocaust Education is a vital contributor to Chapman’s
mission of preparing students for ethical lives as global citizens.
By teaching about the
past—about the social, political, historical, and economic causes of
genocide—the Center prepares students for the challenges of both the
present and the future as they seek to make the words “never again”
a reality.
http://www.chapman.edu/holocaustEducation/
The Walter Schmid Center for
International Business, located at
Chapman
University and
endowed by private enterprise, was founded in 1992 by Sir Eldon
Griffiths. The mission
of the Schmid Center is to provide leadership in internationalizing
business education in the Argyros School of Business and Economics,
to educate and mentor students to assume leadership roles in global
business, to provide a resource for Orange County business people to
assess and act upon opportunities in the global marketplace, and to
create and disseminate knowledge through research on the global
economy. http://www.chapman.edu/argyros/asbecenters/schmid/default.asp
Located within the
Department of History, the Center for Cold War
Studies advances and facilitates the study of the history of
the Cold War Era. Its
broad aim includes supporting original historical research,
fostering innovative as well as multidisciplinary inquiry, creating
opportunities for engagement among members of the larger national
and international scholarly community studying the history of the
Cold War, and encouraging a wide public participation in the
Center's varied programs.
http://www1.chapman.edu/wilkinson/socsci/coldwar/
Additional International
Initiatives
Global
Theme
Chapman hosts a cutting edge global theme
each year. A series of
lectures are scheduled in accordance with each year’s theme, and
faculty are encouraged to incorporate this theme into the curriculum
when possible. The
theme for the 2005-2006 academic year is “Is Democracy a Viable Form
of Government in the Non-Western World?” Past themes have been
“Superpower: United States Role and Responsibility for a Just and
Sustainable World” and the “
Middle
East.”
