International Education Central To U.S. Public Diplomacy, Says Panel

WASHINGTON, Nov. 23 – A panel of leading experts in national security, higher education, and foreign policy made a strong case for the need to place international education at the heart of America’s public diplomacy efforts, at a policy forum November 16.

The speakers were Dr. Joseph S. Nye, Distinguished Service Professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University; Ambassador Cresencio Arcos, Director of International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Sanford J. Ungar, President of Goucher College; and the Honorable Jim Kolbe, United States Congressman (R-Ariz.).

Co-sponsored by NAFSA: Association of International Educators; the Heritage Foundation; the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange; and the Migration Policy Institute, the event reflected the broad coalition that has formed around the effort to make educational exchanges a key component of the United States’ public diplomacy strategy.

Dr. Joseph S. Nye, a former U.S. assistant secretary of defense, began the discussion by stating that “the presence of foreign students in American universities is a tremendous resource for American ‘soft power.’”  He told a story about the influence of educational exchanges on reform and dissident elements in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and noted that while hard power is necessary, “it is [also] essential to get our story out, and the best way to [do that] in terms of winning hearts and minds, the best emissaries are really people who have been [to] American universities and return home.” Nye acknowledged improvement in the visa process but said “we have quite a long way to go” to ensure that we keep the doors open and remain an attractive destination for international students.

The next speaker, Ambassador Cresencio Arcos, remarked that in his position at the Department of Homeland Security, he has seen the subject of international student access come up repeatedly at the highest levels, whether in conversations with ambassadors of other countries who are concerned about the ability of their students get visas; with U.S. higher education representatives who are worried about difficulties in bringing the world’s best talent to their campuses; or with American business leaders who are having difficulty moving scientists, engineers, and customers across borders. Arcos acknowledged that some of the security measures put into place after 9/11 were “targeted against the very people we were trying to reach out to.”  The leadership of DHS, he said, is keenly aware of the need to ensure the continued free flow of people, goods, and services, as the agency works to address national security concerns. Arcos said he has witnessed throughout his career the value of educational exchanges and their important role in public diplomacy, and he pledged that DHS will continue to work to address the issue.

Goucher College President Sanford J. Ungar focused his remarks on the importance of promoting study abroad among American college students. Goucher recently instituted a new policy that requires all of its students to study abroad before graduation.  Ungar said: “I would argue that if we are as preoccupied as we think we are and we say we are with the American image overseas, that rather than simply hammering away at people and trying to tell them, we’re better than you think we are, what we ought to do is demonstrate who we are and how we are able to be constructively self-critical, to be introspective, to travel abroad and to see ourselves more clearly from afar…”  Ungar stressed that the international education of today’s students must be “an urgent matter of public policy” and an important component of public diplomacy.

Representative Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), the final panelist, remarked on the significance of the diverse coalition of organizations working together to raise awareness of the role of international education in public diplomacy. He also spoke specifically about his efforts and those of Congressman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) to urge the establishment of an international education policy for the United States, most recently through their introduction of House Concurrent Resolution 100.  Tying together the comments of the other panelists, Kolbe said: “We can’t lead in a world that the American people don’t understand…We can’t have a successful foreign policy with out internationally educated and aware citizens who support that foreign policy and who understand, relate and interact with the people of all countries that we are engaged with. And… a successful foreign policy depends on our being able to educate future leaders from around the world about our way of life, our system of government, our culture, our political system.” Kolbe said he was pleased that the 2006 budget will include more funding for exchange programs. But, he said, much more remains to be done, especially at the level of developing a national strategy to support and advance international education.