Acting as Global Citizens

Higher education institutions in the United States are increasingly using the language of “global citizenship” to describe the skills and habits they seek to cultivate in their students. The journey to global citizenship frequently focuses on the exploration of personal and social responsibility in the context of an interconnected world. In an earlier article for NAFSA’s Trends & Insights series, I noted the variety of ways global citizenship can be interpreted: (1) as a choice and way of thinking; (2) as self-awareness and awareness of others; (3) as the practice of cultural empathy; (4) as the cultivation of principled decision making; and (5) as participation in the social and political life of one’s community. Institutions can be proud indeed if they are succeeding in cultivating these worthy habits of mind in their students.

But shouldn’t colleges and universities be models for global citizens as well? According to the International Association of Universities (IAU) and the growing global conversation around “rethinking internationalization,” the answer is yes. Colleges and universities are part of a global system of higher education, in which their actions matter and have an impact on others. In “Affirming Academic Values in Internationalization of Higher Education: A Call to Action,” a recent statement and call to action, IAU points not only to the widely agreed-upon benefits of internationalization, but also to warn of the possible adverse consequences that are increasingly apparent as internationalization efforts mature and intensify in the context of increased globalization. Such potential negative aspects and those already