ACE Internationalization Lab
The American Council on Education Internationalization Laboratory provides customized guidance and insights to help higher education institutions achieve their internationalization goals. In fall 2020, the University of Kansas was selected as one of 10 colleges and universities to participate in the ACE's 18th cohort.
Over the next 20 months, KU will develop strategies with the goal of long-lasting institutional change that will situate KU as a global leader among internationally engaged research universities. Working closely with ACE experts, KU will assemble an internationalization leadership team, analyze current internationalization activities and articulate institutional goals, and formulate a strategic action plan to move internationalization efforts forward.
The lab is adapting to the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing learning modules with asynchronous activities for participants on ACE Engage, ACE’s online learning platform, as well as conducting synchronous meetings. Campus site visits will be conducted virtually until it is safe to travel. Nevertheless, networking within and beyond the cohort will still be a core component of the lab. Content will focus on crisis response and a future positive innovation framework to help institutions bounce back stronger than before from COVID-19’s disruption of international mobility around the world.
Comprehensive Internationalization
ACE defines comprehensive internationalization as a strategic, coordinated framework that integrates policies, programs, initiatives, and individuals to make colleges and universities more globally oriented and internationally connected. In order to foster sustainable and just global engagement, the comprehensive internationalization model embraces an organizational growth mindset. It frames internationalization as an ongoing process rather than a static goal. To that end, it recognizes that all constituents at a college or university—students, faculty, and staff—are learners and central to the institution's equitable, intercultural transformation. Intentional comprehensive internationalization is not an ancillary enterprise, but a means to advance an institution's distinct teaching-research-service mission. In short, effective internationalization cannot happen in a few siloed offices, confined to certain disciplines, or reserved for a limited number of students. Internationalization is a collaborative, integrated ethos, the meaning of which must be discerned by each institution in the context of its unique mission and culture.
Leadership Team
Steering Committee Chairs
Expert Advisor
Steering Committee
KU's Internationalization Lab Steering Committee will lead the campus in the process. The committee, led by co-chairs Charles Bankart, Megan Greene, Susan Klusmeier and Jennifer Roberts, will guide KU's direction forward and manage the work of five subcommittees, which were formed around KU's overarching internationalization priority areas:
- Curriculum, Co-Curriculum and Learning Outcomes
- Mobility (Student, Faculty and Staff)
- Research/Teaching Collaborations and Partnerships Abroad
- Faculty and Staff Policies and Practices
- Administrative Leadership, Structure and Staffing
The charge of KU’s Internationalization Laboratory Steering Committee is to:
- Serve as the leadership team for KU’s participation in the ACE Internationalization Lab.
- Carry out a comprehensive review of the current state of internationalization on campus through the five subcommittees.
- Facilitate a broad campus conversation regarding KU’s internationalization goals.
- Articulate clear action priorities for KU’s internationalization and propose a plan to advance those priorities.
Steering Committee
Jessy Ayestas, International Graduate Student, Fulbright Scholar, Student Senate representative and member of the Graduate Student Advisory Board
Melissa Birch, Director of International Programs at the School of Business
Ann Brill, School of Journalism Dean
Tamara Falicov, CLAS Associate Dean for Research
Millinda Fowles, Program Director for Experiential Learning with Academic Success
Paige Freeman, Associate Director for Orientation Programs with Academic Success
Humberto Gomez Salinas, International Undergraduate Student, Student Senate Executive Board member and DEI Committee member
Virginia Harper Ho, Chair of University Senate International Affairs Committee and Associate Dean for International and Comparative Law at the School of Law
Kevin Joseph, Director of Student Affairs Assessment with Student Affairs
Ani Kokobobo, Chair of Slavic Languages and Literatures and Interim Director of CREES
Angie Loving, Associate Director of Human Resources for Recruiting and Compensation
Liz MacGonagle, Director of Kansas African Studies Center and Associate Professor of History
Mario Medina, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at School of Engineering and member of Chairs Council
Jennifer Ng, Interim Vice Provost for Diversity and Equity
Colin Roust, Director of Graduate Studies at the School of Music and Associate Professor of Musicology
Dale Slusser, Associate Vice President with KU Endowment
Belinda Sturm, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Professor of Civil Engineering
Carl Taylor, Director of Global Operations and Security
Marie Taylor, Associate Counsel for the Office of General Counsel
Beth Whittaker, Director of Spencer Research Library and Associate Dean for Distinctive Collections at KU Libraries
Timeline
Other Participating Institutions
Since 2002, more than 150 institutions have participated in the program. The other institutions in the 18th Internationalization Laboratory cohort include:
- Albizu University, Puerto Rico
- Ball State University, Indiana
- Baylor University, Texas
- California Lutheran University
- Fort Valley State University, Georgia
- Jigjiga University, Ethiopia
- Pratt Institute, New York
- San Diego State University, California
- Southern Illinois University
Opportunities for Involvement
Subcommittees are forming to explore further comprehensive internationalization at KU. As the subcommittees meet and create opportunities for community involvement, the information will be posted here. Likely opportunities for participation will include town hall meetings and surveys.
For more information
For more information about the ACE Internationalization Lab, email Whitney Denning, lab manager.
