Imperative
6
6
Diversify
and Globalize the A&M Community
The time has passed
when the isolation of the Texas A&M University
campus served a compelling utilitarian function.
Information, communication, and travel technology
have produced a highly connected global society.
The ability to survive, much less succeed, is
increasingly linked to the development of a more
pluralistic, diverse, and globally aware populace.
It is essential that the faculty, students, and
larger campus community embrace this more cosmopolitan
environment. The university’s traditional core
values will give us guidance and distinctiveness,
while preparing us to interact with all people
of the globe. Texas A&M University must attract
and nurture a more ethnically, culturally, and
geographically diverse faculty, staff, and student
body.
P
R E C E P T: L E A D I N D I
V E R S I T Y
Texas is
one of the most diverse states in the union and
its diversity is increasing. Texas A&M University
must be a leader in promoting diversity in its
student body, faculty, staff, and intellectual
viewpoints. Affording opportunity to all racial
and ethnic groups is critical to the future of
Texas. Our vision of diversity as a wellspring
of academic energy goes beyond race and ethnicity
to all manner of thought and action. An educated
person must appreciate and interact with people
of all backgrounds and engage ideas that challenge
his or her views.
Two decidedly different, but equally
important forces require diversity. The need for
the intellectual vitality that diversity produces
is real. Historically, the vitality produced by
different views of the world has produced new
knowledge and insight. Insight that allows full
appreciation of cultural differences grows in
a diverse environment.
Additionally, there are the
pragmatic forces of the market economy. We have
become a knowledge-intensive society with an economy
dominated by service industries, requiring an
educated work force capable of functioning in
a global society. It is imperative that Texas
educate citizens of all backgrounds to be the
work force of the future. Failure to do so points
to negative social and economic consequences for
the state.
Texas
A&M University must reflect the demographic
distribution of our state and provide leadership
development opportunities for all students.
Through such an achievement Texas A&M University
will contribute in significant ways to building
a leadership base that is representative of
the state.
T
A S K F O R C E I D E A
-
Recruitment
activities must focus on students and their
parents in targeted school districts and community
colleges through strategically located outreach
centers and through utilizing students and faculty
of diverse backgrounds in recruiting activities.
Outreach activities should involve  students
and their parents as early as elementary school.
Retention activities include summer bridging
programs and increasing opportunities for students
to develop the academic and social connections
that facilitate academic success and involvement
in the life of the institution. Achieve student
diversity that reflects college-bound Texas
high school graduates through appropriate recruitment
and retention activities.
-
Create an environment that respects and nurtures
all members of the student, faculty, and staff
community. Reduce to zero the number of students,
faculty, or staff who leave because of a perception
of a less-than-welcoming environment.
-
Increase the geographic diversity represented
in the faculty, students, and staff. Target
areas of the state, country, and world from
which to recruit our populations of faculty,
students, and staff.
-
Losing outstanding young minority students to
out-of-state educational institutions, in all
likelihood, means losing them as future leaders
of the state. Recruit outstanding minority
students and provide the educational opportunities
and leadership development experiences that
will prepare them as future leaders for Texas.
P R E C E
P T: A C H I E V E G L O B A L AWA
R E N E S S A N D
E X P E R I E N C E F O R A L L S
T U D E N T S
Telecommunications and
transportation have created a highly integrated
global society in which economic, social, and political
factors are inextricably connected. Our students
must be prepared to succeed in this highly sophisticated
environment. The university must consider the world
as source and marketplace for its ideas. We must
bring the world to our students and faculty, and
our students and faculty to the world. Involvement
in the world sharpens who we are and helps define
and fulfill our mission. Our reach into the larger
world and the reach of the larger world into Texas
A&M University will affect both the real and perceived
quality of the university. Global perspectives must
be infused into all curricula. Programs for students
and faculty that support travel, international study,
research, cooperative agreements, internships, extension,
outreach, and exchanges will enhance our position
as an excellent university. Language study should
be required in all disciplines. The best universities
in America are world universities. They serve the
citizens of their respective states, but they also
serve a world population. Such perspectives are
central to a comprehensive research institution,
essential in the best universities.
To
position our students to live and compete in a
global society, Texas A&M University must produce
graduates who are not only academically prepared,
but who have the capacity to understand other
cultures and to live and work outside their own
cultural framework. Texas A&M University must
provide opportunities for its students to have
international experiences and to gain understanding
of globalization issues throughout their undergraduate
program.
T
A S K F O R C E I D E A
-
Work
to reduce parochialism and develop a campus
culture and attitude that make international
education a truly integrated part of the university’s
academic programs and campus life. Provide more
opportunities to participate in international
educational experiences. Have 100 percent
access to international education experience
for all students.
-
Develop and offer international distance education
programs, including master’s degree, professional
development and continuing education. Have
20 percent international enrollment in distance
education master’s degrees, professional, and
continuing education programs.
-
Continue to build an Aggie network of former
students worldwide to recruit top international
students and build on the university’s disciplinary
strengths through research and exchange programs
to address global issues. Triple the number
of former students involved in expanding the
university’s research and exchange programs
worldwide.
-
Insure that our students are prepared to compete
successfully in a global environment. Provide
incentives to ensure that a global perspective
is infused into all courses.
P R E C E P T: E
N C O U R A G E A N I N S T I T U
T I O N A L G L O B A L
N E T W O R K
Global awareness through international
education is important. Of equal importance are
the connections and relationships between faculty
members and administrators at Texas A&M University
and their counterparts at institutions in other
countries.
- Support
the establishment of long-lasting and mutually
beneficial relations with foreign institutions.
Establish agreements with strategically important
institutions worldwide that support Texas A&M
University’s research and educational objectives.
- All interested
faculty and students should be provided with
opportunities and support for international
experiences. Create an international endowment
for funding chairs and professorships, a wide
array of international opportunities (including
study abroad programs and exchanges, and internships)
and development of programs that cross traditional
disciplinary boundaries.
- A welcoming
environment is essential to establishing relationships
with international students, scholars, and institutions.
Work with the campus and local communities
to make Texas A&M University and the Brazos
Valley places that embrace international scholars,
students, and visitors.
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T
H E U N I V E R S I T Y ’ S F
U T U R E I S A B O U T
D I V E R S I T Y :
The
pluralism of our nation in terms of ethnic
heritage and economic status will continue
to challenge the skills of educators and
other professionals to establish and maintain
high- quality, rigorous schooling/ educational
experiences. Linguistic diversity and rapidly
changing knowledge bases coupled with the
pervasive effects of generational poverty
on children and families create a context
in which our College of Education Community
must focus on the preservation and enhancement
of democracy.
The
College of Education Vision for 2020
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