NAFSA

This whole debt ceiling mess, critical in its own right, is also obscuring fights for other priorities as the budget fight for FY12 heats up.

One such priority is international education. NAFSA CEO and Executive Director Marlene M. Johnson last week sent letters to influential members of Congress reminding them of the importance of global learning and engagement as a part of the national recovery from the recession. Here is a summary of the messages sent to various subcommittees on behalf of NAFSA and the students and educators it represents:

• Subcommittee: Labor, Health, Human Services, Education & Related Agencies: NAFSA urged the subcommittee to provide adequate funding for programs that provide financial aid and support services for low-income, minority, and first-generation college students. These programs include Pell grants, Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants, and TRIO. NAFSA also asked the subcommittee to fund the Department of Education’s international and foreign language programs at President Obama’s FY12 budget request of $125.881 million, the same level of funding these programs received in FY2010. The Department’s FY12 budget proposal includes objectives for these programs to better support students at underserved institutions and provide more teacher training, objectives NAFSA strongly supports. NAFSA spoke out on behalf of the President’s request for funding for the First in the World program, which would support institutions taking innovative steps to increase college graduation rates and replace FIPSE (the Fund to Improve Postsecondary Education).
• Subcommittee: State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: NAFSA urged the subcommittee to make a strong investment in educational exchange programs such as Fulbright by approving funding at the President’s FY12 budget request of $637.1 million. NAFSA also highlighted the need for robust funding for the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, urging funding at the President’s budget request of $7.6 billion. NAFSA made note of the importance of the Peace Corps, urging support for this innovative and critical public diplomacy program at the President’s request of $439.6 million.
• Subcommittee: Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies: NAFSA urged support for the Administration’s requested budget for FY12 to support the International Trade Administration’s U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, which actively promotes U.S. higher education in other countries as part of its mission to advance U.S. exports.

Once we get past this debt crisis and (hopefully) stabilize the fiscal health of the United States, President Obama has indicated he is interested in making investments to strengthen the country, including many of those mentioned above. Here's hoping members of Congress understand the importance of investing in these programs. From the Fulbright program and Foreign Commercial Service to the Peace Corps, Congress needs to affirm its support for America's students and the programs that allow them to succeed here and abroad.

As the President prepares to speak to the nation Thursday regarding the need for comprehensive immigration reform, NAFSA: Association of International Educators has launched a campaign called "Reaching for a DREAM: Support a Path of Hope for Undocumented Students."

The campaign calls on as many people as possible to contact Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and ask her to make "deferred action" the formal policy for DREAM Act-eligible international students. If "deferred action," now only instituted on an ad hoc basis, was to become formal policy, students would be able to stay in the United States to pursue their studies without fear of deportation while Congress debates the DREAM Act.

At Connecting Our World, NAFSA's online community in support of international education, advocates can send a message directly to the Secretary, tweet about the campaign, and share their story with the community.

Props to NAFSA for launching this campaign. Here's to hoping that Congress gets this thing done.

At the NAFSA: Association of International Educators Annual Conference and Expo this week in Kansas City, Missouri, members and the board of directors approved a resolution formally opposing SB1070, Arizona's unjust immigration legislation.

NAFSA's own Everett Egginton, a past president, describes the resolution in a blog post at the NAFSA website:

The resolution calls for the immediate repeal of anti-immigrant legislation by the State of Arizona urges other states to refrain from passing similar measures; asks the U.S. Congress to act quickly to enact comprehensive immigration reform; and resolves the association to not hold national and regional meetings in the State of Arizona until the situation is rectified.

[...]

Of course there is great meaning in this resolution for me at personal level as well, related to where I live, work, and seek personal satisfaction in my life. New Mexico, one of Arizona’s neighbors, is a majority-Hispanic state. But it’s not only the Hispanics in New Mexico that are hurt and embarrassed by this legislation; the hurt and embarrassment are felt across the entire state. As such, we as New Mexicans are concerned with the burdens of this legislation on our Arizona colleagues...

As an employee working in higher education (and a student studying it), I am encouraged to see higher education groups mobilizing on this issue. Unfortunately, those opposed to the legislation are in the minority nationally. This makes standing up and speaking out against this legislation even more paramount. Props to NAFSA for taking a stand. Hopefully similar groups follow its lead.

UPDATE: NAFSA has also launched an advocacy campaign here. (You can automatically tweet a message or post it to your Facebook status, and also write a letter to your governor asking that they take a stand against the Arizona law.)

NAFSA announced this week that it has named a winner in its Student Diplomat Video Contest. Here's the release:

Winner Named in Student Diplomat Video Contest

Study Abroad Experience Inspires a Recent Graduate to Help Local Youth Think Globally

WASHINGTON, January 20, 2010 – NAFSA: Association of International Educators and the Abroad View Foundation are pleased to announce Nicole Barrasse, a recent graduate of Keystone College in Pennsylvania, as the winner of the 2009 Student Diplomat Video Contest. During the fall semester, NAFSA and Abroad View watched as students from across the country showed us how their educational experiences abroad shaped them as global citizens, served as bridges to cross-cultural understanding, promoted peace, or positively impacted the local communities in which they studied. After reviewing dozens of entries and narrowing those down to five finalists, we asked the public to vote. More than 1,300 votes were cast and combined with the votes from an expert panel of judges to select the 2009 Student Diplomat.

Nicole’s video tells an inspiring story of cultural understanding and global connections as she gives us a glimpse into her study abroad experience in the small agricultural village of Ladakh, India. Nicole stayed with a host family in the village and spent her days farming and learning the local language and culture. The cultural understanding that Nicole developed through this experience not only allowed her to learn about the Ladakhi people, but also to communicate to them how much she appreciated their culture and way of life.

Nicole came away from this experience not only knowing much more about sustainable farming and the Ladakhi culture, but also understanding what it means to be a citizen of the world. “Ladakh has not only taught me life lessons, but also what it truly means to be connected to the world around you,” she says in her video.

Nicole is now home in Pennsylvania and plans to start a local effort to inspire youth in her community to think more globally.

The Student Diplomat Video Contest was open to undergraduate students who studied abroad during the fall semester or had recently returned from a study abroad experience. Entrants were asked to focus their short videos on how their study abroad experience helped to advance global understanding. In addition to being named the 2009 Student Diplomat, Nicole will be awarded a cash prize of $300.

To read more about the 2009 Student Diplomat, or to watch her video, visit www.nafsa.org/studentdiplomat.

Here is Nicole's video:

The Student Diplomat Video Contest, jointly sponsored by NAFSA and Abroad View Magazine (and previously blogged at FM here), has asked American students to create original videos demonstrating advanced global understanding based on their study abroad experiences. While the contest yielded dozens of submissions, NAFSA and Abroad View have pared the list to five finalists.

In order to select a winner, organizers of the contest are asking the public to cast their votes – no later than January 15 – for their favorite video by visiting the Official Contest Page. The contest asked students to consider how their study abroad experience has shaped them as global citizens, served as a bridge to cross-cultural understanding, promoted peace, or positively impacted the local community in which they studied.

The winner, selected by public voting and an expert panel of judges, will be announced on Monday, January 18, and will receive a $300 cash prize and the title of "2009 Student Diplomat."

Pay a visit to the contest page today and vote for your favorite video!

Have you studied abroad and want to tell people about it? NAFSA (the Association of International Educators; formerly the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers) is asking those students who have studied outside of the United States, or who are currently studying abroad, to submit videos of themselves discussing their experiences.

Videos should focus on how their experience has helped to advance global understanding. Participants are encouraged to consider how their study abroad experience has shaped them as a global citizen, served as a bridge to cross-cultural understanding, promoted peace, or positively impacted the local community in which they studied.

NAFSA asks that videos should be no longer than three minutes. The deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. on November 6, 2009. The videos should be recorded, uploaded to YouTube, and then uploaded to the contest's group page at YouTube.

Here is a video promoting the contest:

The winner will receive $300 cash and the title "2009 Student Diplomat." Good luck!