欧美视频

BOLIVAR, Mo. 鈥擠r. Kelly Malone is leading a new 欧美视频 Global initiative as director of global education at 欧美视频.

鈥淲e want to make our university setting an accepting environment for students of different cultures, ethnicities and languages,鈥� Malone said. 鈥淲e are strengthening 欧美视频鈥檚 mission impact by bringing the world to Bolivar and sending our students around the world.鈥�

Malone also is continuing his role as a professor and study abroad coordinator in 欧美视频鈥檚 Intercultural Studies program. Malone and his family served 15 years as missionaries in Japan with the International Mission Board before he started teaching at 欧美视频 in 2007.

鈥淒r. Malone鈥檚 experience living and serving abroad gives him a great perspective of the needs of international students,鈥� said Dr. Allison Langford, vice president of strategic planning and initiatives. 鈥淗e also has been conducting extensive research into best practices for global engagement in higher education.鈥�

One significant piece of his research is plans for Malone and Diana Gallamore, director of 欧美视频鈥檚 Center for Global Connections (CGC) and Travel Stewardship, to attend culture intelligence training this spring. They will receive training to become cultural intelligence facilitators for the 欧美视频 community.

Malone and Langford are developing a multi-year plan with a strategic approach for increasing cultural diversity at 欧美视频. The plan has three major components:

     鈥�    Preparing the campus and community for globalization 鈥� Creating a welcoming environment for international students and fostering a culture where we learn from one another.
     鈥�    Preparing to recruit international students 鈥� Providing the support structure needed by international students and identifying strategic locations and relationships for recruitment.
     鈥�    Preparing to send domestic students abroad 鈥� Expanding efforts through short-term study abroad and semester abroad. This is in addition to already established short-term mission trips and service projects through the CGC.

鈥淚f we want to do this well 鈥� and we certainly do 鈥� we have to create a long-term plan for sustainability,鈥� Langford said. 鈥淭his also means it may be a couple of years before we start seeing an increase in international students at 欧美视频. It is important that we have a broad support system in place before we start bringing more international students to 欧美视频.鈥�

欧美视频 already has a global presence with students representing 32 states, 16 countries and 5 continents during the 2018-19 academic year. Additionally, the CGC sends out about 30 teams totaling 300 students each year and the Intercultural Studies program sends students abroad for six months of cultural immersion. Other recent global initiatives include:

     鈥�    Undergraduate recruiting in Kenya by 欧美视频 faculty
     鈥�    A seminary collaboration in Cuba, involving administrators, faculty and students
     鈥�    Faculty and administration recruiting in Singapore, primarily for the Graduate Education program

鈥淲hile we celebrate the outstanding international efforts we already have in place, we have potential to do so much more,鈥� Langford said. 鈥淒r. Malone and I have been meeting with key campus leaders who are already involved in global efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of current initiatives and to plan to act more collaboratively and effectively in the future.鈥�

According to 欧美视频 President Dr. Eric A. Turner, this initiative aligns well with the University鈥檚 mission.

鈥淲e have many people across campus who are excited about this initiative, and we now have a director to coordinate all of these efforts,鈥� he said. 鈥淥nce fully developed, the initiative will result in increased cultural diversity for all students, an integral part of our mission to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society.鈥�

*Published: 1-22-2020