04 November 2006
University Presidents To Mark International Education Week, November 4, 2006(Engaging in Global Partnerships and Opportunities is this year's theme.)
By Howard Cincotta
Washington File Special Correspondent
Washington – To mark the growing importance of international education, a delegation of U.S. university presidents will travel to Japan, Korea, and China during the seventh annual International Education Week, November 13 - 17, according to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Dina Powell will head the delegation.
The departments of State and Education jointly sponsor International Education Week, which is designed to encourage and promote the importance of global educational exchanges at all levels across the United States and abroad.
The theme for 2006 is "Engaging in Global Partnerships and Opportunities."
In her statement announcing International Education Week, Secretary Rice noted that she and Secretary Spellings co-hosted the first University Presidents Summit on International Education in January. At the meeting, President Bush announced the creation of the National Security Language Initiative.
"Studying critical languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Hindi, and Farsi expands young people's opportunities, enriches their lives, and demonstrates our respect for other cultures," Rice said.
Rice noted that 2006 is the 60th anniversary of Fulbright Program, the flagship international exchange program of the United States, whose mandate is to promote mutual understanding.
In recent years, the United States has also greatly expanded youth exchange programs for students from Middle East and other Muslim countries, as well as from nations of the former Soviet Union.
More than 550,000 students from around the world study in the United States each year, according to Rice's statement, while nearly 200,000 Americans study in other nations.
According to a new study by the Council of Graduate Schools, international graduate enrollment at U.S. universities has increased for the first time in four years, with the fields of engineering and business showing the biggest increases. (See related article.)
State Department officials have noted that the handling of visa applications for study in the United States have improved markedly in recent years, with approximately 97 percent of applications now being processed within two days or less.
Secretary Spellings, in her statement on International Education Week, said: "Education teaches more than students. It teaches all of us to see beyond our borders and boundaries, both real and imagined. It teaches us to overcome stereotypes and appreciate cultures other than our own. In so doing, it gives us hope for a brighter future by advancing freedom, opportunity and understanding."
The text of Secretary Rice's announcement of International Education Week can be found on the State Department Web site.
The text of Secretary Spellings' statement can be found on the Department of Education Web site.
For additional information and resources see International Educational Week.
For more information on educational opportunities in the United States, see the State Department's EducationUSA Web site.
