IN THOMAS FRIEDMAN’S latest book, The World is Flat, the New York Times columnist charts the globalizing forces that have radically reshaped international relationships. In characteristic Friedman form, he is both in awe of and, at times, afraid of what globalization has done to the world. He asks, for example, how his daughters and other Americans can possibly compete with a worldwide workforce that is “so serious, so eager for work?”
The book’s release is well timed, as this summer’s greatest debates focus on a world gone flat, digital and decidedly global. From the EU wrestling with its continent’s expanding relationships to the G8 debating the future of Africa to the U.S. Senate authorizing a broad trade agreement with Central America, it seems the world’s minds are trying to make sense of the tumult out of which our new economy was born.
Duke has also grappled with globalization; international influences have quickly—and often quietly—stretched to every corner. This year, the admissions office encountered a 30-percent increase in international applicants—no small feat given that applications from abroad decreased by 30 percent after 9/11. The Duke Medical Center recently joined hands with Singapore to open a pioneering medical facility; even our beloved basketball team will be going global this year, with the UK’s Eric Boateng and Lithuania’s Martynas Pocius.
These positive changes are the result of people’s increased access to information around the world. As one young Tanzanian remarked to me, “Years back, before we had the Internet, we didn’t even know where your universities were, much less how we could submit an application.” Internet cafes in Tanzania and other countries are filled to the brim with information-hungry young people, all of them potential applicants to U.S. universities.
We notice that even our changing campus is not without its own difficulties. In late Spring 2005, for instance, Campus Council set out to address the challenge of international students who want to stay on campus during winter break; to date, no effective solution has been proposed. As more international students enter our ranks, it will be incumbent on the University to find housing for breaks.
Even before they arrive, international students often face hurdles in getting visas and navigating the Department of Homeland Security’s regulations. Once here, many are unable to present research abroad, as U.S. visa regulations often restrict re-entry.
Universities are realizing that this loss has dire consequences. Dr. Lewis Siegel, dean of the Graduate School, recently helped author a report highlighting the need for international graduate students in science and engineering. Americans are “neither applying, enrolling nor graduating,” Siegel said.
“Obviously, we need a workforce that is highly educated technologically,” he explained. “We’re dependent on innovation. And in the research universities, this gap has been more than filled by international students.”
The challenges of a global campus are not limited to international students. There is a debate over the travel policy for domestic students conducting independent research abroad. Some have called for tighter restrictions on student travel, citing threats to Americans abroad, particularly in certain regions. Their concerns have merit. Recently, Yektan Turkyilmaz, a Duke doctoral student in cultural anthropology, was detained in Armenia, where he was accused of trying to smuggle books out of the country. The issue of student travel is a prime example of the new challenge facing global universities: In an age of international colleagueship, how far does a university’s responsibility for safety go?
Charting the newer, flatter world will change the character of Duke, but ultimately, it will give us a chance to bring our considerable talents to bear on global issues. The wired world allows us to expand distance learning initiatives; Oxford University and MIT are at the vanguard of this movement, opening the gateways of the Ivory tower to a new audience.
Duke must also try and expand its outreach beyond global health. The world’s health challenges are intimately tied to issues of human rights and good governance, topics best addressed by lawyers and economists, like those Duke breeds. Duke should also re-examine study abroad. We must offer more opportunities for cultural immersion, family homestays and community-based research and place a renewed emphasis on travel to the developing world. Currently, only two Duke-administered programs place students in Africa.
In almost all respects, Duke is head-and-shoulders above its competition in terms of adjusting to internationalizing forces. But, as Friedman notes, the changes are ongoing, and in the new economy, being flat-footed means you might as well not run the race at all.
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