Duke's international efforts

The Chronicle Sept. 16 article "Fuqua announces international growth" is a followup to a July 10 article that appeared over the summer, "Going global." Both speak of establishing Duke or Fuqua outposts. These efforts in developing Duke's international profile at the graduate level are wonderful additions to the noteworthy efforts that have been going on at the undergraduate level for many years. In the July article, Venice International University is lauded as being the University's first significant collaboration overseas when it launched eight years ago. But please consider, Duke has been at the forefront of international activities for many more than the eight to ten years, as suggested in the articles. For example, the Duke in China program is in its 28th year!

Since the early eighties, hundreds of students have studied at Duke outposts in Beijing, Nanjing, Zheijiang and Kunming in the People's Republic of China. Duke was a presence in China long before others even considered China as an option for study abroad. The Duke in Berlin program celebrated its 20th anniversary this summer. In addition to China and Germany, we have semester and academic year outposts for our undergraduates abroad in Paris, France; Venice, Rome, Sicily and Florence, Italy; St. Petersburg, Russia; Madrid, Spain; Quito, Ecuador; Glasgow, Scotland; Istanbul, Turkey; Costa Rica (in three different field stations around the country) and in Krueger Park in South Africa.

Summer outposts include many of those sites (Berlin, Costa Rica, Istanbul, Madrid, Paris, Rome, St. Petersburg, Venice), for periods of four to eight weeks as well as additional locations including Geneva, Switzerland; London and Oxford, England; Greece, Mexico, Flanders, Ghana, Brazil and Australia. We've had more than 8,000 Duke undergrads study abroad in the last ten years, and in this time period have also facilitated the experience for over 2,500 non-Duke students on our programs.

I congratulate Fuqua as they establish around the world, and applaud the University's efforts to expand our global profile. These are great additions to the efforts that have been on-going for decades, with great success. Indeed, in a recent external review that was done of the Duke University Office of Study Abroad, three objective reviewers from Rice, Princeton and Northwestern stated "Duke University and Duke's Office of Study Abroad are recognized leaders in university-level study abroad in the United States." In this leading role, we note that nearly half of every Duke undergraduate class has a study abroad experience by the time they graduate. We have ten times the percentage of undergraduate engineers studying abroad than is represented by the national average, and nearly double the percentage of students from typically under-represented groups studying abroad than national reports indicate. Students on financial aid are represented in greater numbers in our study abroad programs than they are on campus. Study abroad is viewed as an integral part of the undergraduate experience by students, faculty and staff. I submit these observations, along with all good wishes to everyone engaged in increasing Duke's profile internationally. Welcome to the cause!

Margaret Riley

Director, Office of Study Abroad