Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Alan Goodman, President & CEO, Institute of International Education
It is my honor to present to you our Assistant Secretary of State of Educational and Cultural
Affairs, Evan Ryan.
Evan Ryan:
Thank you Alan. I do not have this publication yet so this will be prominently displayed
in my office. As Alan mentioned, I did study abroad. I did not think actually to share
this statistic with everybody in my bureau until a couple of weeks in when Marianne was walking
with me and I was explaining this to someone and Marianne said, “This is something people
would really want to know.” So, sometimes you don’t realize that your own personal
life statistic are so interesting, but it was an amazing and transformative year for
and I would relive it if I could again and again. And this is the closest I could come
to reliving it by working at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. So it’s
been a real honor. I just want to thank Alan and International, everybody at IIE, I’ve
met so many of you here today for all the work that you have done. All the work that
the research and evaluation team at the International Institute of Education has done, through their
analysis to work on this year’s Open Door survey.
Really truly honored to be with you here today. From the moment I started preparing for this
job, I heard about International Education Week (IEW). It was one of the very first things
I heard about and I knew this was the big week we were all looking forward to so the
idea that we are all here today is very special to me. So thank you all. Thank you for a very
warm welcome as well. I know we are going to have a very important dialogue about the
scope and the impact of student mobility here today. I also know that this marks the 14th
year of International Education Week, jointly sponsored by the State Department and the
Department of Education.
The Open Doors briefing is the kickoff event for hundreds of International Education Week
events worldwide, hosted by educational institutions, like the Institute of International Education,
local governments, community organizations, embassies, and private organizations. International
education develops the relationships between people and communities in the United States
and around the world. We host people and we send people abroad so that they can see the
world and learn the skills that are necessary to solve global challenges. The Department
of State actively promotes educational exchanges and student mobility worldwide through a wide
range of programs. We support programs at the undergraduate and the graduate levels,
as well as scholarly teaching and research. We know that the skills and relationships
that are developed through the exchanges are the foundation of our country’s foreign
policy. They help us to overcome global challenges. They help us to find common ground. And they’re
all part of the State Department’s long term investment and strategy for a more secure
and prosperous world.
When Secretary of State John Kerry meets world leaders it is not uncommon for them to have
been educated in the U.S. During a recent meeting with the Foreign Minister of Vietnam,
Pham Binh Minh, he showed the Secretary a photograph of himself as a student at the
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. In the photograph he was meeting Secretary Kerry,
then Senator Kerry, and 25 years later they are now working together. But let’s hear
from Secretary Kerry in his own words why international education is so vital to our
country and to our world.
Secretary Kerry speaking from a video:
Greetings and Happy 14th annual Education Week. I can’t tell you how many world leaders
that I meet in the course of my travels who tell me how fondly they remember studying
at an American university, and the connection, that as a result of that, they have felt to
the United States ever since. International education creates lifelong friendships between
students and strengthens the bonds between nations. These connections are especially
helpful in diplomacy, which is rooted as we all know in relationships between people and
which seeks to develop those relationships between countries. When the challenges that
we face today whether climate change, youth unemployment, global health, transcend borders
international education becomes even more vital. We need the leaders and the innovators
of tomorrow and tomorrow’s learning, communicating and confronting challenges across borders.
International education prepares our youth for the globalized 21st century workforce,
whatever the field of study someone may choose. Students with experience overseas gain the
skills, they gain self reliance, and they gain a worldview that they need in order to
compete in a global economy. Close to 300,000 Americans study abroad during their college
career and nearly one million international students pursue their studies in the United
States. I could tell you the streets to my hometown, Boston, are filled with these collegiate
visitors and their native tongues are blending now with our very special local accent. These
students, and others like them around the country, contribute more than $22 billion
dollars to the US economy each year and they create a strong bond with our nation that
lasts for years to come. While these numbers are good, I think we can do better, particularly
right here at home.
As Secretary of State, I call upon all US universities, students, faculty, and administrators
to prioritize International education. We need to work together to make study abroad,
whether it’s in person or even virtual, to make it a reality for all students regardless
of their socio-economic background or field of study. So we need to connect our campuses
with universities overseas so that American can learn from their peers and globally recognized
scholars. Let’s make sure that everything we teach in our classrooms, whether it’s
political science or neuroscience, that all of it integrates a global perspective. International
students comprise 3.5 percent of all those enrolled in our universities the same share
they actually represented back in the year 2000. So to make sure that our universities
keep pace with the world’s changes and meet the modern needs of our students, we need
to be on top of our game. We need stronger and more successful programs at a much greater
level of exchange. From all the people that I had met throughout my career I can tell
you, I meet prime ministers, foreign ministers, environment ministers, finance ministers,
all of them who remember fondly the fact that they studied once abroad. Whether in the United
States, or elsewhere, and the difference it made to their outlook.
So no matter where we’re from, we share the same basic aspirations for education and
for opportunity. We all want to know that a better future is within our reach. International
education helps to make that future a reality. So this week, as we celebrate what international
education provides students, let’s recommit all of us to even greater exchange in the
years to come. Believe me it will make all the difference. Thank you.
Evan Ryan:
Now onto the report. The Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
is proud to fund the Open Doors survey and this year’s findings show a continued positive
trend. The numbers of both foreign and US students, who pursue their education internationally,
have increased. International students in the United States have increased by over 7
percent to nearly 1 million students. Attracted to the excellence and diversity of US higher
education 819,644 international students, a record number, studied in the United States.
While this number is substantial it represents only 4 percent of US higher education enrollment.
So there is still room for plenty of growth. As evidenced by the trends and data in this
report international education is a key component of public diplomacy. It increases mutual understanding
and crosses socio-economic, cultural, and geographic borders. International students
enrich US classrooms with their ideas and perspective and help to prepare American students
to engage globally. The State Department supports this effort through our network of over 400
advising centers around the world known as EducationUSA. EducationUSA provides international
students with accurate, comprehensive, and current information about studying in the
United States and represents the broad range of programs offered at US institutions. In
2012, EducationUSA made over 6 million contacts with international students both with in person
and through virtual outreach. We’re also pleased to see more countries around the world
support international exchange through their partnership with the United States in the
Fulbright Program and national government scholarships programs. And I just want to
say we are actually honored to have Harriet Fulbright here with us today. Thank you Harriet.
Increases in the numbers of students from Brazil for example are due to the Brazilian
government’s efforts under the scientific mobility program. A program that complements
our own 100,000 Strong in the Americas. The number of Saudi Arabian students in the US
increased over 30 percent this year, largely due to the countries King Abdullah scholarship
program. There are thousands of global leaders, cabinet members, Presidents, CEOs, Nobel Laureates,
scholars, and civil society leaders who can say, “I studied at the University of Illinois”
or “I studied at Stanford”. Study abroad experiences have a lifelong impact as Secretary
Kerry indicated. Not only international students enrich our campuses they contribute to our
economy. This year international students brought $24 billion to the US economy through
tuition, housing, and other costs. In the other direction, the number of American students
studying overseas increased by 3.4 percent to nearly 300,000. International education
prepares our students for the 21st century workforce. Through their study abroad experiences
they gain the skills, the networks, and the experience needed to compete in the global
marketplace. Having studied abroad myself, I can personally attest to the transformative
experience of studying outside of one’s own country. Sending American students abroad
is also a strategic imperative for the United States. The number of American students who
study abroad must increase for the United States to exercise global leadership and to
compete in the 21st century economy. The State Department directly supports exchange programs
that make international educational exchange experiences accessible for all. The Fulbright
Program, the Critical Language Scholarship, and the Benjamin Gilman Scholarships are leaders
in supporting study abroad for Americans. Gilman Scholarships are awarded to selected
undergraduate Pell Grant recipients, from underserved communities to support their academic
studies or career oriented internships abroad.
One Gilman alumna, Connie Rivera, a student at the University of California studied abroad
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ms. Rivera, who has cerebral palsy, had a significant impact
on her Brazilian host university. She demonstrated the ability to succeed academically while
disproving stereotypes and inspiring other students with disabilities to study abroad.
I want to make experiences like Connie Rivera’s a reality for any American who wants to study
overseas.
And I like to take a moment to express how much the Department of State values and relies
upon our partnership with the US higher education community. Its US colleges and universities
that promote international study on their campuses and develop curricula that include
international experience as a key component. I hope to see US schools do even more to make
study abroad a reality for their students and welcome more international students onto
their campuses. International education is for everyone. So help us open our doors even
wider. Please encourage students to study abroad. We educate the next generation of
world leaders and we promote economic prosperity and security for our shared future by doing
so.
Thank you all very much for this opportunity, it’s wonderful to be here with you today.
Thank you.