NAFSA’s Senior Advisor for Public Policy, Vic Johnson, spoke yesterday at a press conference hosted by the Emergency Coalition to Defend Educational Travel (ECDET). The press conference, which brought together experts on the topic of academic travel to Cuba, was held at the National Press Club and called for the elimination of current restrictions on educational travel to Cuba. Other speakers included Wayne Smith (Chairman of EDCET), Robert Muse, William LeoGrande, Gareth Jenkins, and Dave Parry.
As Johnson stated during yesterday’s press conference, “there was no Cuba exception to the President’s statement to students in Turkey that ‘exchanges can break down the walls between us.’”
Enumerating the reasons why the current restrictions on academic travel should be lifted, Johnson stated that the retention of these restrictions, “serves no articulated foreign policy, hemispheric, or public diplomacy purpose of this administration… precludes the very kinds of exchanges that the United States has used with demonstrable success to foster and support political change in other nondemocratic societies, and denies American students and academics the opportunity to know another society whose evolution will impact our country.”
Yesterday’s press conference was well timed to current discussions about U.S. policy towards Cuba. The House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to take up a bill tomorrow that was introduced recently by Representatives Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) to restore the right of all Americans to travel to Cuba and expand agricultural exports to Cuba (H.R. 4645). NAFSA supports this legislation that would open the door for travel to Cuba, and in so doing would also re-establish opportunities for educational exchanges with the island-nation.
Take a moment today to write your Representative and ask him/her to support the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act.
Joseph S. Nye of Harvard University testified about the vital role soft power should play in restoring American’s reputation in the world before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 4, 2010.
As defined by Nye, soft power is “the ability to affect others to obtain preferred outcomes by the co-optive means of framing the agenda, persuasion and positive attraction.” Over the past twenty years, the term has been widely used by world leaders and the media. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been a recent outspoken advocate for investing more in soft power tools, such as diplomacy and economic assistance, and for improving integration of America’s soft power tools with our military’s hard power.
Nye specifically spoke of international education as a powerful tool of soft power. He said:
Research has consistently shown that exchange students return home with a more positive view of the country in which they studied and the people with whom they interacted, and foreign educated students are more likely to promote democracy in their home country if they are educated in democratic countries. The results can be dramatic. For example, at the end of the Cold War, Gorbachev’s embrace of perestroika and glasnost was influenced by ideas learned in the U.S. by Alexander Yakovlev when he was an exchange student. Although it took two decades to materialize, that was a huge return on a small investment.
In his testimony, Nye said that a wide variety of a country’s basic resources can be converted into soft power by skillful conversion strategies. These resources include “culture, values, legitimate policies, a positive domestic model, a successful economy, a competent military and others.” Nye said that sometimes these resources are specially shaped for soft power purposes, such as “national intelligence services, information agencies, diplomacy, public diplomacy, exchange programs, assistance programs, training programs, and various other measures.”
To read Nye’s full testimony about the value of soft power, read yesterday’s post by Matt Armstrong on www.MountainRunner.us, a leading blog on subjects related to global engagement.
This post is the first in a series exploring all that Kansas City, Missouri (the location of NAFSA’s 2010 Annual Conference & Expo) has to offer. Thanks to Michael Hernandez of Park University and the 2010 Local Arrangements Team for this contribution. Add your own Kansas City barbecue recommendations, barbecue recipes, and barbecue trivia as comments!
“Kansas City barbecue” refers to the specific inner-city style of barbecue that evolved from the pit of cook Henry Perry in the early 1900s in the city’s 18 th and Vine district. (That neighborhood soon became famous in its own right for fostering the development of jazz greats like Count Basie and Charlie Parker. Visit the district and learn about its history at NAFSA’s cultural evening at the American Jazz Museum on Wednesday, June 2!)
Today Kansas City has more than 100 barbecue restaurants and is known in Missouri as “world’s barbecue capital.” U.S. presidents and presidential hopefuls have all made a point to feast on the city’s barbecue when passing through.
Some of the best and most diverse barbecue restaurants in Kansas City are within a short cab or bus ride from the convention center and NAFSA hotels, and many of them have direct connections to Henry Perry, including Arthur Bryant’s, which carried on Perry’s tradition after he passed away, and Gates and Sons Bar-B-Q, started by George Gates and one of Perry’s cooks, Arthur Pinkard, in 1946.
For the same traditional barbecue in an upscale setting, try Fiorella’s Jack Stack BBQ. You can also hit Winslow’s, Rosedale Barbeque, and Danny Edwards BBQ. No matter which restaurant you choose, after consuming large amounts of pork ribs, smoked chicken, brunt ends, or sausage, you will never think the same about barbecue again!
On Tuesday, February 2nd, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a confirmation hearing for Ann Stock, who was nominated by President Obama to be the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs in the U.S. Department of State.
Noting that the majority of students currently studying abroad go to Europe, Sen. Wicker (R-Miss.) asked Ms. Stock during the hearing how she plans to advance study abroad participation and to diversify locations where students are studying. She agreed that was a goal worth focusing on and said that she looks forward to working with the Senate to figure out how to do that. Senator Wicker then commended the bill he introduced along with Senator Durbin, the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act (S. 473), to her as the model for doing so.
Last month, the Department of Energy announced that 69 scientists from across the country will receive up to $85 million in funding under the American Recovery and ReInvestment Act over the next five years in the form of research grants as part of the Department’s Early Career Research Program. The program is designed to stimulate scientific innovation by providing support to exceptional researchers during the early stages of their careers, when most groundbreaking work occurs.
The award recipients are based either at leading U.S. research universities or at one of the DOE-funded national laboratories, and they represent the best and brightest in their fields, fields ranging from basic energy sciences and biological and environmental research to high energy and nuclear physics. According to Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, “This investment reflects the Administration’s strong commitment to creating jobs and new industries through scientific innovation.”
What the announcement neglected to mention is that at least one third of the award recipients are foreign-born, having first come to the United States to study or conduct research either as a graduate student or as a post doctoral fellow. China, Germany, Russia, South Korea, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, and Canada are just some of the countries they hail from.
If you could have magically elevated yourself 50 feet above the Riyadh Exhibition Center during the International Exhibition for Higher Education expo that was sponsored by the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education this past week, you would have seen a disproportionate mass of young Saudis congregating around the EducationUSA booth as well as the 30 plus U.S. colleges and universities that participated in the expo. There was tremendous enthusiasm among the thousands of Saudi students for studying in the United States.
This past week, NAFSA Executive Director – Marlene Johnson and I (and many other NAFSA members representing their own institutions) were invited to attend the first International Exhibition for Higher Education (something they plan to convene annually). It was part conference grappling with important, emerging trends in higher education and part expo that showcased more than 375 universities and organizations supporting higher education from more than 33 countries.
For Saudi Arabia, the conference was itself one of several “firsts.” Another was that young Saudi men and women attended the expo at the same time. To the untrained Western eye, seeing young Saudi men and women milling around the various university booths was very normal. To our Saudi colleagues however, it was a remarkable first. As one of the most religiously conservative Arab nations, Saudi Arabia traditionally maintains a separation between young men and women in public places. For this expo though, we understand King Abdullah declared that the event would be open to young men and women at the same time. The decision was widely seen as the latest effort by King Abdullah to continue the long-term transformation of Saudi Arabia into a post-oil “knowledge society.”
In his State of the Union Address last night, President Obama spoke about the many challenging issues confronting the American people, and it was clear that the economy was at the top of his list. He spoke of the need to maintain our competitiveness, encourage innovation, and invest in the skills and education of Americans. On competing in the global economy, President Obama said:
…Washington has been telling us to wait for decades, even as the problems have grown worse. Meanwhile, China’s not waiting to revamp its economy. Germany’s not waiting. India’s not waiting. These nations aren’t standing still…They’re putting more emphasis on math and science. They’re rebuilding their infrastructure. They are making serious investments in clean energy because they want those jobs… As hard as it may be, as uncomfortable and contentious as the debates may be, it’s time to get serious about fixing the problems that are hampering our growth.
Another thing these countries are doing is attracting talented people from around the world, recognizing that in a global economy, they can’t get the job done alone. Foreign talent contributes to innovation and technology research, spurs new ideas and new businesses, and creates jobs. The economic future of the United States is tied to effective immigration and visa reform that opens our doors to that talent. President Obama understands this. At his recent jobs summit at the White House, he said:
Last night, the Senate voted to reject Sen. Coburn’s (R-Okla.) amendment to H.J. Res 45 that would have rescinded $120 billion in federal funding across all agencies. NAFSA wants to thank each of you who took a moment to urge your senators to vote against this amendment. Among other things, Sen. Coburn’s amendment would have negatively impacted current funding for the Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program; the Defense Department’s National Security Education Program; the Department of Education’s Title VI and Fulbright Hays Programs; and the Office of International Science and Engineering at the National Science Foundation. Thanks in part to your phone calls, funding for these international education programs that are so valuable to students and campuses across the United States will not be affected.
On Friday, Senator Coburn (R-Okla.) offered an amendment to H.J.Res.45, a joint resolution that is currently being considered in the U.S. Senate to increase the statutory limit on the public debt. The amendment is cosponsored by Senators Enzi (R-Wyo.), LeMieux (R-Fla.), and McCain (R.-Ariz.). As one of its measures to limit government spending, the amendment requires all federal agencies to consolidate numerous programs, including several international education programs.
Among the programs targeted in the amendment are several that support international education opportunities for students and campuses in the United States, including: the Department of Education’s fourteen Title VI Programs and Fulbright Hays Programs; the Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program; the Defense Department’s National Security Education Program; and the Office International Science and Engineering at the National Science Foundation.
The Senate is scheduled to resume debate on H.J.Res.45 at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon, and will vote on amendments tomorrow.
While it is unclear what chance this amendment has for passing, please don’t miss this great opportunity to educate your members of Congress about the importance of international education.
Please call your senators today! Sample talking points can be found on the Take Action Center.
The results are in! After tallying more than 1,300 votes and combining those with the votes from our expert panel of judges, NAFSA and Abroad View are pleased to announce Nicole Barrasse as the 2009 Student Diplomat. Congratulations, Nicole!
Nicole’s video tells an inspiring story of cultural understanding and global connections as she gives us a glimpse into her study abroad experience in the small agricultural village of Ladakh, India. Staying with a host family and spending her days farming and learning the local language and culture, Nicole viewed her classroom as the land and the community in which she lived. Nicole came away from this experience not only knowing much more about sustainable farming and the Ladakhi culture, but also understanding what it means to be a citizen of the world. “Ladakh has not only taught me life lessons, but also what it truly means to be connected to the world around you,” she says in her video.
On the NAFSA blog, the importance and impact of international education are in the spotlight. Join the conversation. Take action to support public policies that promote a better world through educational exchanges. Discuss innovative approaches to making the college experience more international. Read more
NAFSA’s Senior Advisor for Public Policy, Vic Johnson, spoke yesterday at a press conference hosted by the Emergency Coalition to Defend Educational Travel (ECDET). The press conference, which brought together experts on the topic of academic travel to Cuba, was held at the National Press Club and called for the elimination of current restrictions on educational travel to Cuba. Other speakers included Wayne Smith (Chairman of EDCET), Robert Muse, William LeoGrande, Gareth Jenkins, and Dave Parry.
“Kansas City barbecue” refers to the specific 
