Future leaders prepare for global society

When Wordsworth poetically proclaimed that the world is too much with us, little did he know how prophetic his words would be a century and a half later. For indeed the world today is very much with us, as more and more economic, geopolitical and even spiritual values of all people and all nations become explicitly intertwined.

The youth of our planet find themselves embracing a world whose previous boundaries formed by the works of nature –– oceans, mountains, continents –– no longer exist. For the common works of man –– science, communication, technology –– have brought our world closer together, bridging the traditional barriers of geography, culture, language and time zones. It is thus incumbent upon today's academic institutions to prepare their students to live and succeed in the truest sense of a global society.

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Recognizing the metamorphosis unfolding right before our eyes, California Lutheran University has taken a number of steps toward advancing international studies and global awareness. And the work is just beginning.

CLU is home to a unique "transnational classroom" (now in its second year) that provides for daily e–mail communication, digital photograph exchange and videoconferencing with students around the world. CLU students benefit enormously from this environment because it imitates real–world experiences of international organizations.

The university is also home to a distinctive International MBA program that attracts students from Taiwan, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Greece, China, Sweden, Germany and a variety of other countries. These students live and study on the CLU campus and represent a fascinating diversity of backgrounds and interests –– from a Taiwanese nurse interested in management training to a Korean student who chose to advance his education in an environment of "worldwide learning," even though it meant leaving his wife and three children behind in Germany.

In addition, CLU actively participates in multiple exchange programs with universities in Germany, Austria, Sweden, Mexico, Tanzania and other countries. Large numbers of CLU students study abroad while students from more than 30 countries study in Thousand Oaks. They are guided by a faculty and staff who represent a broad cross–section of backgrounds, cultures, religious beliefs and philosophies.

This commitment was endorsed in 2003 with a $400,000 three–year grant from The James Irvine Foundation aimed at increasing diversity and fostering a climate of inclusion, cross–cultural interaction, respect for and appreciation of diversity and global awareness.

Recently, CLU signed an agreement with a university in India that will provide for student exchange programs and aid in extracurricular development. This new partnership will help our domestic students acquire greater international sophistication required for success in a global society.

Other universities have distinguished programs as well. But the true measure of success won't be shaped by isolated commitments at singular universities –– or by a prestigious foundation stepping forward –– or by a lone program breaking new ground. Noble and important as all these efforts may be, more critical is what we are doing as an entire academic cooperative to fuel global thinking.

Toward this end, it is time to encourage the creation and funding of programs and learning that demand global awareness.

We must encourage the study of multiple languages, in addition to the evolving international language of "computer speak." Along with multiple languages, multiple cultures, economic systems and values must be taught and appreciated.

We must encourage our students to seek new experiences, new collaborations and, ultimately, newer worlds. How far off is the day when studying abroad will no longer be a luxury but a universal requirement for commencement?

As those entrusted with higher education, we must understand that our swiftly changing planet will not yield to obsolete teachings or the failure to recognize that the future is now.

–– Ritch K. Eich, Ph.D., former chief of public affairs at Stanford University Medical Center, is vice president at California Lutheran University.