Internationalization Task Force Final Report

III. The faculty at Northern Michigan University will include more individuals whose academic interests encompass the global dimensions of their fields

The task force recognizes the key role the faculty play in the design and delivery of an internationalized curriculum and therefore feel it behooves the university to invest in its teaching/research staff. The task force further believes that internationalization must be accomplished through an ongoing process of faculty nourishment rather than through a single or piecemeal infusion of international content or a single international educational experience. The International Task Force implementation plan contains details that will promote these goals. Highlights include:

1. Provision of support for the development of faculty-led Concentrated Learning Experiences Abroad (CLEAs).
2. Provision of support for faculty to study in internationalized settings related to the globalization of courses and faculty expertise.
3. Publication of a directory of international expertise on campus who might serve as a source of faculty to teach interdisciplinary courses with a global focus.
4. Assessment and (web) centralization of external opportunities for faculty development abroad including grant information.
5. Promotion of existing opportunities for teaching abroad and the development of new avenues for such teaching through new study abroad programs in development.

Policy Recommendations: Internationalization of NMU Faculty

• The university is urged to continue its policy of hiring the most qualified candidates for a given faculty position available, irrespective of national origin of the candidate.
• Departments are urged to include international experience/education as criteria in hiring new faculty.
• Departments are urged to identify at least one faculty member per department with special interests in international education who would serve as the department's "designated international advisor" for student matters related to international study, study abroad, etc. Departments are further urged to recognize the "designated international advisor" assignment as an additional service assignment, worthy of recognition for consideration in promotion and tenure.
• The university is urged to work to assure that there is academic expertise on campus from all regions of the world: North America ; Latin America , Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East ; the Indian Sub-Continent; East Asia ; Western and Eastern Europe ; Central Asia ; Australia and New Zealand .
• The university is urged to support faculty individual course release time for qualified internationalization activities. Some examples might include the development of virtual team teaching or other collaborative projects with institutions abroad or the organization a virtual global art exhibit or international E-zine development.