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As the cover story in this issue of Cascade suggests, the UO places a premium on “skills for a shrinking planet,” i.e. preparing our graduates to encounter a world that is becoming significantly smaller—not only in terms of global commerce but also in the increasing permeability between national boundaries and identities.

 

Consider the vast numbers of individuals worldwide who are working outside their home countries—many out of sheer economic necessity and others because their personal interests, training and talents inspire them to relocate to other countries and cultures in pursuit of their career paths. Already, approximately 13,000 UO graduates live and work outside the U.S. and these numbers will only continue to rise.

 

Paradoxically, a shrinking planet creates a much larger challenge for us as educators. Language instruction, for instance, has been completely transformed over the last decade because the range of student interests and abilities has become vastly more complex. In this issue, you will read about how the UO has risen to this challenge in the delivery of Spanish and Chinese language instruction. 

 

One of the great advantages of the UO is its “human scale,” meaning that, while a nationally ranked research institution, it is still small enough that students can experience transformative encounters with a diverse world of ideas, fostered by personal interaction within the classroom, the laboratory, the studio and the field.

 

Currently, one of the most intimate learning settings on campus is the International House, which is home to several Freshman Interest Groups with international themes. Typically 30 percent of the residents of the International House are from countries other than the U.S.

 

Among the unique living-learning opportunities afforded there is a residential program for Chinese Flagship students, which provides a Chinese immersion experience for students dedicated to the study of Mandarin. This type of immersive opportunity will expand further in 2012 when the UO’s new residence hall opens for Chinese, Spanish and other languages, integrating language immersion into different floors.

 

A liberal arts education with an international emphasis not only promotes personal growth and intellectual understanding, but also helps prepare students for an uncertain future. The tremendous pace of change in our world means that we may be training students for jobs that do not yet exist. Therefore we must ask what abilities and skills are most likely to enable students to adjust successfully to a future that none of us can foresee. By helping students to question critically, think logically, communicate clearly, act creatively and live ethically we can better prepare them for careers that we cannot yet imagine—no matter where in the world they might be.

 

In support of this, our faculty members carry out rich and diverse research on an international scale and we take pride in our institutional participation and leadership in many international associations. By recruiting more international students and faculty members, sending more students and faculty members abroad, promoting cross- cultural understanding in the curriculum and supporting language proficiency in our new residence halls, CAS continues to take an active role in forging a more global future for Oregon.