I was so pleased to see that Sen. Russ Feingold recently read into the Congressional Record a statement on International Education Week (Nov. 13-17) including comments on UW-Whitewater.
Here’s what the senator said, “A University of Wisconsin-Whitewater professor wrote to me recently and said:
For about ten years now, I have been the coordinator of a student exchange between UW-Whitewater and Arnhem Business School in the Netherlands. My students change dramatically during their experience. They even “look” different when they return. At first they are tentative and worried, and by the time they leave, they are truly citizens of the world…Working as a coordinator is one of the most rewarding things I do as a professor.
This example drives home the fact that in Wisconsin, and also across the United States, students who choose to engage in international education and exchange opportunities are truly changed forever.”
Sen. Feingold quoted from comments made by UW-Whitewater marketing professor Lois Smith.
It’s encouraging to know that our Senator understands and embraces the power of international studies. He has sponsored and supported numerous resolutions backing student exchange programs. He supports the findings of the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship program that encourages “at least 1 million students in the United States to participate in study abroad programs … within 10 years, including students in technical and scientific fields of study. The program also seeks to ensure that an increasing portion of study abroad takes place in nontraditional destinations, with substantial increases in developing countries.”
UW-Whitewater currently sends students to study in Africa, Australia, Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Thailand, Sweden, Switzerland and Vietnam. It is my hope that we can increase the number of our own students who take part in the life-changing experience.
If you’d like to read Sen. Feingold’s full comments, you can find them at http://feingold.senate.gov/~feingold/statements/06/11/20061113.htm
I know Harlan Smith, UW-W’s director of international studies and programs, would love to talk to any student who is interested in this educational adventure.
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