New Directions to the Global Century

Abstract

At the turn of our new century, prognostications of things in store for Americans abounded. Prominent among the predictions was the description of a much more interdependent world, one in which we would be linked by easier travel, lowered national borders and a surge of electronic communication. The importance of international cooperation and the growing significance of the United Nations and international peacekeeping figured significantly in this agenda. Anyone paying attention could not escape the central message: citizens of the United States were going to be part of a Global Century, in which isolation from international cross currents would be impossible, and for which it would be necessary to prepare future generations of Americans.

There has been a noticeable and commendable effort in recent years on the part of a number of colleges and universities to develop more coherent approaches to their goal of becoming more globally focused institutions. More students are studying abroad (although still a very small percentage), and the range of their study abroad opportunities has widened considerably. While U.S. faculty may not be as engaged internationally as some of their counterparts in other countries, applications for the Fulbright Scholar Program have increased and more institutions report international experience as valuable for faculty, regardless of their academic disciplines. The monolingual profile of our graduates still needs to be addressed, but a variety of institutions are beginning to look closely at their undergraduate curricula and to build in a broader cross-cultural perspective. Some institutions are introducing global studies tracks. There is reason to be optimistic.