The Global Economic Crisis and its Impact on Higher Education:Challenges and Opportunities

Washington DC, April 16, 2009

Sabine U. O’HaraExecutive Director CIES/

Vice President IIE

Mission Statement

The mission of the Council for International Exchange ofScholars (CIES) is to advance mutual understanding, globalawareness and peace between people of the United States, andwith and among the people of other nations, by facilitating theinternational exchange of scholars and professionals.

In pursuing its mission, CIES facilitates opportunities forindividuals and institutions to engage in professional development through experiences abroad that expand knowledge, and enrich society and the lives of people around

theworld.

Scholar Mobility is an essential tool to internationalize US higher education and

research

Here’s why…

Scholars are effective multipliers of

international awareness…

1. Scholars influence students and shape future generations of leaders and scholars.

2. Scholars advance knowledge and bring new perspectives to the full spectrum of academic disciplines including the applied fields.

3. Scholars translate and disseminate knowledge to the public, private and civic sectors, incl. the media.

Scholars who have experience abroad build capacity overseas and provide direct benefits to their home campuses• Internationalize curricula• Inspire students to study abroad• Draw foreign students• Attract visiting scholars• Encourage networking & publications • Pursue collaborative research grants• Establish exchange partnerships with

institutions worldwide

Top Impact Categories of Returned U.S. Fulbright Scholars 

(Stanford Research Institute, 2002)

When Fulbright Scholars return to the U.S., they …  

Share information about host country with colleagues 99%

Recommend that faculty colleagues apply for Fulbright 91%

Recommend other faculty international experiences 85%

Become more aware of cultural diversity 85%

Encourage students to study abroad 80%

Incorporate Fulbright experience into curricula or teaching methods 73%

Share information about host country with community groups 72%

Enhanced researcher mobility allows for new ways of thinking to develop, and supports the academy in its pursuit of greater knowledge and new discoveries. Institutions benefit from students and staff who approach issues differently, and who are committed to greater collaboration with colleagues in other countries and thereby add value to research teams. Individuals benefit from new experiences, learning different ways of designing research projects, and gaining access to new kinds of research equipment and different opportunities. Networks created through researcher mobility can sustain the development of new disciplines and aid research and institutional links.

    (Universities UK 2009, pg.3)

Scholar Mobility to the U.S. by World Region

Visiting Scholars to the U.S. Total Fulbright

Asia and the Pacific 53% 46%

Europe 30% 29%

Western Hemisphere 11% 12%

Middle East and North Africa 4% 10%

Sub-Saharan Africa 2% 3%

Fulbright visiting scholars come from every regions of the world

US Fulbright scholars go to 140 countries in every world region

Top 5 Disciplines of Fulbright Scholar Exchanges in AY 2008

US Scholars Visiting Scholars

Education Medical Sciences

American Literature Education

Political Science Political Science

Biology Biology

History Law

What is happening to scholar mobility? • Cut Visiting and Adjunct Faculty Positions • Eliminate Sabbaticals• Cut Travel Budgets• Freeze Certain Positions• Increased Mobility for Early Career Faculty?

What does the Future look like?

• Knowledge has become more portable in the internet age and scholars now have access to research results and large databases from remote locations;

• Universities are no longer the sole centers of knowledge production and research is now also conducted at research institutes, science councils and industry labs;

• More countries have developed the ability to conduct research and the Center of gravity of shifting;

• Pressing issues like climate change, water management, pandemics and global finance blur the lines between local and global inquiry;

• Knowledge networks are increasingly multinational and multidisciplinary.

What does the Future look like?

Scholar Mobility is more important than ever and its importance will continue to grow!