News Story
June 02, 2010
La Roche College NAFSA Award
The roots of internationalization at La Roche University date back to 1993,
when then President Monsignor William Kerr, acting on his strong belief in the
power of education to transform individual lives and to bring peace to areas of
the world experiencing conflict, founded the Pacem In Terris program at La
Roche. He created the Pacem In Terris program to address the causes and
consequences of instability and conflict by preparing young women and men,
through formal baccalaureate education, to take leadership roles in building
the more just and inclusive societies needed to foster sustained peace and
development in their respective homelands. The program provides scholarships
to students from conflict, post-conflict and developing regions of the
world. Since the program’s inception, La Roche has graduated 451 Pacem
scholars from a total of 21 different countries, including Rwanda, Burundi,
Equatorial Guinea, Yemen, Kosovo, Ethiopia, Palestine, Namibia, Uganda, Jordan,
Haiti, Colombia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. There are
currently Pacem scholarship recipients from Burundi and Kenya attending La
Roche.
The program provides the students with a campus environment that is both
physically secure and culturally diverse, allowing them to examine the adverse
impact that violence and conflict have had on their countries. The
program operates on three interrelated dimensions: formal classroom
instruction, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities related to enhancing
the student’s understanding of social and community development, and the
experience of living in a democratic environment that accepts and encourages
diversity.
Pacem In Terris scholars pursue and obtain a bachelor’s degree that will
provide them with the sound conceptual and technical skills they will need to
be productive and innovative contributors to the economic development of their
homelands. Throughout the selection process, careful attention is given
to ensuring that there is an equitable distribution in the candidate pool in
terms of gender, as well as ethnic and religious affiliations.
In selecting students for the program, the University requires that there be
consideration given to women and other underserved and disadvantaged
populations, and that there be an equitable distribution among women and men,
rural as well as urban, ethnic and religious affiliations, in the candidate
pool from any one country.
The University’s Board of Trustees has unanimously endorsed the program, the
College has directed more than $7 million in funding to the program over the
course of its existence, and La Roche remains fully committed to the
program. The extent of the trustee commitment could be seen when several
members of the board joined some College faculty and administrators in holding
a commencement ceremony for Pacem graduates in Butare, Rwanda.
The influence which that program has on the young people who participate in
it is incalculable, but there is no question that for many of them, it was
transformative. But it has not only been the students who were
transformed by the program. the University itself underwent profound changes
which resonate to this day in its mission and purpose. The Pacem In
Terris program has become an integral part of the fabric of La Roche University,
benefitting both the direct student participants over the years, as well as the
wider campus community. The Pacem In Terris program has been the catalyst
that brought the world to La Roche and in turn, has brought La Roche’s values
to the world.
The vision of achieving peace and justice through education is at the core
of the Pacem In Terris program and it is a vision that is embraced and
reflected in the University’s educational programs. There is ample evidence that
this vision has been realized in the lives of countless alumni of La Roche
College. It is seemingly easier to recognize the effect that this vision
has had on the young men and women who came to La Roche under the Pacem in Terris
program and who carry on this vision for peace and justice in other parts of
the world. But this vision has become so much a part of a La Roche
education that all of our alumni leave the University committed to living out that
quest for peace and justice in all aspects of their lives, yielding a cadre of
La Roche graduates from the North Hills of Pittsburgh to the mountains of
Rwanda who are dedicated to creating a more just and peaceful world for all.
With the advent of the Pacem in Terris program, the University experience
firsthand the benefits of internationalization, and made the recruitment of
students from other countries and regions of the world an acknowledged
priority. Efforts in those areas continue today, with international
students now comprising almost 15 percent of the total student body. With
the benefit of the University’s small size, meaningful interaction between our
U.S. students and our international students occurs on a more consistent and
beneficial basis, contributing to the cultural and global understanding of both
groups.
La Roche has expanded its emphasis on global education and cultural
understanding beyond its campus and has created programs that have captured the
attention and involvement of some of the areas much larger institutions of higher
education. One such program is the annual “Global Problems, Global
Solutions” conference. Initiated by La Roche University in 2004, the
conference now has attracted a number of area partners, including the
University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
and the Graduate School of Public Health; Carnegie Mellon University, and
Duquesne University’s Center for Catholic Social Thought. Open, since its
inaugural session, to students from all of the area’s colleges and universities,
the conference uses the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to focus
attention in the Pittsburgh region on serious problems facing our world and to
encourage students to become in involved in activities that address these
problems.
In addition to being the centerpiece of the “Global Problems, Global
Solutions” conference, the UN Millennium Development Goals have also assumed a
central role in much of the curriculum planning relating to
internationalization. One outgrowth can be seen in its influence on a
series of courses called the La Roche Experience. Originally a freshman course
devoted solely to introducing students to aspects of college life, this has now
become a series of four one-credit courses. While still providing an introduction
and orientation to La Roche University in its first session, the following three
focus on Diversity and Discrimination, Regions of Conflict, and Economic
Justice.
The La Roche Experience provides students, not only with an intellectual
understanding of these issues, but also with a variety of hands-on
learning experiences via simulation activities and outside groups to facilitate
the learning modules. For example, La Roche contracts with an outside
group, called Metamorphosis, to provide a simulation activity
exposing students to realistic situations of diversity and
discrimination. The “Regions of Conflict” course for the spring term will
focus on Darfur, including a live presentation by one of “lost boys” of
Darfur, who is currently an area resident.
The focus on international affairs and global understanding can also
be found in the core curriculum. For example, in one of the core history
courses, “Multicultural History of the U.S.,” students discuss the arrival of
dozens of different ethnic groups in America from the 1500s through to the
present time. They do so in a way that emphasizes the global
interconnections between the peoples of nearly every country in the world with
America’s own population. The course examines the reasons that ethnic
groups leave their own countries and the extent to which they retain ties with
‘the old country’ even after assimilating into American culture. The
course also addresses the most recent debates regarding contemporary
immigration from Hispanic countries in Central America and the immigration
debates recently held in Congress. This, in turns, enables the students
to appreciate the real-world, current-day implications of what global
understanding and citizenship really means for Americans from different national
backgrounds today, and how U.S. policy-making can be improved to better
appreciate these internationally interconnected migration processes.
Other examples of the global nature of the curriculum include the University’s
new Sustainable Interdisciplinary Studies minor, which has an international
peace and social justice emphasis; the Honors Institute, which requires
students to participate in a global or domestic intercultural co-curricular
experience; and the core curriculum, which mandates both a community and a
global interdisciplinary course for all students.
This emphasis on internationalization is supported by a full-time faculty
that demonstrate, through their own travel and scholarship, a commitment to
global issues and preparing students to be effective and ethical citizens of
the world. During the past year, faculty members traveled to 21 different
countries in all parts of the world, including China, Korea, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Malta, India, Korea, Qatar, Liberia, France, Greece and Italy.
In addition, La Roche faculty members have taught on Semester at Sea; taught
media and democracy in Kosovo and video documentary production in Liberia;
served as co-editor of the eight-volume International Encyclopedia of
Revolution and Protest (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009); been interviewed
by Radio France International (Paris) and Dakar Radio (Senegal, West
Africa); and presented papers at conferences around the world, including
Guinea-Bissau,West Africa; Porto Alegre, Brazil; and Mumbai, India.
Faculty members have also been active locally, helping to spread a message
of international understanding among area institutions. A prominent
example is the Kerr Institute of African History, Culture and Politics, which
began as a faculty initiative. The Kerr Institute, named in honor of the
College’s former president, promotes the study and research of Africa at La
Roche College and integrates students and faculty interested in Africa at La
Roche into a program of linkage to African historical, cultural and political
issues. As part of its mission, the Institute links up with other
Pittsburgh colleges and universities focused on Africa-related events and
scholarship.
Not surprisingly, the University’s focus on global education also extends to
providing opportunities for students to study in other countries and
regions. Some of these are more traditional, such as programs in Rome and
Paris. Others are more tailored to specific La Roche programs, such as an
opportunity for interior design students to travel to Scandinavia to gain
firsthand experience of design concepts in those nations. And still
others are to less traveled parts of the world that reinforce the University’s
focus on peace and justice, such as recent trips to Mali and Niger, including
opportunities for students to live with members of the Tuareg tribe.
In keeping with its commitment to expanding the students’ global awareness,
The University has initiated an innovative new approach to study abroad
opportunities that will facilitate each student’s ability to experience a
different culture. Incoming freshmen in fall 2009 will be the first class
at La Roche University to experience the new Study Abroad – Study USA program,
a program that will give students the opportunity to experience cultural
diversity here in the United States and outside of its borders upon completion
of a specific number of credits, generally by the end of sophomore year. The
best part, from the perspective of the students and their families, is that the
new tuition structure will cover the cost of the short-term undergraduate study
abroad or at-home experience. the University believes that this will be a
real benefit to many students who desire to experience a culture other than
their own, but who have not pursued such opportunities because of concerns
about the cost of doing so.
Students will be able to choose from an abroad experience in Central or North
America, Europe, Africa, or Asia, or they will be able to stay right here in
the U.S. and have a unique experience – at no additional cost except
incidentals. This unique intercultural experience greatly distinguishes
La Roche from other colleges and universities and allows students to gain a
cultural learning experience that lasts a lifetime while pursuing their
undergraduate degree at an excellent educational facility.
Initially, out of country experiences will be available in Asia, Africa,
Canada, Europe and Latin America. The United States experiences will
range from programs in Washington, D.C., which focus on government and national
security, to health and welfare issues in areas affected by natural disasters.
Our current outreach efforts are part of an Alternative Spring Break in
Louisiana. There, our students help to rebuild towns that were affected
by Hurricane Katrina.
In keeping with the University’s mission, La Roche is preparing students to
become globally aware while promoting peace and justice in our world.
Students who have these travel experiences learn the importance of giving back
to the communities – large and small – around them. Studying abroad will
give students the chance to understand other cultures and to begin to develop
the ability to collaborate with different peoples, which will become
increasingly important in today’s global marketplace.
From the founding of the Pacem In Terris program 16 years ago, La Roche
College has continued on the path to increasing its international focus,
preparing its students to promote understanding among peoples and cultures and
to succeed in today’s increasingly global society.