Involving the Campus Community- Low Costs, High Returns

Calls for greater internationalization of higher education in the United States are not new, nor is disappointment about the breadth and depth of internationalization efforts. Much of the discourse on campus internationalization has focused on the mobility of U.S. students and faculty along with reform of undergraduate curricula. While commonly acknowledged to be a primary component of campus internationalization, the integration of international students and scholars at U.S. colleges and universities (Ellingboe, 1998; Hayward, 2000) too often receives little attention and few resources. One can argue that in failing to support their international students and scholars, institutions overlook a tremendous internationalization resource and underserve, what for many universities including our own, are increasingly important constituencies. In the last decade, the number of international students and scholars has grown dramatically at the University of Virginia. These students and scholars bring a wealth of knowledge and skills to the University. They play a significant role in the production and dissemination of knowledge. As newcomers to the U.S., many international students and scholars face a variety of challenges. The challenges often involve language and culture. 2 In an effort to help students and scholars address challenges related to languag