THE UNIVERSITY’S “INTERNATIONALIZATION” INITIATIVE
David Fleshler - Associate Provost for International Affairs at Case Western Reserve University |
Friday October 30, 2009
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Crawford Hall - Room 9
Inamori Center
Case Western Reserve University
Dear Colleagues,
If you look around the university world – whether by attending
conferences of university leaders, or just checking out websites –
it appears that most university leaders want to make their
institutions more “international.”
Among what we consider our peer universities, many have specifically
international institutes of one sort or another. We do not. Most
have long had some sort of international office at associate or vice
provost level. Until this past May, when David Fleshler was
appointed Associate Provost for International Affairs, we did not.
So now Associate Provost Fleshler has the remit to, in business
terms, work to improve CWRU’s international products and profile.
They’re not quite the same. We produce international research in
many fields, with a wide range of collaborations across borders, as
should be expected from a leading research university. But that is
not the same as being known as an “international” institution. So
some of his task may be to improve recognition of current
activities. Yet discussions around the university have also revealed
many ideas about how our programs of teaching, research, and service
could be improved.
When Provost Baeslack convened the search for the Associate
Provost’s position, the job description was left fairly vague. (I
was on the advisory committee, so am not criticizing!). The idea was
to get someone good in place and then figure out how best to define
the enterprise. So David has been consulting and learning the
university and getting a sense of what are the greatest concerns and
opportunities. This Friday’s Public Affairs Lunch is an opportunity
for both Associate Provost Fleshler and the participants to expand
that discussion process.
As usual, we will gather in Room 9 of the Inamori International
Center for Ethics and Excellence, on the lower level of Crawford
Hall, for free cookies, beverages, and brown bag lunch.
Best regards,
Joe White
About Our Guest
David Fleshler comes to the university with
extensive international relations experience. After serving as chief
of staff for former U.S. Congressman Eric Fingerhut, and practicing
as an attorney, he spent eight years at the Jewish Community
Federation of Cleveland, where he led its international efforts,
including establishment of partnerships in Israel, Hungary, Russia,
and elsewhere. Most recently he has worked with the Ohio Board of
Regents as a consultant on efforts to globalize Ohio’s universities,
including on projects such as the University of Akron’s
BioInnovation Institute. He will continue to contribute to the Board
of Regents’ statewide global relations efforts in his capacity as
Associate Provost for Internationalization of the state’s leading
university.
At the time of his appointment, the press release quoted Associate
Provost Fleshler’s belief that, “one of the exciting features about
Case Western Reserve is that it has a wide array of outstanding
international initiatives already in motion.” Yet it also listed
some of the many expectations of the new office – such as to “work
with public, private, and nonprofit organizations to assure the
university is an integral part of international economic strategy
locally and throughout the state, to grow the ranks of international
and study-abroad students, extend global research partnerships,
increase research and other funding from sources outside the United
States, and expand on relationships with alumni from around the
globe.”
Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:
November 6: An Update on the H1N1 Flu, With Amy Ray,
Medical Director, System Infection Control Committee, Case Western
Reserve University Medical Center
November 13: What Should the Common Reading for New Students
Do? With Mano Singham, Director, University Center for Innovation in
Teaching and Education and Mayo Bulloch, Director,
Educational Enhancement Programs at Case Western Reserve University
November 20: Chesapeake Bay and the Need for Dark Green
Environmentalism. With Howard R. Ernst, Associate Professor of
Political Science, U.S. Naval Academy
November 27: Thanksgiving Break
December 4: What the Health Care Reform Legislation Will
Do, or Why Health Care Reform Failed, or Health Care Reform: What
Next? or All of the Above. With Joe White, Professor of Political
Science
The Friday Lunch discussions are held on the lower (ground) level of
Crawford Hall. Visitors with mobility issues may find it easiest to
take advantage of special arrangements we have made. On most
Fridays, a few parking spaces in the V.I.P. lot in between Crawford
Hall and Amasa Stone Chapel are held for participants in the lunch
discussion.
Visitors then can avoid walking up the hill to the first floor of
Crawford by entering the building on the ground level, through the
garage area under the building. The further door on the left in that
garage will be left unlocked during the period before the Friday
lunch. On occasion, parking will be unavailable because of other
university events.
For more information about these and other Center for Policy Studies
programs, please see
http://policy.case.edu.