W&J education expands far beyond campus boundaries Washington & Jefferson College is sending more students out into the world than ever before, according to the latest figures from the Institute of International Education. With 220 students studying abroad in 2009-10, W&J boasts the 26th highest participation rate among baccalaureate institutions in the country. In return, W&J is attracting more international students to its campus, increasing the number of foreign exchange students from five to 33 in just four years.
“While most colleges provide these kinds of international experiences for their students, W&J does more.” – TORI HARING-SMITH, PH.D., PRESIDENT
“We are becoming a global campus,” President Tori Haring-Smith, Ph.D., said. “Students from South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East live and learn with our American students, bringing a global perspective to the residence halls and classrooms.” Haring-Smith says that the benefits of being part of an international campus are significant. “The friendships they form here become the foundation for international understanding, as well as the basis for business networking relationships in the future.” To continue this effort, W&J is teaming up with other regional schools interested in increasing international student enrollment and retention by 10 percent in the next five years. Called the GlobalPittsburgh Education Partnership, the consortium of 11 institutions includes Carlow, Chatham, Duquesne, Robert Morris and West Virginia Universities, among others. “The exchange students who have come to W&J have had good experiences, which has a sort of snowball effect in generating additional interest from students around the world,” Traci Fruehauf,
director of global education at W&J, said. Under Haring-Smith’s leadership, W&J has increased its number of study abroad programs from four to 40, giving students more opportunities to take their education overseas. “Our students are venturing out across the globe as well,” Haring-Smith said. “They travel with W&J faculty during our January Intersession term to learn about theater in England, study the real estate market in China, research the chemistry of perfume in Paris, or explore the politics of East Africa.” Students also can choose to spend a semester or a year studying at a foreign university or plan their own travels through the award-winning Magellan Project. “While most colleges provide these kinds of international experiences for their students, W&J does more,” Haring-Smith said.
Jordan Stanley ’11 and Kaitlyn Ogilvie ’12 take in the view from the Great Wall of China, where they traveled this past summer with Yongsheng Wang, Ph.D., assistant professor of economics.
On campus, W&J has formed an international-themed residence hall, offering both international students and students interested in studying abroad a community in which to live together. Filled to capacity, the house already is in demand among W&J students. “The International House has the potential of being the center for all things international on campus,” H.J. Manzari, Ph.D., associate professor of Spanish, said. “I would love for this to become a space where our Magellan Project students give talks, where we hold Fulbright and Rotary International Fellowship sessions, and where we offer scholars a chance to speak to and interact with our students.” – ROBERT REID
GETTING A CHARGE OUT OF MAGNETS Bridget Piko ’11 performs research in nuclear magnetic resonance chemistry at Radboud University, a leading research institution in the Netherlands. She worked alongside world-class researchers on projects using extremely rare equipment, from microscopic-sized probes to large, high-frequency magnets. “Not only did this project further my knowledge of NMR, but it allowed for my personal growth and development,” she said. “Taking in the landscape of a different territory is not only empowering, but allows for awakened senses when you return to your home country.”
WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON COLLEGE
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