Wisconsin in the world: Internationalization at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Group Submission Type: Book Launch

Description of Session

Amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic, there was significant prognostication regarding what internationalization in higher education would look like in its aftermath. Within the field of international education, many stated the need to re-imagine what internationalization of the university in the face of severe budget cuts, restrictions on travel and increased government protectionism in the face of growing nationalistic populism globally to name a few challenges. Absent from many of these current discussions, however, were the voices of leader-practitioners who have had to think flexibly to sustain work and grow programs throughout the last 20 years in response to numerous exogenous factors, e.g., the 2008 US economic recession and previous viral outbreaks, along with endogenous factors like internal leadership transitions and institutional reorganizations.

This volume explores how internationalization of campus had been an ongoing endeavor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW) for decades prior to the pandemic, as well as providing a lens into how people across campus have been reflecting on their work amidst the pandemic with subsequent implications for the future. The book is organized into four overarching sections—internationalization of the curriculum (general and language); experiential learning (co-curricular engagement and education away); establishing linkages (institutional and outreach); and administration. To highlight the expansive way campus units have been engaging in internationalization, a wide-ranging set of chapter case studies have been included. Subsequently, this volume provides a cross-sectional view into internationalization at UW and raises questions for reflections regarding how scholars and practitioners in the field may consider examining the field in the future. Finally, by examining how internationalization at UW has been informed by the Wisconsin Idea, this book explores how institutional internationalization strategies can align with and tailored to institutional values for long-term sustainability.

In addition to 34 chapters focusing on different units and programs at UW, there are also a number of contributions from colleagues at various other institutions to situate the sections. Each section has a lead-in chapter which provides an overview of the scholarship in that particular area and/or a concluding chapter from a scholar-practitioner situating the UW “cases” in relation to their own work. The intention of structuring the book this way was to facilitate a dialogue among UW colleagues, across peer institutions, and with the scholarship in the field.

This edited volume is similar to Deborah N. Cohn and Hilary E. Kahn's 2020 book, International education at the crossroads, and Hilary Landorf, Stephanie Doscher, and Jaffus Hardrick’s 2018 book, Making global learning universal. But while there are books that focus on areas of international education (e.g., student mobility, faculty research and even international offices and leadership), this book contributes to the existing scholarship by providing a comprehensive and in-depth look into a cross-section of efforts at a R1 U.S. university. The target audience for this edited volume includes practitioners or scholar-practitioners in the field of international education (education away, internships, partnerships, program development), as well as faculty and students in global higher education or comparative and international education graduate programs.

Sub Unit

• Pre-Conference Workshops, Book launches, and Visual Art Exhibits / Book Launch

Chair

• Elise S Ahn, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Book Launch Presenter

• Elise S Ahn, University of Wisconsin-Madison