Tag Archives: Public Diplomacy

May 10, 2013, 10:36 am

U.S. Colleges Expand Connections in Latin America

A couple of years ago, the WorldWise contributor Francisco Marmolejo pondered whether the United States was moving backward in its connections with Brazil. He was concerned that the U.S.-Brazil Higher Education Consortia Program run by the U.S. Education Department was being hurt by budget cuts. He argued that in a time when higher education was growing in Latin America, there needed to be more, not fewer, programs focused on developing relationships between the United States and Brazil.

He was right about the importance of such links. But things are not so dire as our colleague predicted.

Just a few days ago, President Obama announced a new United States-Mexico Bilateral Forum on Higher Education, Innovation, and Research. “This forum will build upon the many positive educational and research linkages that already exist through federal, state, and local governments, public and…

May 24, 2012, 12:53 pm

Diplomacy and Education – Universities as Pawns in a Larger Game

By Jason Lane and Kevin Kinser

Chinese Confucius centers in the United States are at the center of a confusing decision recently made by the U.S. government. To the surprise of nearly everyone, the State Department announced that center staff teaching language courses in primary and secondary schools required a different visa than what many currently possess. The teachers have until the end of June to get the correct visas or they will be deported – mostly back to China. This situation occurs at an interesting time in the relationship between China and the United States, having just wrapped up the delicate diplomatic negotiations which led the Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng to come to the United States.

The specifics of the visa issues are outside of our expertise, but we note that the U.S. Department of State is the nation’s chief diplomatic agency and is obviously fully aware of the current situation with …

March 12, 2012, 4:13 pm

What Is Higher Education’s Role in International Relations?

By Jason Lane and Kevin Kinser

What role does higher education play in the relationship between nations? This question guided the conversation of a gathering of approximately 50 academics, international-education experts, and current and former foreign-service officers at the Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany, this past Tuesday. The meeting was propelled by a growing acknowledgment that, for better or for worse, higher-education institutions are significant players in the international landscape.

But, just how significant is this for the international relations between nations?

It is widely acknowledged that higher education facilitates the movement of a large number of individuals (faculty, students, and staff) between nations and cultures. Indeed, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 3.7 million tertiary level students studied outside of their home…