International Teachers Broaden U.S. Students' Horizons

Five U.S. institutions of higher education are welcoming 74 international educators from 13 countries who will help globalize their campuses. While in the U.S. for five months on the International Leaders in Education Program (ILEP), the teachers will further develop their expertise in their subject area, enhance their teaching skills, increase their knowledge of the U.S., and share aspects of their cultures.

For the U.S. host institutions, ILEP brings a wealth of opportunities to impact their campus and engage their community. Diana Meza from James Madison University believes hosting ILEP teachers on campus “encourages students to broaden their horizons beyond the campus and towards other cultures.”

Likewise, for Colleen Flynn Thapalia from The College of Saint Rose, ILEP is “an opportunity to take our expertise in teacher education, which we are well known for in New York State, to the next level.”

Beyond supporting campus internationalization efforts, the program’s impact stretches into the community. After being an ILEP host for several years, Marty Jencius from Kent State University believes “the connection between the college and the community is much stronger because we host ILEP.” This connection is forged in part because each teacher is paired with a U.S. teacher and works alongside that teacher in a U.S. school. This pairing provides U.S. educators and students a unique opportunity to learn firsthand about countries less well known in the U.S. and provides a “more worldly understanding than they would normally get,” says Jencius.

In daily life, too, ILEP teachers form connections with community members. Bill Fisk from Clemson University noted that the program reaches the community at all levels: A long-time, local cab driver has “adopted the program and the Fellows. He even comes to the end of program events.”

As the ILEP teachers start this transformative experience, the hosts know that they have an exciting and enriching five months ahead of them. For Ara Barsam at Arizona State University, the ILEP program fits nicely with the strategic goal of global engagement, in which colleges and departments are encouraged “to look for opportunities where we can have an impact beyond Tempe, beyond Arizona, and beyond the US.”

ILEP is a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State and is implemented by IREX.