In the summer of 2019, Rhodes College joined the American Council on Education as a member of the ACE Internationalization Laboratory. The ACE Internationalization Laboratory provides a data-informed structure following current best practices for ongoing systematic and collaborative internationalization. Rhodes College is now one of more than 150 institutions that have made a serious commitment to the comprehensive internationalization of their curriculum, campus leadership structure, student mobility, faculty development, and institutional goals. With these in place, Rhodes has a solid foundation for supporting and furthering our world-class global education.
Members of the Global Rhodes Internationalization Steering Committee worked as a leadership team to assess Rhodes College’s current achievements in its internationalization efforts and to propose a strategy for our continued iterations of comprehensive internationalization.
In accordance with the structure recommended by ACE, the work of the steering committee was co-directed by Jennifer Sciubba, Associate Professor of International Studies, and Laura Loth, Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures. Also on the steering committee were Dean of Curricular Development, Natalie Person; the Director of Strategic Initiatives, Sherry Turner; and the Director of the Buckman Center for International Programs, Erin Hillis.
A global perspective has long been at the core of our Rhodes Vision, which states; “Rhodes College aspires to graduate students with a life-long passion for learning, a compassion for others, and the ability to translate academic study and personal concern into effective leadership and action in their communities and the world.” The Strategic Vision for Rhodes College, 2020-25 provides clear impetus and guidance on this endeavor, underscoring the importance of investing in a “Global Curriculum” by “support[ing] faculty and administrative efforts to develop a global engagement strategy that brings study abroad, international student recruitment, and academic study into alignment and enhanc[ing] our support of international students.”
Working closely in Fall 2019 and the first half of Spring 2020 until the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted the work, the Global Rhodes Internationalization Steering Committee assessed, planned, and promoted the strategies for internationalization that best realize these aspirations. The work of the committee was inclusive, considered the institution as a whole, and extended to colleagues in as many functional and disciplinary areas as possible. The Steering Committee coordinated subcommittees composed of faculty and staff colleagues from nearly all areas of the campus community.
The charge of the Rhodes College Internationalization Steering Committee was to:
- Serve as the leadership team for the ACE Internationalization Laboratory
- Review and assess Rhodes College's current internationalization efforts
- Help frame and sustain a conversation on internationalization within the broad Rhodes community
- Investigate funding sources for programming and course development
- Develop a proposal for further internationalization of the College, to include recommendations for:
- increasing study abroad participation, rigor, faculty engagement, and oversight
- increasing the integration of global education in the curriculum
- integrating global education and community engagement, making connections between local and global community
- increasing student and faculty engagement with and support of international initiatives in Memphis, including organizations that serve Memphis’s international population, international companies, and international nonprofits
- engendering global citizenship, fostering inclusive and/or intercultural competence
- encouraging international research relationships and/or global or non-US research content/reach/collaboration
- fostering international partnerships (in a myriad of capacities)
- creating an organizational model to manage college-wide international initiatives
The Steering Committee's work plan led them to the achievement of the following benchmarks:
- In Fall 2019 and Spring 2020, they assembled comprehensive information on the international activities, programs, and policies of the College.
- In December 2020, after the Covid pandemic had interrupted most subcommittee activities, the steering committee submitted an interim report containing (1) an inventory or audit of current international activities and opportunities (2) an assessment of the university's climate for these activities and with special reference to their effectiveness in light of Rhodes's distinctive context and institutional mission and (3) several recommendations to help the College to more fully achieve the comprehensive internationalization goals expressed in the Rhodes Vision and in our Strategic Plan.
In January 2024, Dr. Erin Hillis and Dr. Eric Henager were named new co-chairs. In coordination with ACE, they designated a Global Rhodes website redesign as the primary deliverable for the project. The target date for completion of the website redesign is April 2025. The Lab includes the option of an external review; the co-chairs will investigate the possibility of scheduling a virtual review by the end of May 2025. The external reviewers will meet with Rhodes staff, faculty, and students on Zoom over a period of days and will submit a report on their findings.
Following the delivery of the external reviewers’ report and the design and launch of the Global Rhodes website, the co-chairs will write a final report for the senior leadership team, completing the ACE Internationalization Lab for Rhodes College. This final report will make recommendations for our ongoing internationalization processes.
Co-chairs July 2019-December 2023: Dr. Jennifer Sciubba (International Studies & Environmental Studies) & Dr. Laura Loth (Modern Languages and Literatures)
Co-chairs January 2024-present: Dr. Erin Hillis (Executive Director of the Buckman Center for Global Engagement) and Dr. Eric Henager (Associate Dean for Global Initiatives)
Steering Committee Members:
Dr. Erin Hillis (International Programs)
Dr. Natalie Person (Academic Affairs, Psychology, & Educational Studies)