Washington – To mark the growing importance
of international education, a delegation of U.S. university
presidents will travel to Japan, Korea and China during
the seventh annual International Education Week, November
13 - 17, according to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings
and Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural
Affairs Dina Powell will head the delegation.
The departments of State and Education jointly
sponsor International Education Week, which is designed
to encourage and promote the importance of global educational
exchanges at all levels across the United States and abroad.
The theme for 2006 is "Engaging in
Global Partnerships and Opportunities."
In her statement announcing International
Education Week, Secretary Rice noted that she and Secretary
Spellings co-hosted the first University Presidents Summit
on International Education in January. At the meeting, President
Bush announced the creation of the National Security Language
Initiative. (See fact sheet.)
"Studying critical languages such as
Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Hindi, and Farsi expands young
people's opportunities, enriches their lives, and demonstrates
our respect for other cultures," Rice said.
Rice noted that 2006 is the 60th anniversary
of Fulbright Program, the flagship international exchange
program of the United States, whose mandate is to promote
mutual understanding.
In recent years, the United States also
has expanded greatly youth exchange programs for students
from Middle East and other Muslim countries, as well as
from nations of the former Soviet Union.
More than 550,000 students from around the
world study in the United States each year, according to
Rice's statement, while nearly 200,000 Americans study in
other nations.
According to a new study by the Council
of Graduate Schools, international graduate enrollment at
U.S. universities has increased for the first time in four
years, with the fields of engineering and business showing
the biggest increases. (See related
article.)
State Department officials have noted that
the handling of visa applications for study in the United
States have improved markedly in recent years, with approximately
97 percent of applications now being processed within two
days or less.
Secretary Spellings, in her statement on
International Education Week, said: "Education teaches
more than students. It teaches all of us to see beyond our
borders and boundaries, both real and imagined. It teaches
us to overcome stereotypes and appreciate cultures other
than our own. In so doing, it gives us hope for a brighter
future by advancing freedom, opportunity and understanding."
The full
text of Secretary Spellings' statement is available
on the Department of Education Web site.
The full
text of Secretary Rice's announcement of International
Education Week is available on the State Department Web
site.
For additional information and resources,
see International
Educational Week and EducationUSA
on the State Department’s Web site.
Howard Cincotta
Washington File Special Correspondent
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