Mestenhauser Lecture Series on Internationalizing Higher Education

2011 Lecture

Cultural Diplomacy and International Understanding
Friday, November 11, 2011
2:00 – 4:00 p.m., reception to follow
3M Auditorium, Carlson School of Management (map)

Watch a video of the lecture:

• Silverlight version

Organized by the Global Programs and Strategy Alliance. Cosponsored by the Carlson School of Management, the College of Education and Human Development, and the Minnesota International Center.

About the Speaker

Dr. Richard Arndt is an academic turned diplomat and an expert in the area of cultural diplomacy. He is the author of "The First Resort of Kings: American Cultural Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century." He began his diplomatic career after leaving his professorship in 18th-century French literature at Columbia University in 1961. His start in cultural diplomacy was with the U.S. Information Agency and the Department of State,where he served as U.S. Cultural Attache in Beirut, Colombo (Sri Lanka), Tehran, Rome, and Paris, and in various positions with USIA and State. On retirement in 1985, he served as Diplomat in Residence at the University of Virginia (1986-89) where he also directed mid-career educational programs and joined the permanent faculty of the Center for the Study of Mind and Human Interaction. He then taught at the George Washington University (1992-94). He served on numerous boards, including the National Peace Foundation, Fulbright Association, the Council of International Programs, and NAFSA: Association of International Educators. He is Founding President of the Roth Endowment, honoring his late wife and fellow cultural diplomat Lois W. Roth.

Arndt, Richard T. (2007). The First Resort of Kings: American Cultural Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century. Washington DC: Potomac Books, Inc.

Following the lecture, there will be a panel of respondents:

Carrie Gryskiewicz earned her bachelor of arts degree in global studies and Spanish studies at the University of Minnesota. During this time, she studied abroad in Quito, Ecuador, and Santiago, Chile, and interned with the U.S. Department of State in Lima, Peru. She went on to join the Foreign Service serving as a consular and political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo; a consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Brussels, Belgium;, and a public affairs officer at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium. More recently, she taught political science at a Lithuanian University and worked in the International Office supporting educational exchanges. She is currently enrolled in the International Educational Development program at Columbia University.

Abdul M. Omari was born and raised in south Minneapolis to a Jordanian mother and Kenyan father. He graduated with a B.A. in global studies from the University of Minnesota, continued on to earn a masters of public policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and is currently working on his doctorate in comparative and international development education. Abdul has traveled abroad to Kenya, Mexico, Ecuador, South Africa, and Ghana. His experiences abroad sparked his strong desire to be in the education field. The many encounters he had in schools and townships around the world often paralleled his experiences in the United States. Abdul’s research is focused on mentoring programs in the United States that serve African and African American males and the differences in needs and outcomes for these two populations. After completing his degree, Abdul hopes to work domestically and internationally reforming education and eventually working as an administrator at a public university. Currently, Abdul works for the University's Office of the Senior Vice President for System Academic Administration on projects such as internationalizing the curriculum, college readiness initiatives, and school reform.

Previous Lectures

Click on year to learn more about the speaker, view a video of the lecture, and download lecture publications.

• 2010: "Intercultural Matters: The Internationalization of Higher Education" by Dr. Jolene Koester, president California State University, Northridge
• 2009: "Reflections on the past, present, and future of internationalizing higher education: Discovering opportunities to meet challenges" by Josef A. Mestenhauser, professor emeritus College of Education and Human Development University of Minnesota

About Josef A. Mestenhauser

Josef A. Mestenhauser is Distinguished International Emeritus Professor in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development at the University of Minnesota in its College of Education and Human Development. His more than fifty-year long career included being teacher, researcher, administrator, counselor and consultant. He published more than 120 books, monographs, articles and book chapters on international education, educational exchanges, international studies, transfer of knowledge, cross-cultural relations, leadership development, cultural change, educational reform and professionalism. He is three-time holder of senior Fulbright grants in the Philippines, Japan and Czechoslovakia. He was President of NAFSA:Association of International Educators, ISECSI (International Society for Educational, Cultural and Scientific Interchanges) and the Fulbright Association of Minnesota, and held offices in several professional associations. He holds doctorate from the Charles University, Faculty of Law, and Ph.D. degree from the University of Minnesota in Political Science and International Relations. In addition, he held the post of Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic in Minnesota, Iowa, and North and South Dakota, from June 1, 1999 to June 2008.

Among honors he received is the Marita Houlihan Award for Excellence in International Education; Centennial Award from Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan; Comenius Medallion from the Prime Minister of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic; International Citizen Award from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul; Honorary Fellowship of the Faculty of Pedagogy, Charles University; Honorary Professorship of the European Humanities University in Minsk, Honorary Professorship of the Kyrgyz State Pedagogical University in Bishkek, Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Higher Education by Charles University in commemoration of the 650th anniversary of its founding; Presidential Silver Medal from President Vaclav Havel; Jan Masaryk Silver Memorial Medal from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic; and the Distinguished Global Engagement Award from the University of Minnesota. (Download full C.V.)

Support the Lecture

The Mestenhauser Lecture Series was created in 2009 and provides an academic forum in which scholars from around the world present innovative and thought-provoking scholarship on the internationalization of higher education.

The Mestenhauser Lecture Series supports the GPS Alliance’s initiative to internationalize the curriculum and campus and provide international and intercultural experiences for all students, faculty, and staff.

 

The lecture series is a tribute to long-time international educator and academician Dr. Josef Mestenhauser, whose knowledge and boundless energy laid the groundwork for the University of Minnesota's outstanding reputation in the field of international education.

Private support will help the GPS Alliance bring in world-renowned experts and make the Mestenhauser Lecture a recognized source of innovative and informative professional development and scholarship for international educators.

 

• To support the Mestenhauser Lecture and related activities, please make a gift through the University of Minnesota Foundation.

For more information on making a donation, please contact Diane Young, development director, at 612-624-8819 or young054@umn.edu.

Thank you for your support!