University Wire, August 21, 2007, Tuesday

Copyright 2007 Cornell Daily Sun via U-Wire

University Wire

August 21, 2007 Tuesday

SECTION: COLUMN

HEADLINE: Dr. Skorton goes to Washington

BYLINE: By Rob Fishman, Cornell Daily Sun; SOURCE: Cornell U.

DATELINE: ITHACA, N.Y.

BODY:

Instead of hanging a left on Route 79 this semester, why not boat 10 miles off the coast of Maine, or book a ticket to East Africa? If you were sitting in on the U.S. House of Representatives' forum on globalization this summer, you might have come away with the impression that Ithaca is just one of many locales that might claim Cornell as its own.

Testifying before the Science and Technology committee on July 26, President Skorton did mention that our home-away-from-home is "located in Ithaca, N.Y.," (how provincial!), but boasted of "campuses or programs in New York City, Geneva, N.Y., Appledore Island, M.E., Arecibo, P.R., France, England, Italy, Singapore, China, Tanzania, Qatar and elsewhere."

As freshmen search anxiously on campus maps for the Cornell Store, I wonder how many of them have even heard of Appledore Island, or better yet, know the proper pronunciation for Qatar (it's cutter). Yet in this new global age, we're told that colleges and universities should be leading the charge in "internationalization."

Given Cornell's deep roots in Ithaca -- the earthy emphasis on agrarian ideals -- one might wonder why, of late, the University is putting on such a cosmopolitan face. And, moreover, why Congress is curious to hear about it.

The answer, to quote James Carville: "It's the economy, stupid." Scared by the outsourcing of jobs to India and China, legislators called on Skorton and other academics to testify to how universities can train students to "better compete in a job market that is likely to be increasingly international," according to the House committee's report.

The line of thought behind Skorton's "new national approach" is that with federal money for research, universities can bring more international students to the United States, build foreign outposts across the world and create cooperative programs with international entities. The perceived economic boon is an educated and worldly class of scientists and mathematicians, who can now compete in the global marketplace - at home or abroad.

To that end, 8 percent of the fresh faces pulling up to North Campus this week -- that's you, the Class of 2011 -- described themselves as "international," meaning one of the 12.5 kids you're sitting with in Appel is foreign-born. While that's certainly nifty, I'm concerned that our international gains are overshadowing our on-campus concerns.

The first question we should be asking is how this new emphasis on "internationalization" serves the Cornell community, and more broadly, the American economy.

The supposed benefit is diversity -- that is, an international presence on campus, which in turn breeds a more cosmopolitan working force. As Skorton testified, "Whether these students return to their home countries or stay in the U.S. to work or continue their studies, they contribute to America's strength."

I spoke with the head of the Hong Kong Student Association last year, however, and he told me that by and large, Chinese-born students -- a key group if you're talking about outsourcing -- come to the United States purely for an education, and almost all of them return home after their four years in Ithaca. Many of these students have no motivation to make inroads to the community here in Ithaca, let alone in the United States. Yet one former admissions officer who wished to remain anonymous said that Cornell will soon send admissions officers to China to solicit freshman applications.

That said, there is certainly an argument to be made for international diversity at the undergraduate level. As Prof. Ronald Ehrenberg, industrial and labor relations, explains, foreign Cornell grads "understand American values better, and our students who come in contact with them have a better perspective on what they need to know to be more successful in an international economy."

But at what cost?

The real difficulty here lies in Cornell's limited capacity and finite resources. Unlike Harvard's endowment of nearly $30 billion, Cornell has shy of $5 billion in its war chest, meaning that we must be selective in our pursuits.

"Absent a dedicated income stream to provide financial aid to foreign students, an expansion of aid to foreign students would mean less money for other things and/or higher tuition," said Ehrenberg.

From a zero-sum perspective, "internationalization" may come at a great expense to this university. If Skorton wants to "address the socio-economic inequalities that threaten our nation," as he proposed to Congress, why aren't we offering more opportunities to disadvantaged minorities at home?

Our international enrollment increased slightly from 7.7 percent last year to 8 percent of the class this year, yet our Hispanic and African-American numbers were stagnant -- both at under 6 percent. In comparison, though 9.1 percent of Harvard's incoming class is international, 10.7 percent is African-American and 10.1 percent Latino.

And while we look to construct new facilities across the globe, let's not forget the myriad projects and problems sitting right here under our nose.

With unsightly cardboard cutout buildings still under construction on West Campus, perhaps we could "in"-source hardhat workers from the Puerto Rican facility to expedite the effort. And as tensions flare up between Cornell and Ithaca over the proposed construction of Milstein Hall on the Arts Quad, we'll undoubtedly need to fly over some aspiring barristers from our London branch. Studying engineering in Tanzania? Please stop by to inspect our aging bridges; though the Thurston Road Bridge has finally been reopened, many of our other overpasses look to be one plank away from going the way of Minneapolis.

All this shouldn't distract your attention from our "human capacity" problems (to adopt Skorton's jargon from Congress). As it turns out, we're facing an unprecedented period of faculty retirements -- Provost Biddy Martin has been referring to this challenge as "rebuilding the institution" -- with more than 600 faculty spots (including the recently vacated post of Architecture, Art and Planning Dean) to be filled in the next 10 years.

In an increasingly interconnected world, it is imperative that Cornell adapt and expand, but while we look out to the international frontier, we must not forget to tend to our own backyard.

(C) 2007 Cornell Daily Sun via U-WIRE