Blog for iplittle

Raising Shanghai

2007-09-18T11:50:41Z

Shanghai, like some of us, is figuring out what to leave behind and what to take with it as it grows up (in this case puberty lasts thousands of years). Unlike some of us, or at least me, it does not seem to be moving forward with a struggle. In fact, judging by the cranes, construction and prices it seems to be moving ahead with a determination and conviction found in Ayn Rand novels. Howard Roark would have disapproved of the “unnecessary” decoration flaunted on the gaudy creations passing as condominium towers and office buildings (a sure sign that Shanghai is not as mature as a city found in a country that counts its history by the millennia might be, is that size still matters and each building must be bigger than the last) but he certainly would have grudgingly approved of the vision and pursuit of making Shanghai the most cosmopolitan, international city in Asia.

I never felt that the city stayed awake like a New York allegedly does, nor does it seem to suffer from the hangovers (the people stare, they might even touch you, but they are nice), but there is the energy of a big city with distinct districts/neighborhoods. Sadly, it appears that the uniqueness of these neighborhoods is giving way to the homogeny of gentrification. When you take time to walk the streets looking for a glimpse of ancient China, or even China 50 years ago, it will be a struggle, unless you walk the alleys of the Old City or transition areas moving west towards the chic neighborhood of Xintiandi. This is a cycle of all major cities in revitalization mode but here the momentum of the wrecking ball never slows.

As a part-time Urban Planning student enrolled in a Masters program in the Wilder School of Government I found myself amused though at certain things that can bring a city (as grand as this one is and will be) to its knees. Much like a meteorologist (or a veteran of too many Grateful Dead shows) muttering about how Mother Nature puts us in our place after a hurricane, I admire how a simple thing like a traffic jam can cripple a city and its activities. No, the cities were not clogged with bikes, though you still find that in the suburbs. Instead, you will find 3 of the four cars surrounding you (should you be in one of the middle lanes designated for “Light Vehicles”) a Volkswagen. Even the police drive Volkswagens. You will find a luxury Buick as well but for the most part Shanghai is a ‘Drivers Wanted’ world. Word to the wise, take the metro when visiting. The stations are clean, plentiful and offer easy instruction in English and in Chinese. Note: the line to get a ticket at the window may be 3 times longer than the line for the automated process but get in it anyway as I guarantee it will be quicker.

If you have an hour or two visit the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum. As a MURP student I was understandably excited about an entire museum dedicated to something I love. How often can you say that about a museum? As if the simple existence of such a museum wasn’t enough, on the third floor of this beauty was a model of the city as it should look in year 2020 (be still my beating GIS heart). Now, I’ve never been a model guy, my Lego creations were always incomplete, but this one had me at hello. It was about 30 yards long and 20 yards wide and no detail was too minute. If you had given me a brush and 1,000 little bottles of model paint I would have gladly painted it. The scale was so spot on I found my hotel without a problem, simply by correctly identifying nearby Ji’nan Park (Tai Chi starts at 6am) which is across from Ji’nan Temple, next to the Tiffany’s (no the building is not a blue box) store, which is below the Pizza Hut adjacent to the Burger King. If you are able to stand more heart-stopping excitement, venture over to the virtual reality tour of Shanghai 2020. It offers views from a car (complete with kids in the back seat of a car in front of you making faces), a helicopter and a magic carpet. The whole time you are touring this city-to-be fireworks erupt above urban spaces and the sunrays shine through the clear Shanghai sky that will never exist in the real world.

In the suburbs of Shanghai one finds the main campus of the Shanghai American School (SAS), one of the schools I visited. It has a sister school in the Pudong district. In the suburbs many of the Western expats live in gated communities and the perimeter of this campus is lined with them.

SAS is the second largest American school in the world (Singapore American School is the largest). The facilities are impressive. For example, they have a 600-seat performance center adjacent to a 200 meter Olympic pool. There are fields for any sport you may want to play but rugby seems to be the preferred activity and both the boys and the girls have full contact rugby teams.

The students come from many different countries yet none are from China. In order to maintain the license that SAS has it cannot have Chinese students. There are some private schools that have a blend of students to include native Chinese but they are not schools who were set up to serve the traditional expat market.

Business degrees are the name of the game here. With the growing market and the traditional luster of making money, students I met asked me about degrees in accounting, management, finance, marketing and economics. For these students I believe VCU provides a good opportunity.

Virginia has been ranked by Forbes magazine as the number one state for new business growth the past two years. Richmond is the financial capitol of the state and thus the hub of financial sector activity. With internship opportunities, a low teacher-student ratio, resources in the new building, and practitioners teaching in the classroom, our School of Business is a good option for international students and I hope to assist many of them with their applications to VCU.

Kuwait -- Peacocks, Teeth and Ball

2007-03-11T03:34:27Z

I have written about Kuwait and their “beautiful people” before but I believe I have mis-characterized the city before I compared it to Florida. No, it much more like Los Angeles with its wealth, its preening, and the boys who strut around like peacocks, fanning their feathers (or their M Class Mercedes) in hopes of being seen. Who cares about seeing, just be seen.

Our School of Dentistry (SOD) has, for a long time now, enjoyed a very good reputation among aspiring dentists from Kuwait. It is one of those rare medical programs that accepts several international students and one in which the students do very well. In fact, there are several SOD graduates that are members of the governing association of Kuwaiti dentists, and the pipeline that has been established will continue to grow if the number of applications I am seeing to the program continues.

On this trip I had the pleasure of meeting students who have already committed to VCU. These two students, from the American International School of Kuwait (AISK) are future engineering graduates and come from a school with a great reputation. The resources provided to these students are second to none, and their counselor, Mark Ray, does a good job of preparing them to apply to college. Unlike some schools, Mark makes sure his students’ grades aren’t inflated. So even though these two students are both taking the IB curriculum, they will not be able to earn higher than a 4.25 gpa. And the grades are not weighted. Why is this important? Well we, as a university, need to have confidence that schools are properly assessing the students that are applying to VCU. Sometimes the students are not as great as their gpa’s might suggest and they are exposed as they make the transition to a new country, culture and curriculum. I always have confidence in the students who apply from AISK because they have been put through a rigorous curriculum where they have to write, and their grades reflect their true potential.

Another school I visited is Al Bayan Bilingual School (ABS). There I visited with members of the Junior class. While there, I received and invitation to come back the next day and play basketball with their Varsity team. So, since the morning held nothing for me, I decided to knock the dust off and play some hoops. For almost 2.5 hours I played with teachers from ABS and their coach (whose wife is the head college counselor at ABS) against their starting five. I have to say I represented Richmond pretty well. These guys are long and athletic yet they don’t understand spacing and taking care of the basketball. And for a little guy like me whose only assets on the court are quickness and the ability to make a lay-up, I was in hog heaven with their turnovers and inability to fill space on defense. But they will be fine. And I look forward to returning there in the fall to play again and follow their season.

The fair in Kuwait was a very good one for us. The main programs of interest were Life Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, Business and the Arts. Many of these applicants are undergraduate.
So while we are not LA or South Beach it seems that something in Richmond is appealing, at least to some students from Kuwait.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

2007-03-07T10:58:05Z

Riyadh is the administrative capital of the country and it is considered one of the most conservative cities in the country. Think of it this way. Al Khobar may be considered Chicago, Jeddah as Vegas, and Riyadh, well maybe Lynchburg, VA.

While I never saw a Tawah (in charge of identifying public practices against Islamic norms), just the threat of their presence permeates the attitudes of the youth and as a result Riyadh, while a beautiful and, ahem, modern city is rather staid.

I arrived at the airport in the late afternoon to rather comely weather, low 70s with a breeze. Both the sun and moon still carried weight in the sky and later that night the Middle East was the sight of a major lunar eclipse.

All this travel numbs one to airport operations and security procedure but they can get your attention quickly here in KSA. After successfully clearing customs and security I was asked by a female colleague to help her lift her bag onto the x-ray machine belt. The security officials asked me to move away and when I tried to explain my actions they promptly asked me to step into another section where they made sure to go through every piece of luggage I had, even though I had already been cleared without problem or concern not 200 seconds earlier. I can respect a show of will every once in a while so I simply smiled and asked sir, for another. But, that was the last time in my entire stay that I experienced any inconvenience or unfriendly behavior, in fact, as I came to learn, this is a very hospitable country if you allow it to be.

In 2004, when Dr. Moshobab A. Alkahtani, Associate Professor and Director of Research at the Saudi Arabia Institute of Public Administration (IPA), graduated from VCU’s Center for Public Policy, there were eight students from Saudi Arabia on campus. Now, not even three years later, there are almost 200. I contacted Dr. Alkantani when I arrived in Riyadh to see if he would allow me to take he and his family to lunch or dinner to thank him for his contributions to VCU (he has advised many Saudi students on the benefits of a degree from VCU) and to catch up. He rang me back and explained that he had been recently occupied with the birth of his fifth child, just ten days prior. However, he offered to take me to lunch and work one night of the fair with me. I accepted his invitation and we went to lunch with one of his colleagues from the IPA and for two hours talked about the progress at VCU and the amazing growth of our student population from the GCC countries. On cue he produced an application for another IPA colleague who will come to VCU for one year of language training and a MPA.

The IPA is one of the government agencies where real reform has potential. In a country where change is slow to come, Moshobab’s group is working on training programs and policies that will bring can bring meaningful, positive change to the country. And the Kingdom seems serious about change and their investment in education is an indicator. The government realizes they must educate their largest segment of the population, those between 18-30. They are investing almost $30 USD in four new universities, while seven universities have been created in the past six years. Also, there are now as many women in school as men and this will force the government and the Saudi culture to make decisions about existing roles for women and the workplace. Moshobab’s IPA will have a large role in addressing the government’s involvement in these decisions and we are proud at VCU to contribute, to have our graduates play such an important role in the development of Saudi Arabia.

At Al Yamamah College, a place where one can earn a degree and be taught in English, we had two days of fairs from 9am – Noon and again at night from 5pm – 9pm. We did very well. The VCU brand has now permeated the Saudi psyche. We recruit in Al Khobar, Qatif, Jeddah, Dammam, and Riyadh. Our students are in several fields, from Engineering and Business, to Biostatistics and Advertising. Many students came up to me and told me about a friend they were interested in joining on campus or how their father or uncle graduated from VCU. There was such a genuine interest and friendliness that I forgot I was in Saudi Arabia.

The Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Riyadh offer’s one feature that no other hotel I have visited offers; a basketball court. Here a basketball court (and for that matter, a tennis court, which they have) doubles as a soccer pitch and for the two nights after the fairs I joined in playing with Saudi students and played for several hours. It was an unplanned raw example of hospitality and diplomacy. They accepted me with the only qualification needed some sort of football skill, which thankfully I have. I find that sports, in particular soccer and basketball are a wonderful bridge with international students, instantly spanning the cultural differences of our countries. Sometimes, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays I will be a pizza or two for several international students as we watch Champions League football matches. Everything else dissolves and they could be in their home countries as easily as Richmond. Suddenly the major disagreements are forgotten and replaced by discussions on the merits of an in-form Henry or the demise of FC Barcelona to Liverpool.

Riyadh, not a second home, but I it seems one is always welcome.

Amman, Jordan -- we're not in Tokyo but ...

2007-03-03T17:38:51Z

I love coming to Jordan. The people are very nice; the students are energetic, smart and reliable. Each time I visit Amman I learn something new about the city, I visit a new district. Admittedly, I have spent much of my time in the more affluent West Amman, home to my hotel and many of the private schools. Amman is deceptive and if you only arrive from the airport highway than you might think Amman is one long boulevard and five roundabouts. Instead it is a massive rolling mass of land home to millions, an mélange of Jordanians, Palestinians, Iraqis and yes, VCU alumni.

One of our alumni is now working as a Fulbright scholar for three years in Amman. Before entering our medical college for post-graduate studies, he studied as an undergraduate. While he was there he started VCU’s Muslim Student Association (MSA), a group that was later judged the number one student association of its kind in the United States. We are very proud to have him as an alumnus and I know he will serve the Jordanian people well through his research at a local hospital.

Recently I had sushi in Amman. Yes, sushi in a land locked Middle Eastern country. Why not, after all there is a Dairy Queen in the Omani airport. No, I have not had grits in Saigon. It gets better. The sushi restaurant is housed in a Howard Johnson’s Hotel. Do you remember those? They were such a vivid part of my childhood, traveling interstates in the last seat of a seven-passenger station wagon, facing the opposite direction of anyone else, staring directly at Dick and Jane as they drove to the beach. The Ho-Jos had the distinctive roof, the upside down roof at the main office. This one does not have it, and in fact the restaurant offers a panoramic view of Amman with a sixth floor view through glass no matter where you are seated.

Sushi is not what I had in mind when I wanted to meet with a prospective student and her parents. This student, from Amman Baccalaureate School, recently applied to Virginia Commonwealth University and has been accepted, as she was to an Ivy League, and Big Ten university. But, she loves the cultural diversity of VCU and the resources provided to students in the new building for the School of Business so we decided to talk more about VCU over dinner with her parents. I asked her what she wanted to eat and she said sushi. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I smiled and said, “Of course.�? Let me tell you, Amman sushi is not Tokyo sushi, but it worked. The whole night did and I was very impressed, with the meal, the view, and the student.

So on this trip I again made plans to visit with this student’s parents. And this time this student, who has yet to decide on her university of choice, decided to assist me at the education fair, and helped recruit students to VCU with me. I think, rather, I know, that I have never seen a student who has yet to commit to a school, recruit at a fair for a school. But she did. One of the reasons I want this student to come to VCU is her personality. She is a natural leader. Yes, she is near the top of a class that will see 95% of its students go to America for college, and yes, she is quite possibly a future Jordanian Olympian, but what she does, what she says, what she thinks matters to others. The day I met her at her school in January, 8 other students contacted me about applying. Last night at the fair, I spoke to other students who came to my table because they knew she was thinking of going.

I did not train her. She had researched VCU enough, had watched “VCU Key to the World�? (http://www.vcu.edu/itsvcu/, Episode 2) enough times, that I left her alone to answer questions and to make key points in Arabic when needed. How many 17 year olds do know are willing to stand in front of hundreds of prospective students, many of them years older than her, and present on behalf of a school she has yet to attend, while giving up a weekend evening of her last semester in high school? As I write this, I think about that and it impresses me even more.

A student who will be starting his PhD in Electrical Engineering at VCU in August came to say hello. He and his wife will arrive in the summer for a session at our English Language Program first. I think she will probably end up working on a Masters. This student is also an excellent student. He earned a 4.0 GPA during his graduate studies and has been given a full ride from a host university in Jordan. In working with him, I asked him to identify a member of the E&C faculty with home he might want to work. I then took his application to this professor and explained what I thought the qualities were in the applicant. I then presented this student’s research to the professor and explained that he wanted to do work with him. So, come the fall, this student will begin he work in one of 50 research labs offered to our students under the guidance of our 45 member international faculty at the School of Engineering.

I saw other familiar faces last night. It is funny sometimes to think that in a matter of four months I can meet a total stranger, in a foreign country, and 9 or 10 emails, 5 text messages, 6 phone calls, 4 faxes, and 2 personal visits later they show up to a fair to say they can’t wait to be in Richmond in August. I can’t wait either.

To the best of my knowledge we will be between plus six and plus ten on the Jordanian front come the beginning of the fall semester. These are great students. The sushi is not bad either.

Morocco: No, I didn't go to Rick's

2007-03-01T12:17:41Z

Welcome to Morocco, here’s one of your two bags. While you will be able to clothe yourself you will not be able to make the triumphant pronouncement about VCU’s landing on Moroccan soil that you would with two large banners and a table cloth. Go get ‘em tiger. I think my banners are sunning it up in Marrakech right now, but they could be drowning their sorrows beneath the grey skies of London.

Morocco has its own level of intensity. Not the kind you find in India, but an interpersonal intensity that is seen on the faces of people you speak with, in the eyes of waiters, and in the sarcasm of a train conductor who won’t let you hop off one train to pick up the right train that is trailing by 10 minutes. Dodging cars while crossing the street in Casablanca is like avoiding raindrops, seek shelter where you can.

Casablanca is growing. The technical term for it is sprawl, but when there aren’t any rules to begin with you call it economic opportunity. The city centre was primarily built by the French who, I must say, did a pretty good job with their broad boulevards, use of green space, and roundabouts. They cannot help that no one decides to white wash the walls of the buildings lining the city streets or that people choose to ignore such bothersome details like traffic lights and lanes.

The Mohammed V mosque rises over the port and the souqs on one end of Casablanca, but the Casablanca Technology Park glimmers at the other end. This might no longer be the city of passports sold on the black market (or play it again Sam) but the entrepreneurial spirit lives on in IT and communication firms who are settling in, on the outskirts of town.

Casablanca American School (CAS) is near the technology park (Quartier Californie), and sits among some of the poshest homes you will find in Casa. Randy is the new college counselor and left Nawlins (as he puts it) for this school after 20 plus years as a counselor at a private high school stateside. He has a good group of students. I met seniors through sophomores in my recent visit. These kids on the IB program are smart, confident, and think that VCU is a really good bargain (I am not making this up as I go along).

As I meet more people from other universities I tend to agree with these students (did I mention they are smart?). When you think about what you will get in your first year as an international student at VCU for $27,000 USD you realize what a steal it is. Room and Board, Tuition and Fees, books and projected expenses all included. That is not to mention the escort service we offer from the airport or to an embassy in Washington, DC, or the free lunch international students receive each Wednesday at Coffee Hour, or the opportunity to have a conversation partner (read, free way to learn English). As I have mentioned before, everything an international student could want can be found at 916 W. Franklin Street, in the Office of International Education.

Eric Wickenheiser is a VCU alumnus who is teaching art classes at CAS. He came to my table during the fair at the school and encouraged his students to apply to the number one public arts program in the United States. He has been in Casablanca for just over a year, having left the American International School of Kuwait (AISK), where he taught for three years. In fact we have 3 students from AISK coming to VCU in the fall.

I met with students at Rabat American School (RAS). Rabat is the administrative head of the country. It is cleaner than Casablanca but less interesting. I could buy a pair of Diesel jeans in Rabat, but I could not get assulted at a soccer match. Life is a bunch of tradeoffs. The students at RAS are not unlike their friends at CAS: smart, curious and western. Two of the students had homes in Virginia. Most of them did not. Ellen Boucher is the counselor there and she too is new to the country and the school. But she was kind enough to organize a private meeting with me and about 15 students to discuss VCU. One student was there because her brother is transferring. Many of the students were interested in engineering and the arts.

Later in the day I gave a presentation at the Amideast office in Rabat. Amideast is an organization supported with a grant from the US State Department to promote US higher education in the Africa and the Middle East. We are a member school and two advantages to being a member school is that when you walk in the office the school pendant is posted on the wall, and they help organize information sessions for you. In this case I met with 10 interested students and I think I even converted one student who had already applied to a university in the Northeast. He was having problems with the paperwork they were asking him to do and I explained how easy it is to apply to VCU, and how our admissions people (Blair, Mas, Alica and Erin) work hard to process applications. In fact, if we receive an applicant's complete application on Monday, there is a good chance they will have their I-20 by Saturday if they are accepted. I asked if the other univeristy had the same turnaround and his face went blank.

The fair in Casablanca was a good one for VCU. With 170 programs we have most everything a student could ask for. The MBA is a big attraction, especially with the resources made available to these students with the new building that is being built. Also, I think these applicants like the concept of the CEO in the Classroom program, which brings local business leaders (did I mention Virginia is the best state in the country for new business growth?) into the classroom for lectures. As a matter of fact this week is the International Business Forum held on our campus. President Trani is sitting on a panel with business leaders from Richmond and Washington DC to discuss the impact of international business on the region and future opportunities. It makes me think of when the Chairman of Williams-Sonoma came for a similar discussion, which makes me think of when Tom Curley, the CEO of Associated Press came for a similar discussion. VCU does an excellent job of bringing internationally recognized leaders to campus.

Another attraction was Mechanical Engineering and again the 50 research labs, wireless classrooms, student lounges and the remarkably low student teacher ratio wowed the students. Engineering students spend so much time in the engineering building that it is nice to be able to work and relax in a wireless world. The other cool thing about our School of Engineering is they see themselves in the faculty. There are several international faculty members at the school and that brings a level of comfort to our students from abroad.

This was a quick trip to Morocco. We have a handful of Moroccans currently at VCU and I hope that our activities in the past two days have encouraged others that VCU is the place for them. I also hope my luggage arrives with me in Amman.

Kuwait … Starbucks … Mr. Ambassador

2006-11-10T11:18:54Z

Landing in Kuwait I thought I was in South Florida; palm trees, beautiful beaches and surf, horrible road side urban design, tons of retail stores, and Starbucks. If you need proof that the world is now flat, visit any of the 600+ Starbucks in Kuwait and order a latte for only $9. They are on every corner, in basements, rooftops, and gas stations. At night, I dreamed of hazelnut rivers, and snowmen made of sugar, the sky in my world was Starbucks green.

Ask a Kuwaiti if they like living in Kuwait, and they are likely to respond with “Yes, I have to.�? Not exactly a glowing recommendation or affirmation of joy, but they make it work. This is yet another city of skylines with cranes, the old mosque next to a Burger King, the stained glass window next to the mirrored glass. The city cannot help but be influenced by other cultures because their service sector workers are imported from South Asia, and the schools for the youth come in the American, English and French systems. In a session with students at the local Amideast office I responded to a question about safety by telling them that the United States was not exactly how it was portrayed in the movies and MTV. They looked a bit disappointed.

I have answered this question about safety two ways. One, Virginia Commonwealth University has one of the largest police forces of any campus in the United States. We have an escort service that will pick up and deliver students from their current location on campus to other points, from the library to their dorm room for example. They like this but their real question is how safe is it for an Arab? Fair enough. I have told students and parents that as nervous as they are for their safety, so were my parents when I told them I was traveling to the Gulf. We work on what we know and sometimes the reality we create is not based on first-hand experience.

At VCU however, we have one of the largest Muslim Student Associations, an Islamic Film Festival, and our Student Government Association president is an Arab. How many universities in America can say that? Pam, Bob and Wick in our Student Services office work hard to properly integrate students from all regions of the world, and they understand the needs and concerns of the students from the Gulf Region. At the Eid Fitr celebration two weeks ago the students from Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE spoke openly about their affection for “Miss Pam�?, and Bob’s children sat on mats with the Arab students, celebrating the end of Ramadan with a wonderful feast prepared by a local merchant. We are building lasting relationships with our students from the Gulf in a region where genuine relationships are valued. My parents have nothing to worry about, and neither do the parents of these students.

The backbone of the education system here in Kuwait is the tight network of counselors. I visited some of them at Al Bayan, the British School of Kuwait, American International School, the American School and Carmel High School. They meet weekly to discuss their students, issues with universities, issues with administration. They are honest people; living in a dry city, what you see is really what you get. I am grateful to them because they know the students that have the ability to succeed and they were very honest with me regarding the policies of some counselors when it comes to social promotion and grade inflation.

At each of the schools I met with the head counselor and between 10-20 students for around an hour. On these trips sometimes you get lucky and have a room reserved for just you for a mini fair. Other times you get a table in the courtyard during mid-morning break. I’ll take either and the students are appreciative of the time.

At the fair I had two unexpected surprises involving a former student and the US Ambassador. Dr. Judy VanSlyke Turk, director of the School of Mass Communications (and recipient of the Public Relations Society of America’s Top PR Educator Award) started a communications program in the UAE for women. She has many ties to the Middle East and last year she facilitated the visit of two young women from Kuwait who wanted to participate in a three-week internship in print/broadcast journalism. While the students were in Richmond, my wife and I took them and our children to Kuba Kuba for a Sunday brunch, and showed them the city. Well one of them Sara, had aspirations of being a broadcaster and sure enough, she was there at the fair, behind a microphone, in front of a television camera, covering the fair and the US Ambassador for a local station. What a world. You have people briefly enter your life, due to the dedication of VCU administrators like Dr. Turk and you don’t expect to see them again. But life sometimes has other plans.

The other surprise could not have been scripted better for VCU if we had students from our nationally ranked MFA in Creative Writing producing it. The US Ambassador was there to cut the ribbon, which would officially start the fair. After doing this, in the midst of television cameras, microphones, and photographers, the Ambassador refused to start the fair with a first visit to one of the other universities. Instead, he declared, I must start with VCU. What a coup. He came over to my table, accompanied by the paparazzi (yes, Britney has filed for divorce from Kfed, I know) and began to talk with me. It turns out he has a home in Alexandria and the Northern Neck and he was very familiar with VCU. Like that we had a connection that Virginians throughout the world can understand. It made me feel special and once again demonstrated the strength of and awareness of the global brand that is Virginia Commonwealth University.

Amman, Jordan

2006-11-09T20:14:20Z

The drive from the airport to the city center at night is deceiving. At first, it appears that the land is flat and barren, void of lights and obvious measure of terrain. If the moon is as it was when I arrived there will be little man made light, and the stars will seem larger. But as you approach the city center half-way through the 40km ride you start to see the twinkle of lights, and soon after you see the first neon sign, advertising gas and snacks.
The twinkle is the first sign that Amman, and of course, Jordan is not flat. It is created by the partial obstruction from the valleys and rolling hills on the outskirts of the city, and with the passing of each hillside one can briefly see the lights from the large homes. It is not unlike the view from the western side of Historic Churchill in Richmond, yet without the volume of houses.
Amman is a developing city. The site of cranes and construction rivals that of Mumbai, and while the largesse of the buildings is not alarming (nothing constructed here is small) the contents of the buildings are. Major shopping malls, built like palaces are everywhere. On one street alone there is a Kentucky Fried Chicken, Popeye's and Hardee's in successive order. The modern blends with the old.
The students in Amman are really very impressive. Many are taking the full complement of IB or A level classes. I had the fortunate opportunity to visit some of Amman's finest high schools; Amman Baccalaureate, Modern Montessori School of Amman, Al Mashrek and the Alliya School for Girls. These students are strong in the Arts, many are interested in Interior and Graphic Design and there is a big demand for the Life Sciences. I think that while students are aware of the wonderful programs we offer in Qatar, they want to experience the United States and Richmond. They are prepared to send their portfolios. It is interesting to see the emergence of what are considered developing countries. As the middle class expands so will services that were luxuries. Design shops, and the ability to creatively furnish your home is a statement of status, granted to more and more people here and in other countries with growing economies. It is cool to me that we may be providing the graduates and future leaders in this service sector.
Likewise for the Life Sciences. Students here are interested as well in hard science programs, but are not looking for a traditional curriculum. They like the melange of the sciences, math and computer science in courses within the Center for the Study of Biological Complexity. It is perfect for students looking to work in the cutting edge field of genomics and bioinformatics. The added bonus is that these courses will prepare those who desire to go to medical school and also those who are looking to enter the biosciences job market.
We have the potential to establish strong ties to the high school community in Amman. They are curious and we are prepared.

Sri Lanka

2006-10-03T15:20:58Z

If you are planning to visit Colombo, don't land at 5:00pm on a Friday evening. If you do, plan to leave a good 2 hours to navigate the 15 miles of road into the core of the city, where most of the hotels are located. If you love two lane highways, Army checkpoints, off-track betting establishments, and brake lights then you will love the ride from the airport.
After the pace and energy of India, Colombo was a welcomed change. The palm trees, ocean breeze and broad city streets create a tropical environment inviting to a tired recruiter.
The island, located southeast of India, is one influenced by the foreign invaders of its past: the Dutch, Portuguese and British. The Crown withstood the Dutch and Portuguese, and the English were the only ones to gain control of the entire island. After Independence inthe 1940s, they left the country, many would argue, a better place, and if there is a lasting legacy it is an education system that is reflected in the 92% literacy rate among its population. Many can and do speak English.
There are now 14 universities for an island that is roughly the size of West Virginia. Their students are eager to earn degrees from abroad and certain countries like Australia have done a good job recruiting, especially when they offer citizenship upon completion of a degree. Scholars and educators in Sri Lanka admit to a growing concern of the loss of middle class youth to foreign opportunity. The ongoing struggle between the Army and the Tamils has created an environment so bleak in some areas that it is believed students will leave and never return, leaving a polarized society with the extremely rich on one end and the poor on the other.
You have conversations with people and again you realize the power of education. In this case this transformative power could cause the instability of a country's economy and infrastructure over the next 20 years if this theory of exodus that many prescribe to does occur.
I met a VCU ALUMNUS in Colombo. Dr. Regis Chapman, a US Treasury official has been in Colombo for about 14 months after stints in Georgia (country not state), Albania, South Africa and Hungary. He was kind enough to take me out to see the city and meet some of the people from the embassy. Sure enough, at a function at the Marine House (I had a Bratwurst in Colombo, thank you Marines!) I had about 20 minutes of uninterrupted time with the Visa Officer who was already familiar and impressed with Virginia Commonwealth University. That was such a relief because in this process your institution's reputation with the consulate is critical to the success of one of its applicants in gaining a visa. Virginia Commonwealth University has never lost a student and the US government knows we are serious about educational opportunity and international recruitment. I also met the Deputy Director of the consulate and other staff. It was a unique opportunity afforded to me by one of our most gracious alumni and it really helped kick off the trip.
Colombo students were not unlike their counterparts in India, interested in the sciences and business. However, I met an emerging undergraduate population interested in the Arts; design, film and photography.
I am always open and honest with students interested in studying in these fields. Yes, we have those programs and yes we do a good job teaching this or that. In fact, our School of the Arts is nationally ranked and has their own admissions office and process. Students should be prepared to send in an electronic portfolio or DVD depending on what they are interested in studying.
I met many students interested in the Fashion Design/Merchandising program who came, portfolio in hand to the fair. I encouraged them to contact Carolyn Henne in the School of the Arts for an initial contact before applying.
Our stay in Colombo was brief, only 48 hours. Like India though, the students are eager for opportunity and I learned again that the possibility of a better life through education has lasting effects, both on people and a country.

Southern India

2006-10-03T14:57:46Z

The students you meet in India are almost all interested in graduate education. The fairs in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai are 90% graduate studies fairs and they are well attended.
Again the students here are passionate people and eager to give you as much information as possible in the few minutes they have in front of you. I ended up scheduling several interviews both before and after each of these fairs to try and get more time with some of the qualified and interested students.
The Life Sciences program turned out to be a popular program. Of course many of the students were interested in the computer science MS and PhD but I steered many of the to the Center for the Study of Biological Complexity, especially the ones who had already done course work in the field of Bioinformatics. The students who had backgrounds in biology, chemistry and applied math were also drawn to this center and the life sciences. This program, I told them, is a perfect example of how VCU encourages interdisciplinary study and is committed to providing the best resources available to its students to succeed. After all, I continued, how couldn't a building named after our university president not have wireless access in the student lounge and classroom, how could it not have GIS labs you could access 24 hours a day or modern research equipment? It surely would be an insult to not provide the best.
So these students are eager to pursue their degree work in either the biology/genomics track or the bioinformatics/quant track. And of course there is always the PhD in Integrated Life Sciences if they want to pursue there studies further.
There are large educational systems in India at the Federal/State/Regional levels. Two examples of this are JNTU in Hyderabad and the University of Madras in Chennai. JNTU is a State university with over 230 ENGINEERING schools alone affiliated with it. They annually send 30-40% of their students to the United States for postgraduate education, mainly in the hard sciences and engineering.
The University of Madras is similar. Situated on the southeast coast of India its main campus, situated on 100 meters from the beach, is home to 5,000 students though the university services the needs of over 300,000 Indians. It is a very comprehensive university and also has a mirror for Dr. Joe Morolla, director for the Center for Teaching Excellence here at VCU. VCU wisely put resources in a very energetic and bright man and asked him to create a center of learning for faculty who are looking to improve themselves as professors, but might not have the time, to say, seek out the newest technology for the classroom. They can go to see Dr. Morolla (or he will come to them) for training and to test new tools. Ultimately, these efforts benefit our students and the University of Madras has done the same thing. It will be interesting to put these two men in touch to see what they can learn from each other.
As we have left India, I look back and admire a growing, energetic, passionate culture and student population eager to improve themselves, searching for opportunity. We are lucky at VCU to have the programs and infrastructure to assist many of these students. They are worth it. As I told many of them, education is a two way street. They benefit from the education they receive here, and we benefit from our improved reputation once they become successful in their fields. I believe that about many of the students I met and I look forward to seeing them on campus.

Maximum City

2006-09-24T06:08:03Z

One of the 2 million publications students at Virginia Commonwealth University can check out from the library is Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found, by Indian author, Suketu Mehta. It is considered one of the essential non-fiction texts penned on modern India. The city and country described in the book is one of the contradictions created by the mélange of ancient cultural traditions and the modern influence of Western culture and money. I found this India in Mumbai, Pune and now Bangalore.

Mumbai is a city of 11 million people and from the decent in the air it resembles a large city in Arizona, as the blue tarps atop the makeshift homes remind one of the pools found at homes in the west. Only the tarps in Mumbai greatly outnumber the pools in Arizona.

Traveling the streets from my hotel to the USEFI offices, the American School of Bombay, and Vidyalankar Institute of Technology, I had the feeling that I was in a European town, but more French than British. But the energy and pace are not European, but distinctly Indian. The irony of the infrastructure is that when you travel the highways of Mumbai you get along faster without distinct lanes than you would if everyone waited in line. An ambitious cabbie has no problem treating the highway like a slalom ski course, weaving from side to side in an effort to latch on to the momentum of a train of cars with space in front of them.

Space. To say it is at a premium is to say that New York is a village. Vidyanlankar Institute of Technology owns an impressive 60 acres of land right in the middle of Mumbai. They have eight learning centers throughout the city, equipped with the first Macs I have seen in the country. This might make them the single largest landowners in Mumbai. There I visited with their senior staff and spoke before a group of 100 students interested in the programs at VCU. They were very impressed with the amount of public/private investment in the university and came to understand how the $50 million raised for a scholarship endowment in the School of Engineering could benefit them as they considered offers from competing universities. Or, how a $355 million successful fundraising campaign could create infrastructure improvements to a university, which passes along that generosity to its students with new/improved resources like a stock market housed in the School of Business, or the 50 research labs housed in the new engineering building.

Speaking of investment, Pune is one of the Indian cities experiencing shock from an infusion of FDI and outsourcing from Western nations. The site of cranes and bulldozers in Pune will last longer than those found at Springfield Interchange near DC or the Big Dig in Boston. It is not uncommon to see a man riding an elephant down the street glancing at his reflection in the window of an all glass building of a transnational company.

In Pune we met for three hours with students looking for information about studying abroad. Here, I met several young women looking to carry on the tradition of Indian filmmakers. They were interested in our School of Arts with a concentration in filmmaking and CA. These women, knowing the international reputation of the School of Arts wanted to increase their chances of gaining recognition with a degree from a top-ranked program and were undeterred by the competitiveness of entry into the program.

This characteristic is an outstanding trait of many of the students I am meeting. They are ambitious and polite almost to a fault. They are beginning to understand that it is okay to promote their talents in their Statement of Purpose, completed with an application. Their hunger for learning and success is refreshing and it is a reason that many of our 125+ Indian students are successfully earning scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships at Virginia Commonwealth University.

I have landed in Bangalore and I am going to meet one of our alumni who is in software development. Within 2 miles of the airport, on our way to the hotel, I saw a Dominos and a TGIF Fridays. There is serious money in the city and my hotel is located on Richmond Road.

In Bangalore we will visit the International School of Bangalore, RV College of Engineering, PES Institute of Technology, Yashna Trust College the MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology. The fair will be on Monday night from 5-9pm at the Taj Residency in Bangalore.

Last note. In Mumbai a drunk driver struck an elephant at 1am in the morning on a busy road. It was the second time it had been hit as three years ago it was slammed into by a bus. This time it was not able to recover and it died. The driver of the truck and the owner of the elephant have both been arrested for their irresponsible behavior. The partner of the dead elephant spent the next ten hours mourning. He placed himself in the middle of the highway his enormous body blocking the road for an entire day. Eventually he picked himself up and walked away.

Lessons in India

2006-09-19T13:45:09Z

The Dehli and Ahmenabad fairs were simply an impressive showing of sincere interest in higher education in the United States and in Virginia Commonwealth University, for an hour after each fair closed there were still students gathered around the table interested in hearing about courses in Engineering, Business, Pharmacy, Mass Communications, Life Sciences and the Arts.
I was surprised by the amount of students seeking degrees in Pharmacy. I know the job market is great in this country with an annual growth rate over 12% but I generally talk with students interested in engineering courses and business courses. However there are many students that are interested in the Pharmacy MS and Phd and I am in receipt of several applications for this highly regarded program.
In Ahmenabad I led a group of university officials on a visit of the HL School of Commerce, part of Gujarat University. After spending time with Dr. Bahkat and his staff, we answered questions about the business school opportunities at our respective universities.
The students were particularly pleased to hear about VCU's School of Business "Bridge" Program. This allows Indian students with "12 + 3" years of education to gain acceptance into the Masters program of their choice and take the business foundation courses before starting their graduate work. This gives students who only have 15 years of education an opportunity to join a graduate program without delay. Several applicants are taking advantage of the opportunity to start this program when the Spring semester starts in January or the Summer semester in May.
The many choices that are presented to students is one reason Virginia Commonwealth University has been so popular among the students during our tour.
Today we travel to Mumbai where I will personally visit the American School of Bombay and Vidyalankar Institute of Technology. There will be a university fair on Wednesday, September 20, from 5pm to 9pm, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Ballroom.
For students who cannot make it to the fair, please visit the USEFI-Mumbai office, located at 4 New Marine Lines, Mumbai. There one can look at our program materials and pick up an application to Virginia Commonwealth University.

New Delhi

2006-09-15T07:18:21Z

Today will be an active day for Virginia Commowealth University here in Delhi with visits to Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, GGS Indraprastha University and the British School Fair.
Last night I really enjoyed meeting with the Dr. Vijaya Khandavalli, the educational advisor for the U.S. Educational Foundation in India. VCU is proud to be a USEFI university and her shared knowledge is invaluable.
One educational item we talked about was the frequency of internship opportunity for Indian students abroad. These opportunities, from students of all backgrounds, are invaluable, and students at Virginia Commonwealth University benefit from our location in the capital city of Richmond as they seek them.
Since Richmond is the seat of government and finance for the state, internships within both the private and public sector are numerous.
As a student on an F-1 Visa, you can work on campus or in your chosen field of study/research. While you are earning your degree you can earn some spending money, and invaluable experience that can help you get that job after graduation. With multiple Fortune 500 companies based in Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University students are readying themselves to enter the job market with internships at our state's top companies.
So when you think of internships, think big. The interhship helps, the degree helps, the two combined give you a path to a successful future.

Off to India

2006-09-11T17:38:32Z

Tomorrow I will be leaving for India.

As the director of international student recruitment, I will visit India from Sept. 13-Sept. 29. I will be in the following cities during my period in India: New Delhi 13-17, Ahmedabad 17-19, Mumbai & Pune 19-23, Bangalore 26-26, Hyderabad 26-28, Chennai 28-29.

If you are able to meet me in any of these cities, please let me know and I will make time to visit with you in person during our school visits or at the University Fairs. You can contact me at iplittle@vcu.edu.

For information about applying to Virginia Commonwealth University and international admission please visit the following site:http://www.vcu.edu/oie/ia/welcome.html.

Here are some helpful links to research popular programs at VCU.

For information about the School of Engineering Graduate programs, including Computer Science, please visit:
http://www.egr.vcu.edu/egr/academic_programs/graduate/egr-graduate_programs.html

For information about our Life Sciences programs, including Bioinformatics, please visit:
http://www.vcu.edu/lifesci/curricula/curricula.html

For information about the School of Business Graduate programs please visit:
http://www.gsib.bus.vcu.edu/

For information about the School of Communications Graduate programs, including Advertising and Public Relations, please visit:
http://www.has.vcu.edu/mac/grad_porgram/grad_pro_index.html

For information about the School of Arts, including Fashion/Interior/Graphic Design, please visit: http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/artweb/test/html/areasofstudy.asp

For information about the School of Allied Health, including Health Administration, please visit: http://www.had.vcu.edu/

If you have any suggestions for me during my trip to India, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Recruitment Schedule for Fall 2006

2006-09-05T17:10:52Z

Virginia Commonwealth University will have three representatives on the road this semester searching for international students interested in coming to VCU to earn a degree.

Please use the following link to see where we will be. This schedule will be updated when school/college/university visits and times are confirmed.

http://www.vcu.edu/oie/ia/schedule.html

If you have any suggestions for schools/colleges/universities we should visit, please email me at iplittle@vcu.edu

Just Getting Started

2006-08-30T20:59:13Z

Virginia Commonwealth University's Office of International Education recently created the position, Director of International Student Recruitment, and I was chosen to fill it.
Right now, I am preparing to recruit in India, Sri Lanka, and Canada. Our other recruiters, Bob Wood, and Katherine Mangum, will be leaving next month to recruit in Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East.
For detailed information about recruiting, recruitment fairs, and visits to your country and hometown, please continue to check this blog.
Also, please feel free to post any questions or comments you may have about our recruiting efforts.
Take care,

Ian