Fairleigh Dickinson University introduced an innovative program this semester designed to give students a global living and learning experience. Called the Global Scholars Program, this unique venture on the Metropolitan Campus offers a diverse and selected group of students a chance to live, study and socialize together, while exploring various international and global issues.

Jonell Sanchez, right, associate dean of students (Metro), took several global scholars to the United Nations this semester. Some of the scholars are pictured here with Sanchez. They are, from left, Amanda Cinque, Kate Cook, Laura Righter, Dora Argueta, Michael Richtmyer, Dennis Uhlmann and Paul Rangel.

The program is jointly run by Jonell Sanchez, associate dean of students (Metro), and Rick Isquith, executive director for global partnerships (Metro/Flor).

“The goal of the program is to provide an opportunity for students to engage in a creative and fun learning atmosphere that will enhance their skills for a lifetime,” Sanchez said.

“These students are academically gifted and have interests that closely parallel the University’s global mission,” added Isquith. “We want to broaden their horizons and provide experiences that will give them a global mindset and make them better global citizens.”

After an application process that included an essay describing their desire to engage in global experiences, 22 students were accepted to participate this year. “We wanted a diverse mix of freshmen and upperclassmen, American and international students to live and learn in a residential facility with a warm atmosphere,” Sanchez explained, adding that one of the program’s main benefits is encouraging a rich dialogue of ideas among people from different backgrounds.

University Court 4 was the residence hall selected to house the on-campus Global Scholars (commuter students also are eligible to be Global Scholars). “We wanted an environment conducive to significant interaction,” said Sanchez. “University Court 4 is the only hall that has a computer and a desk in the common area. Also, that hall is co-ed and houses many international students; some Global Scholars are serving as resident assistants as well.”

The living experience is combined with an interdisciplinary academic program. The students are required to take six credits together, including the online freshman course The Global Challenge, Freshman Seminar and an independent study (juniors and sophomores just take the independent study). The independent study is coordinated through the School of History, Political and International Studies. “It calls for the students to conduct intensive research in a global context. At the same time, students learn the process of research in a seminar-type learning experience,” said Sanchez.

Additionally, students must take part in a minimum of seven co-curricular activities both on and off campus, such as trips to museums, visits to the United Nations and meetings with ambassadors and international leaders. These activities aim to be educational, fun and exciting, and of course, Sanchez explained, complement the academic studies undertaken. “One student is researching women in Saudi Arabia; she had the opportunity to have dinner with the Jordanian ambassador to the United Nations and posed questions about the role of women in the Middle East.”

Another component of the program is a one-credit experiential learning course, an optional study-abroad experience. A trip to South Africa is set for January, and Sanchez said the students are looking forward to it. The two-week excursion is open to all FDU students, but the Global Scholars were offered the opportunity first. Sanchez has visited South Africa several times and is thrilled at the thought of sharing his experiences first-hand with the students. “This trip is experiential learning and an invaluable field experience for the students.”

Sanchez hopes the South African experience will broaden the students’ perspectives and help give them the ability “to feel they can go anywhere in the world as world citizens.”

Sanchez is pleased with the program’s success thus far and said the students are learning not just about each other and the world, but about themselves in the process. “It’s been a privilege to work and teach and expose the Global Scholars to an experience that I believe they will remember for the rest of their lives.”

Isquith said that a good measure of the program’s initial success is that these students are already asking what happens in the second year of the program. “While we don’t have other components planned, we do hope these students spread the word and the enthusiasm about these global studies and activities throughout the campus.”

Sanchez and Isquith both credited several other key individuals who have sparked the program, including Judith Kaufman, psychology (Metro), who runs the Freshman Seminar; Leonard Grob, philosophy and University coordinator and director of University Core (Metro); and, at the School of History, Political and International Studies, Faramarz (Jim) Fatemi, its director and history/political science (Metro) and Helen Brudner, associate director and history/political science (Metro). “These people are the core who have worked on making this program happen,” Sanchez said.

Isquith added that he hopes to set up a comparable program next year at the College at Florham.

December 2002/
January 2003

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Flor =
College at Florham, Madison, N.J.

Metro =
Metropolitan Campus, Teaneck, N.J.

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