Global Education
Dear Goucher Parents and Friends,
With holidays around the corner, I would like to share a few highlights of 2022 from
the Office of Global Education, along with our warmest greetings.
Despite the lingering effects imposed by the pandemic on international travels, Goucher
students, faculty, and staff have practiced their adaptability and resilience to grow
our study abroad and global engagement programs. This past July, our faculty successfully
ran their ICA (Intensive Course Abroad) with 30 students in Glasgow, Scotland. This
coming January, another ICA class with two professors and 20 students will travel
to Bali, Indonesia. In addition, 47 students did semester-long programs at Goucher-sponsored
sites; 75 students studied abroad through other programs. The life-changing study
abroad has significantly enriched their college experience.
In the meantime, we have continued our successful study abroad alternatives for the
second year, enabling students unable to study abroad to have a meaningful global
learning experience at home. This year we’ve had 128 students engage with peers from
around the world through a virtual exchange platform offered by Stevens Initiative. This virtual platform allows our students to participate in synchronized discussions
with their peers from other countries such as Morocco, Iraq, Tunisia, and the Netherlands
on topics that include climate change, work culture, social change, political climates,
and other relevant subjects.
Still others took the Global Engagement Seminar and shadowed Goucher alumni from industries
where cross-cultural communication and global leadership are exemplified daily. All
these experiences prepare our graduates for their future professional lives and equip
them well to help tackle the many issues that face our world.
As we explore new models of global learning, our faculty continue to stay ahead. Working
with staff colleagues from the U.K. and Germany, we organized a very engaging conference
at Goucher highlighting Faculty Leadership in the Changing Landscape of Global Education. Building on its tradition of study abroad, Goucher College is expanding its scope
of global education to embrace and create new approaches, as well as an innovative
curriculum to prepare our graduates for the world that’s becoming further interconnected.
To make study abroad more accessible to Goucher students, we embarked on a new partnership
with ISEP, a leading academic exchange network, which has not only expanded the number of study
abroad options but also made study abroad more accessible and equitable to every undergraduate
student. This partnership allows more international exchange students to access a
Goucher experience. As of this fall semester, we have 50 international students enrolled
in our classrooms, hailing from 29 countries.
To revitalize our international partnerships, this September, President Devereaux,
Vice President Aarika Camp, and I visited our partner institutions in Japan and South
Korea, where we also met with our students currently studying there. While in Tokyo,
we hosted a Goucher Presidential Reception, which drew alumni who graduated as early
as the 1960s and attended as recently as 2021. In an era of pandemic-induced isolation,
our innovative spirit to stay connected with the world has been well-received by our
partners, students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Today, the Goucher learning community
is more active than ever in engaging each other in cross-cultural activities; the
Goucher International Student Association hosted its annual international festival,
and the international alumni came together for Gophers Around the Globe.
Our efforts have been all the more rewarding; our students and programs have received
scholarships and awards for their creativity and dedication to global learning, and
the experience we offer has been featured in publications, conferences, and invited
presentations through national and international media.
As we celebrate the success of 2022, we wish to share the joy and wish you all the
best for a wonderful holiday season!
Luchen Li, Associate Vice President of Global Education
Professor of Literary Studies