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The
Armand V. and Donald S. |
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International Studies at Union 2005 Feigenbaum Forum home page
Opening Remarks Thank you, Jim, for your kind and generous introduction. It’s always a great pleasure for me - and also for my brother- to return to the campus, particularly on the occasion of this Forum. Today’s Forum is of course taking place at a time of great importance for the strength and growth and indeed future of the College. These are times of important new opportunity for those institutions which have been appropriately positioning themselves in leadership terms for this highly demanding new global environment for education. What is increasingly evident in the transformational events and actions taking place throughout the campus – the Minerva’s, Converging Technologies, Entrepreneurship and others – is the powerful sense of purpose and the reinforcement of direction they represent in Union today. They reflect its focus upon strengths in a character of education in liberal arts and in engineering that genuinely prepares men and women for meaningful leadership in today’s churning world. What also comes with this kind of territory is that it invariably makes even more focused for an institution such as Union some of the major areas of opportunity and challenge that accompany this character of education leadership. And so when President Underwood advised us that Union’s international programs had been chosen as the topic for this year’s Forum, our response to him was that we were particularly pleased. My brother and I have long had respect for Union’s international programs – particularly as we are ourselves part of an international company and have spent much of our lives working and living in these terms. The several subjects that have been brought together in today’s agenda in our judgment provide an impressive and thoughtful framework for the breadth of discussion demanded by so many sided a subject as international education and its essential role in Union’s mission and values. What I refer to as this churning global environment and the character of the demand it now places upon education – in social and economic as well as engineering and science terms – is especially apparent to those of us in international companies – and what major companies are not international today. For example, in economic terms, corporate data projects that more than one half of the sales growth and profitability of an increasing number of American companies will come from their international markets in the next several years. And, from our own experience as well as that of many other organizations, the favorable likelihood of these projections is heavily dependent upon the social and economic and political and cultural and linguistics liberal arts education and skills of the men and women on the home country side of the company – fully as much as upon those skills in the companies’ organizations abroad. The corollary in terms of engineering and science – and in its forms of education – is the rapidly increasing focus in American companies upon the effective internationalization of their technology. It emphasizes the corresponding importance of the understanding of the character of these developments by the men and women on the science and engineering sides of the company. It’s reflected in the rapid increase in products and services that travel under a composite of national passports because of what can best be described as the multi-nationalization of their development, production and distribution by an increasing number of American companies today. And this includes emphasis upon information technology in terms that emphasize global communications and decision making in face-to-face terms in much shorter periods of elapsed time than would otherwise be possible. One of our General Systems Company examples is addressing of operating objectives globally, by holograph from the United States. For example, in recently addressing a group in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates we literally seemed to be present there in real time terms and be able to walk and talk – but in fact be in our offices in America. We have been able personally to cover subjects that otherwise would otherwise have required lengthy travel to the Persian Gulf or might not have been able to be dealt with at all in such terms. As with an increasing number of American organizations, these developments are competitively very important in the General Systems Company. As you perhaps know, our basic global businesses include the transformation of strong institutions – largely multi-national – into even greater strength through operational fully as much as physical improvement. These institutions range from large industrial corporations, financial groups and major technology organizations throughout the Americas, Europe and Japan on through to, especially these days, rapidly industrializing China and India and the Middle East. We know that thinking efficiently and effectively in international terms – and the men and women who are oriented to accomplishing this effectively – represent one of the most important assets for global companies like ours today. What might be thought of as the overarching theme for this in the policy of our General Systems Company is perhaps most vividly described by the English translation of the expression of one of our senior Japanese colleagues. It is “first, to have a clear window on the world; second, to have the background to understand what you see; and, third, to be regularly on the scene to observe the reality of what is taking place and to act effectively on it.” Taken together, it is perhaps a prescription also for many forms of international learning today especially in terms of economic, social and technology considerations. And successfully understanding and meeting these demands is a key to leadership for today. Indeed, as compared with just a few years ago, the college and university graduate who enters an organization without a suitable international orientation and background – and allows himself or herself to be primarily identified as an engineering department person or primarily a particular specialist person whether economist, psychologist, biologist, sociologist or scientist – may be making a poor longer-term career decision as well as creating an intellectual growth limitation. And he and she are increasingly saying so to the college or university from which they graduated which still may be structured without such full focus on preparing for what I earlier termed today’s churning world. Its continuing and progressively increasing emphasis upon international programs is a key to Union’s continuing and growing major leadership role for education in this new era of globalization. Indeed, I think of our discussions this afternoon as part of the continuing evolution of what has always been best about Union. Its periods of strength are when it focuses on breaking new paths of excellence in continuing to build its intellectual, social and economic strength for serving its responsibility of educating for leadership in today’s enormously demanding new global environment. Let me conclude by remarking how continuingly pleasant it is for us that these discussions take place in this fine building about whose maintenance we’re so satisfied and whose portraits downstairs bring to Armand and me the great magic of staying put – never changing – in a world that for us is always in constant redevelopment. After the example of the intensive and productive Forum sessions in past years, both my brother and I once again welcome this opportunity to join with you to look forward to this afternoon of what has consistently been an illuminating, pleasant and constructive afternoon.
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