Last week, 36 Fulbright New Century Scholars from 25 different countries addressed global problems related access and equity in higher education at a three-day seminar hosted by UB.
The scholars, who ranged from sociologists to physicists to the head of the George Lucas Foundation, were chosen in February after a selective application process and met for the first time at the conference.
Founded only five years ago, The Fulbright New Century Scholars is a division of the Fulbright program that engages both scholars and professionals in debate on worldwide issues and concerns. Unlike the normal Fulbright scholar, the focus for Fulbright New Century scholars is on collaborative multidisciplinary research and they are challenged to seek multidimensional solutions to complex world problems.
"The New Century Scholars is a reflection of a modern era of exchange," said Patti Peterson, executive director of the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES). CIES is a non-profit cooperating agency which helps to administrate the Fulbright programs.
"This is such a rich group because other than faculty we have people from the administration, government, and different associations - so its not just research," said Redouane Assad, administrator of the Moroccan Department of Higher Education, Training and Scientific Research, a part of Ministry of National Education.
This year's theme, "Higher Education in the 21st Century: Access and Equity," will largely focus on the insufficient number of professors who will teach a projected eight billion students who will be engaged in postsecondary education by the year 2020 globally.
"Many parts of the world are not ready for this. They don't have the number of institutions and they don't have enough faculty," Peterson said.
Bruce Johnstone, SUNY Distinguished Service professor and university professor of higher and comparative education, was selected to head the group of scholars as Distinguished Scholar Leader. Johnstone's appointment to the prestigious position for 2007-2008 was based on his extensive scholarly experiences in higher education.
Johnstone suggested that the main problem in the United States is not in access to higher education, but in entry to these institutions due to early dropouts.
"The people who are not going is what bothers us. There is a disproportionate drop out of minority and low income people," Johnston said. "We lose them in seventh or eighth grade, when they stop having interest."
Parenting that may not stress expectations of continuing higher education, ineffectiveness of secondary schooling and inadequate schools all play a role in reducing the number of students who continue on with their education in the U.S.
Due to the many cultural differences, Johnstone and Peterson agreed that there is no single broad solution to the issue of higher education access and equity, but by the culmination of the 18 month collaboration, they hope scholars will be able to propose recommendations that will translate into tangible effects on local, regional and global levels.
"People sit in very different vantage points and I think that's an enriching characteristic. Collectively they will have something about this issue that will be important to policy-makers," Peterson said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
