Association of International Education Administrators Annual Conference

The tendency to see the local and the global as separate and distinct phenomena has a long history in the academy. And yet today, local-global connections have become apparent for communities and academic institutions alike. In this century of clear and present globalization, colleges and universities are increasingly recognizing that local and global are part of the same system, that one cannot be understood without reference to the other, and that the local communities in which they are located, --urban, rural, and regional-- must now be viewed as globally embedded. 

As we gather for 2016 AIEA conference, how might our institutions become more effective regional leaders and stewards for enhancing the quality of life and educational, economic and cultural development for our communities? In answering this question, the imperatives are clear: higher education institutions must consider and communicate the ways in which global forces shaped the communities in which they are located in the past, and are reshaping them in the present. They must understand and connect with the international linkages that increasingly connect these localities with others. And they must prepare all graduates, no matter their discipline or profession, to operate in a globalized world with skill, wisdom, and responsibility.