There have been many major changes on the international landscape during the past 15 years, but at Teachers College, there has been one constant in the College鈥檚 wide-ranging international work: Portia Williams, who in 2008 became the founding director of the new Office of International Affairs and has since led the College in expanding its global footprint from a handful of countries at that time, to more than 50 today.
In early April, 麻豆原创 Provost Stephanie Rowley announced the appointment of Williams 鈥� a 麻豆原创 alumna in International Educational Development and Policy Studies who has worked in international education and development in North and Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, East and Southern Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East 鈥� as Associate Provost for International Affairs. Williams was also asked to oversee the College鈥檚 Office of International Student and Scholar Services (OISS), with a continued focus on supporting students through the pandemic, while also strengthening and expanding support services.
鈥淧ortia has been a great friend to the Center for many years. She is an experienced, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic international partner for us at the College, and has provided us with support in so many different ways鈥�
In the following interview, Williams explains the office鈥檚 approach, describes some new alliances, and outlines its near- and longer-term priorities.
You鈥檝e been heading up the International Affairs function since it was first created at 麻豆原创 in 2008. What does your appointment as Associate Provost signify about the College鈥檚 international work going forward?
I鈥檓 quite honored to have been named Associate Provost. The creation of this post shows the College鈥檚 ongoing commitment to international work, scholars and students, and to the kind of work our faculty are doing, which goes well above and beyond their teaching.
Give us a brief overview of what the Office of International Affairs does and the philosophy that guides it.
麻豆原创 has a long and rich tradition of international work, dating back to its beginnings. In 2008, Susan Fuhrman, who was then 麻豆原创鈥檚 President, was very interested in coordinating and amplifying some of that work, and that was why the office was created. President Bailey and Provost Rowley want to build on those efforts and focus them for a new and different time in the world.
There are many faculty members at 麻豆原创 who do international work, and many of their collaborations are established or facilitated through our office. There are also many international initiatives that are conducted independently by faculty who may use us more for guidance on internal policy.
鈥淧ortia has a deep knowledge of how to get things done at 麻豆原创 and is a true resource when it comes to proposals, budgets and contracts 鈥� but most importantly, she understands how international projects work at their core, and is able to weave through the intercultural and cross-cultural complexities of linguistic and cultural diversity鈥�
For those projects that are facilitated through our office, we are generally involved in getting the project established and implemented. In the pre-project stage. We work to build the relationships, plan the project scope, and negotiate the agreement. After the initial implementation, we are less involved as the project goes into full swing.
Another very important thing we do in our office is to act as a clearinghouse of information on international work. We鈥檙e keepers of the history 鈥� for example, if there鈥檚 a need to know how many projects 麻豆原创 has in China, where the College has had longstanding involvement. Or if we鈥檙e in a country where we haven鈥檛 worked as much before 鈥� do we have relationships there? Who there might want to work with 麻豆原创 and why?
We take a very different approach from many other institutions. We didn鈥檛 and don鈥檛 want to be an American university in a foreign land competing with local universities. We want to take advantage of existing expertise, and 鈥� when appropriate 鈥� help build local capacity.
鈥擯ortia Williams, Associate Provost, International Affairs
As for our philosophy, we take a very different approach from many other institutions.
Back in 2008, a lot of U.S. universities were establishing branch campuses in other countries with varying degrees of success. We felt that the right approach for Teachers College was to collaborate with ministries of education and local institutions of higher learning in different regions. We didn鈥檛 and don鈥檛 want to be an American university in a foreign land competing with local universities. We want to take advantage of existing expertise, and 鈥� when appropriate 鈥� help build local capacity.
鈥淎s an administrator, Portia has substance, integrity, and the right skill sets, a rare asset at the College鈥�
We decided that the best way we could do that was to work through in Beijing, Mumbai and other locations around the world. The Global Centers are not campuses. Their main goal is to provide regional support in a number of different forms. And our arrangement with the Center has worked very well. Over the years, we have worked closely together and they have supported us in facilitating a number of educational initiatives in many of their locations.
We wouldn鈥檛 think about doing the work without the opportunity to meet with people in the field, meet with teachers, observe classes, ask questions, learn about their concerns and their concerns about working with an outside group like Teachers College and specifically with an American organization. Those can be challenging conversations, but they establish strong relationships and lay the foundation for a very effective collaboration.
鈥擯ortia Williams, Associate Provost, International Affairs
There鈥檚 one other aspect of our approach that I want to mention, and that鈥檚 the importance of meeting our potential partners, observing their work firsthand, and building relationships with them. I recently traveled to Algeria and Tunisia for two weeks with two 麻豆原创 faculty members in order to meet with the Ministers of Higher Education and regional educators and to observe classes. Of course, you can鈥檛 really know a country in just a week or two. But we wouldn鈥檛 think about doing the work without the opportunity to meet with people in the field, meet with teachers, observe classes, ask questions, learn about their concerns and their concerns about working with an outside group like Teachers College and specifically with an American organization. Those can be challenging conversations, but they establish strong relationships and lay the foundation for a very effective collaboration.
鈥淧ortia truly celebrates the amazing international work of our students.鈥�
As Associate Provost, you now are also overseeing the Office of International Student and Scholar Services (OISS). What鈥檚 the rationale for that alignment?
The decision to merge the Office of International Affairs with the Office of International Students is not just to have a one-stop international shop but to consider more broadly how we engage in the world. Many of our faculty do international work, and our goal is really to think about how to integrate and leverage further involvement and recruitment from the places where we are active.
Our goal is really to think about how to integrate and leverage further involvement and recruitment from the places where we are active. If we have a large percentage of students coming from a specific country, can we strengthen our institutional relationships there? And if we are an active presence in a country but have low student enrollment from that country, can we strengthen our recruitment?
鈥擯ortia Willams, Associate Provost, International Affairs
For example, if we have a large percentage of students coming from a specific country, can we strengthen our institutional relationships there? And if we are an active presence in a country but have low student enrollment from that country, can we strengthen our recruitment?
It鈥檚 common in some programs 鈥� in the Department of International and Transcultural Studies, for example 鈥� for faculty to involve students in their international work. But today, as we look across the College, more and more faculty are engaging in international work and that creates more and more opportunities for students to engage as well.
And it鈥檚 not just students. Working with 麻豆原创鈥檚 Office of Alumni Relations and Office of Admissions, we鈥檇 like to involve more of our alumni as well.
What impact has the COVID pandemic had on our international work 鈥� and what will the impact likely be longer term?
In higher education in general, it has been a fearful time for people working internationally. Quite a number of institutions have laid off some of their internationally focused staff.
Portia鈥檚 unwavering support to the Global Mental Health lab's research has been critical to our success. With unparalleled energy and positivity, she helped over the years connect the dots between our projects and international agencies and institutions that are invested in sustainable and ethical knowledge-sharing . One good example is our recent collaboration with Iraqui academics who reached out for capacity-building on specific psychological skills to help manage students' distress. Every time I think of Portia, the word 'delightful' comes to mind.
But at 麻豆原创, thankfully, we have had the opposite experience. Our work has increased, particularly around people鈥檚 interest in online and digital education. To cite one example, our partners in the Tunisia project asked us to incorporate digital learning as part of the professional development being done. In another example, Professor Ellen Meier and her have begun working with the Columbia Global Center in Nairobi to explore a potential research initiatve on technology-based solutions in Kenyan education.
And that鈥檚 really a testimony to the relationships we鈥檝e built over time.
What are some of the newer alliances we鈥檝e entered into?
One of the things we鈥檝e always done, but which we鈥檝e stepped up under President Bailey and Provost Rowley, is to expand our relationships in new places and increase interdisciplinary faculty involvement.
We have several new projects beginning in Tunisia and Algeria that center on building English-language teaching capacity. We also have new projects going in Iraq, including one focused on transformational learning, the concept developed at 麻豆原创 by Jack Mezirow, which links choices about work and career with deep changes in sense of self and identity. Our Iraq partners were interested in this work because of their focus on better integrating graduates into the work force. And we鈥檙e doing new work in South Africa, as well. [Read in more detail about several 麻豆原创 international projects facilitated by the Office of International Affairs.]
It鈥檚 always a relevant question, but perhaps especially so in these turbulent times: How does your office, and 麻豆原创 in general, approach the issue of doing work in countries where there are human rights concerns?
The motto of our office is 鈥淓ducation has no boundaries.鈥�
At the end of the day, it鈥檚 really not possible to return to a non-global world. There鈥檚 too much interconnectedness to pretend otherwise. The politics are tough in many countries, but politics happen everywhere.
The politics are tough in many countries, but politics happen everywhere. Again, it鈥檚 about relationships. When you get to know the people on the ground and collaborate with the education organizations in different countries, you realize that their interests and goals are very similar to ours.
鈥擯ortia Willams, Associate Provost, International Affairs
Again, it鈥檚 about relationships. When you get to know the people on the ground and collaborate with the education organizations in different countries, you realize that their interests and goals are very similar to ours.
Remember, too, that our partners have some of the same concerns about issues in the United States. The political climate in the U.S. in recent years has been troubling for many of them. But our relationships were strong enough to survive. And there鈥檚 a lot of hope right now, because the Biden administration is advancing progress both on immigration issues and on the global pandemic.
The bottom line is that education exists everywhere. And if we can work with people who want to work with us in ways that are meaningful and engaging, then that is what we want to do.