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Joyce Winslow
jwins@uoregon.edu
“People say, ‘think outside the box,’ but I say--don’t even go IN there in the first place!”
The ebullient Dr. Chunsheng Zhang is obviously not in the habit of boxed-in thinking. On the contrary, the University of Oregon’s new Vice Provost for International Affairs and Outreach is all about exploration, expansion, and innovation.
In fact, one of the things that first drew Zhang to the UO is its receptivity to innovation--that, and its West Coast location, which naturally lends itself to educational exchanges with Pacific Rim universities. As Zhang says, “international collaboration in research and education is not just a trend, it’s already here!” He is eager to expand upon what the UO has already done to foster global exchange and help raise the profile of the UO as one of the country’s leading research universities.
A vital component of the UO’s capability to realize its international potential is its position as a gigaPOP for the national high-speed research network, Internet2 (I2). A consortium of U.S. universities and other institutes of higher learning as well as leading high tech corporations, government agencies, science laboratories, and international partner organizations, I2 is a pioneer in developing and deploying revolutionary Internet technology.
Another very important piece of international collaboration at the UO is videoconferencing, a technology the university has utilized extensively and very successfully in such programs as the American English Institute’s burgeoning distance-learning initiatives (see article on page 6). Aside from its important contribution to e-learning and research, videoconferencing technology, aided by the UO’s advanced I2 network infrastructure, can also play an important role in helping to orient international students. Before they leave their home country, students and their host families in Eugene can now meet first on video, greatly easing the transition. Zhang himself has used videoconferencing frequently to meet with colleagues around the globe, saving both time and travel costs. He is enthusiastic about the speed and transmission quality of videoconferencing via the I2 network. “It makes long-distance communication as easy as sending email,” he says. There’s no communication delay, and it’s very clear.”
As part of his responsibilities as vice provost, Zhang oversees the operation of the Portland-based AHA International, which merged with the UO in 2003. AHA is a study abroad provider with established programs in Europe, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand.
Aware that the current generation of students is extremely tech-savvy, he is eager to try new ways of attracting and engaging students online. Zhang would like to see colorful, hands-on, interactive web outreach to students (“make it fun!”). Among his ideas is to provide a vivid, clickable online map of the world with the theme “We bring the world to the UO.” Each click would link to extensive information about each country, as well as details about the study abroad program there. Another concept that excites him is to augment the standard letter of acceptance with an online communiqué that links prospective new students to their own pre-created personal UO website, with photos and general information gleaned from their application forms.
Zhang would also like to see world maps posted in every classroom as a reminder that, in the 21st century, “the world is our classroom.” Ideally, these maps would be interactive and user-friendly, with touch-screen links to information about different areas of the globe.
Next spring, at the end of his first year as vice provost at the UO, Zhang intends to document the UO’s new international outreach accomplishments in a newsletter. “I don’t even have the staff to do it yet!” he laughs. But Zhang is irrepressibly positive. “Don’t think of all the reasons something can’t be done; find the one way you can do it,” he says.