On Feb. 5, the Global Engagement Conference was held by Maricopa Community Colleges at Scottsdale Community College for the first time.

Dr. Harvey Charles, the Dean for International Education and Vice Provost for Global Strategy at the University of Albany, was the keynote speaker for the conference. The conference is designed to bring together faculty, staff, and administration to focus on ways to strengthen the internationalization efforts in Maricopa Community Colleges and to prepare students to be better engaged citizens of the world.

“Community colleges are generally non-engaged in global education to this extent and the fact that the Maricopa system is making this a priority, I think speaks of their commitment to embrace global education,” Dr. Charles said on the Maricopa Community Colleges global initiative. “So I think it is a wonderful idea.”

The second theme of this conference is to provide outstanding resources to faculty for increasing global learning in the classroom.

“Open your eyes to different cultures and the more you open your eyes, the more you can see, Chandler-Gilbert Community College academic adviser Thomas Hudson said.

During this conference, the Maricopa Community Colleges district developed a different breakout session which provides staff, faculty and administration a framework for better understanding, engagement on campus, internationalization of curriculum and emerging opportunities for strategic engagement overseas.

“I have a lot of international students because Phoenix College has a large population of international students from many different countries,” Phoenix College business department teacher Brenda Maynard said. “I believe this global engagement conference provides current information, and as a business management teacher I am interested in global business.”

Paula Badiloo, a faculty member of Rio Salado Community College, enjoyed the information the conference provided.

“I am really enjoying the conference because I feel we have so much to learn from one another that if we leave the door open and get to know each other, we will enjoy each other,” Badiloo said.

Annique Nestmann, Director of International Education at Mesa Community College, said that the very first Global Engagement Conference has done a great job of infusing international curriculum into necessary disciplines.

“I hope this becomes a yearly event to come together to celebrate internationalization,” Nestmann said.

Therese Tendick, Director of Center for Civic and Global Engagement Office, also enjoyed the conference and is enthusiastic about the doors it can open.

“I feel pretty good,” Tendick said. “It looks like a lot of the faculty has learned something new today and they have a lot to take away and so they are taking something back to their classroom. They are taking ideas on how they can globalize their classrooms, they are taking a recommitment to their college to internationalize them, they are taking away an appreciation for all things that Maricopa does to internationalize and to give the students – both American and international – some skills before they graduate.”

Tendick added that she is happy that SCC hosted this global engagement conference and hopes that this conference becomes an annual event.