New Global Scholars Program offers unique living-learning experience

By JENA WITTKAMP
UNC News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- This semester, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School began a living-learning program that will help undergraduates better prepare for careers in a global economy.

The students in the Global Scholars Program participate in a variety of special living, learning and immersion activities – culminating in a trip to Asia – to help them gain a deeper insight into international culture. The program was made possible by the generosity of Alston Gardner, a 1977 UNC alumnus who lives in Atlanta.

In 2001, Gardner pledged a $10 million gift to UNC’s Carolina First fund-raising campaign to dramatically increase opportunities for students and faculty to immerse themselves in global studies on campus and overseas. The Global Scholars Program is a component of this gift.

As an undergraduate, Gardner did not travel internationally. When he created his own business, he discovered he had much to learn about international trade and culture. Gardner’s gift is intended to give students the chance to have an intense international experience on campus, program officials said.

Gardner’s particular interest in Asia and the importance of that region for business shaped the program, said Dr. Ellen Peirce, associate dean of the school’s bachelor of science in business administration, or BSBA, program.

“We felt it was important to target Asia and to bring some of the brightest students from the best universities there,” Peirce said. “The Global Scholars Program brings together students from North America and Asia to live with and learn from one another. The program introduces them to perspectives on business from around the world.”

Program officials are working to secure the involvement of leading schools from South America for 2004, and plans also are being developed to look to partners in China and India as the program develops.

“The ‘total immersion experience’ the program gives students by allowing them to share a living space is invaluable,” said Mark Scullion, BSBA assistant director of global programs.

Vincent Thorn, a senior business and economics major from Northport, N.Y, said the program has given him insight into international customs “you don’t read anything about in the news or in textbooks.”

The students live on a reserved floor in the Craige North residence hall, where the international students room with domestic students. This fall, international scholars came from institutions in Korea and Thailand.

Participants enroll in a common course in the business school, “Business Between the Americas and the Pacific Rim,” which examines commerce and policy interactions among nations in these regions, including North Carolina trade and commerce. Study trips are an integral part of the curriculum. Students will travel to Charlotte, for instance, to meet with Wachovia executives.

Domestic students also may choose to participate in a two-week, faculty-led immersion trip to Asia at the end of the academic year. Planning is still under way, but the group will visit companies in China, Japan, Korea and Thailand, where students will receive briefings from executives and observe cultural influences on business operations abroad, Scullion said.

Students visited IBM in Research Triangle Park, took a fall break study trip to Washington, D.C., and are anticipating study trips to other multinational firms in RTP such as GlaxoSmithKline and Nortel. November has been designated as “visiting speaker month,” during which students will invite UNC faculty for informal discussions on aspects of global business, culture and language.

During the Washington, D.C., study trip, students listened to panels of experts talk about international trade and labor issues.

“One of the most interesting things was listening to questions from the international and American students and hearing their perspectives on wage rates and workers’ rights, for instance,” said Melissa Anderson of Charlotte, a junior business major who is pursuing a minor in Chinese. A Robertson Scholar, Anderson spent the fall 2002 semester studying in Beijing.

It’s not all business, though: Students and their resident advisers have planned social and cultural programs, such as international dinners and a recent Halloween pumpkin carving.

Living, traveling and attending classes together builds a stronger sense of community, said Dr. David Jones, assistant director of the university’s Department of Housing and Residential Education.

“We know that whenever you have a living-learning community, research shows that students have the ability to continue learning because they carry academic conversations into their living environment,” Jones said.

“One goal of the program is creating lifelong partnerships among these students,” Peirce said. “The process of international networking gives them an advantage as they advance in their careers.”

Thorn said he became interested in the program because it combines two of his interests, business and international culture.

“It just sounded intriguing, to get to know all of the students and to show them a great experience,” said Thorn, who also is one of the hall’s resident advisers.

Jun Kyung Auh, a senior business major from Seoul, Korea, was eager to participate in the program to improve his language skills and to experience living abroad.

“My plan after graduation is to go to graduate school somewhere in the United States,” Auh said. “I wanted to get some experience living in the U.S.”

Gardner’s gift counts toward the Carolina First campaign goal of $1.8 billion. Carolina First is a comprehensive, multi-year private fund-raising campaign to support Carolina’s vision of becoming the nation’s leading public university.

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(Wittkamp, of Raleigh, is a senior majoring in women’s studies and journalism and mass communication.)

Kenan-Flager Business School contact: Kim Weaver Spurr, (919) 962-8951 or spurrk@unc.edu