Episode Summary

In this episode, Steve discusses the diversity and inclusion of international students and why it is important to incorporate global perspectives into a student’s learning. Steve’s perspectives on diversity, equity and inclusion were shaped by his upbringing in multicultural Canada, his experience as a church volunteer in the southern United States, traveling on projects in South Asia, and working with students from across the world. Steve advocates that a wholesome college experience should include global learning and intercultural experiences at home and abroad.

Diversity Talks, Episode 3 Transcript

Stephen McDowell

Assistant Provost International Initiatives
Associate Dean, College of Communication & Information
John H. Phipps Professor of Communication
Curriculum Vitae

Bio

Stephen D. McDowell serves as Assistant Provost for International Initiatives at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. He has also served as Associate Dean in the College of Communication and Information since 2013, and is John H. Phipps Professor in the School of Communication at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. He was Director of the School of Communication at FSU from 2002-2013.

McDowell’s research and teaching interests address news content, new communication technologies, and communication policies in South Asia and North America. He has co-edited with Sahana Udupa, Media as Politics in South Asia (Routledge, 2017). He has co-authored, with Phillip Steinberg and Tami Tomasello, Managing the Infosphere: Governance, Technology, and Cultural Practice in Motion (Temple University Press, 2007), and written a book on India’s communication policies, Globalization, Liberalization and Policy Change: A Political Economy of India's Communications Sector (St. Martin’s, 1997).

McDowell has held fellowships with the Canadian federal Department of Communications in Ottawa, Canada (1987-1989), with the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute in New Delhi, India (1989-1990), and a Congressional Fellowship supported by the American Political Science Association in Washington, D.C. (1994-1995). He served as Chair of the Communication Law and Policy Division of the International Communication Association from 2008-2010.

Enhance Your Curriculum with Our Discussion Guide

You can incorporate this episode into your class or workshop curriculum with this discussion guide.

Further resources

Global learning and Internationalization:

• See Tanu Kohli Bagwe and Elçin Haskollar’s article on: Impact of COVID-19 on Global Learning
• Explore the scope and vocabulary of global learning: https://www.aacu.org/global-learning/definitions
• To understand the overarching vision of global learning, read: Global Learning: What Is It? Who Is Responsible for It?
• Learn more about Florida State University’s Strategic Plan, Goal III: Increase Global and Cultural Competencies in the FSU Community: https://strategicplan.fsu.edu/diversity-inclusion/initiative-b/
• Deepen your perception of the relationship between international education, diversity and inclusion by reading, Internationalisation and student diversity: how far are the opportunity benefits being perceived and exploited?
• Catch the overall benefits of internationalization by reading: College Leaders Agree on the Benefits of Internationalization
• Find out how Florida State University fared on The Consortium for Analysis of Student Success through International Education, and compare it to of the United States.

International Students and Studying Abroad:

• Identify the benefits of study abroad and international student diversity by exploring: The Institute of International Education and their Open Doors Database
• See the contributions of international students to university systems at Attracting Top International Students Helps All Of Us: Here's Why It Matters, NAFSA’s International Student Economic Value Tool, and current data on International Students in the United States

What can you do, to support international students?

• Learn to celebrate international students here: Supporting a Diverse International Student Community
• Understand the benefits of interactions with people from outside your culture: Luo, J., & Jamieson-Drake, D. (2013). Examining the Educational Benefits of Interacting with International Students. Journal of International Students, 3(2), 85–101.
• Student affairs professionals may read: Five Things Student Affairs Professional Can Do Support International Students
• Supporting international students through COVID-19: The Transition To Virtual: Supporting International Students in a COVID-19 World