Experiencing diverse cultures
"Clark is known for its lively intercultural campus, which is connected locally and globally."
— Clark's Academic and Financial Plan
Clark prepares students to meet contemporary challenges in a diverse world. Learning is transformed through exchanges with students and faculty of different races, ethnicities, religions and backgrounds; who come from cities and small towns, and from various states and countries; and who have a wide variety of interests, talents and perspectives. Clark supports a diverse and exciting environment where students can learn from their differences and stimulate one another to reexamine even their most deeply held assumptions about themselves and their world.
Here, divers ity is not simply a matter of the changing demographics in students or faculty—it's pervasive and integrated—woven throughout the curriculum, classrooms, lectures and discussions, community-outreach, study-abroad opportunities, and civic dialogues both here and abroad, as well as the many student-run social clubs, campus organizations and residence halls.
Courses like "Human Rights and International Politics," "Introduction to Latin-American Civilization," "Local Action, Global Change," and "Africa and the World" (just to name a few) are teaching students valuable skills—like listening, empathy, fairness, dialogue, intercultural communication, conflict resolution and collaborative problem solving—all critical skills needed to excel in today's world.
The International Studies Stream is an innovative option within Clark's Program of Liberal Studies, which offers students the opportunity to focus on international themes and issues, such as economic growth, immig ration, social welfare and environmental regulation. Likewise, the Global Scholars Program builds on Clark's long-standing commitment to provide a challenging education with a global focus. It's a unique program for incoming international students who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in their home communities.
To advance the global reach of the curriculum and the intercultural character of campus, Clark plans to increase the percentage of undergraduate students who study abroad, offer more nontraditional study-abroad opportunities like the May Term in Luxembourg, and increase the variety of these offerings through collaborations with other schools in the Colleges of Worcester Consortium. The new Office of Intercultural Affairs will help enhance intercultural student-life programs on campus. Additionally, Clark will expand the international dimensions of the Graduate School of Management and copace, and promote the international elements of graduate-research p rograms such as those in Geography and IDCE.
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Learning to Lead in a Diverse World Since early childhood, Global Scholar Lincoln Muhoro '08 (pictured above, middle) of Nairobi, Kenya, has been fascinated by dentistry. In middle school, he became a member of and later an active fundraiser for Operation Smile, a nonprofit organization composed of doctors and dentists who voluntarily restore hope and beautiful smiles to thousands of kids suffering from various oral ailments and mouth deformities.
"I developed a compelling ambition to find cures and new sources of dental medicine that would reduce and even eliminate threats to one's oral healthcare," says Lincoln, a biochemistry and molecular biology major who hopes to become a dentist and part-time AIDS researcher. He explains that growing up in a developing country plagued by diseases such as AIDS and malaria only increased his desire to search f or affordable cures and medicines.
He's right on track. Supported by a Global Scholars internship stipend, Lincoln spent the summer in a research lab at Montana State University where he studied a zoonotic parasite called Toxoplasma Gondii. Infectious and lethal to people with compromised immune systems, this parasite develops most prolifically in the cells of the central nervous system. According to Lincoln, the lab identified a human gene called SE-20, which is believed to induce the proliferation of this parasite. Specifically, he is researching the correlation between its development and SE-20 levels in particular cells—like those in the brain as opposed to the liver, for example—through isolating RNA from many different tissues in mice.
In addition to gaining valuable lab experience and research techniques, Lincoln says participating in the Global Scholars Program has enhanced his teamwork, communication and leadership abilities. "Working with global sc holars from an array of diverse cultural backgrounds was a great challenge, but a fascinating experience," he says, noting his surprise when he realized how similar these students were despite their cultural differences. For example many of their countries face similar issues, such as AIDS and environmental concerns. "The Global Scholars are a great group of students with unique skills and abilities in leadership and community service, and the cultural diversity that defines Clark University."
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President's Report 2005
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