West Virginia was spotlighted at the 60th Annual NAFSA: Association of International Educators Conference and Expo in Washington, D.C.For the first time, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission sent a delegation to the conference to represent all the state public colleges and universities in West Virginia with a "West Virginia and the World" booth to promote West Virginia as a destination for international students.
There were two presentations at the conference related to West Virginia's state-wide international education initiatives in which James Natsis, Dan Weiner and Clark Egnor discussed methods utilized by West Virginia educators for getting support for international education opportunities at the university level. These initiatives include conducting competitive grant competitions to develop new statewide programs for increasing international student enrollment or sending students abroad.
"This was a great opportunity to showcase our West Virginia colleges and universities and make connections with others from around the world for possible partnerships for international education exchange," said Clark Egnor, executive director for the Center for International Programs at Marshall University. "International students contribute over 45 million dollars each year to the West Virginia economy. Having a booth at the Expo enhanced the efforts our state universities are making to attract more international students to study in West Virginia.
Over 10,000 people attended the NAFSA Conference and Expo which was held on May 26-30, 2008.West Virginia was one of many countries and states being promoted as a higher education study destinations at the Expo. Other colleges and universities throughout the US are attempting to form consortium with support from their state governments to recruit international students and send more students abroad.
Bruce Flack, HEPC Director of Academic Affairs, delivered a welcome at the NAFSA opening reception for the West Virginia college/university representatives and other state residents and associates attending the conference.
NAFSA is a member organization promoting international education and providing professional development opportunities to the field. It serves international educators and their institutions and organizations by setting standards of good practice, providing training, professional development opportunities, networking opportunities, and advocating for international education.
