Published June 29, 2018 This content is archived.
Dear University Community:
Dr. Stephen C. Dunnett, Vice Provost for International Education and Professor of Foreign Language Education, has informed me of his plan to step down as Vice Provost for International Education, effective September 1, 2018. Stephen will continue to oversee UB programs at the Singapore Institute of Management, Chinese Culture University in Taiwan, and Konan University in Japan through August 2019, at which time he intends to retire from the university.
Stephen joined UB in 1971 as a faculty member and founder of the internationally renowned English Language Institute, which has been a crucial driver of UB’s internationalization and helped attract thousands of international students to the university. In 1980, Stephen was critical in establishing the first open educational exchanges of any U.S. university with Chinese universities.
One of the nation’s first senior leaders overseeing international education and a consummate university diplomat, Stephen has led UB’s internationalization efforts since 1989 and positively impacted thousands of international and domestic students, building UB’s global reputation, significantly growing our international student population, developing nationally pioneering international student and faculty support programs, building a centralized office of Study Abroad Programs, enhancing UB’s international alumni engagement, and internationalizing UB’s curriculum.
In 2008, Stephen led the creation of UB’s comprehensive internationalization strategy and strategic plan, “The Global Imperative: Making UB an International University.” As the most senior international education officer in SUNY, Stephen has played a leading role in the development of system-wide international plans, including most recently “SUNY and the World” (2011).
Stephen led the formation of many important partnerships and affiliations that have established UB as a national model for building international university partnerships. Among others, these include landmark affiliations with universities in Poland and Latvia at the end of the Soviet era. Facilitated by a Fulbright Fellowship, Stephen also established major programs with Japanese universities, including a nearly 20 year partnership with Konan University in Kobe.
Other important partnerships Stephen helped broker include those in India, notably one with Amrita University that involves long-running dual degree programs in management and engineering. In addition, UB has a longstanding relationship with the Singapore Institute of Management, which offered the first Executive MBA Program in Singapore accredited by a U.S. university, starting in 1996, and UB’s first undergraduate degree programs delivered entirely overseas, starting in 2004. And, in 2010, UB partnered with Capital Normal University, its longstanding partner in Beijing, on the UB Confucius Institute, which enhances Chinese culture and language research and education at UB and provides Chinese language programming at local K-12 schools.
Stephen has been particularly successful in growing UB’s international enrollment and enhancing our multicultural campus community. UB was among the first universities in the nation to create an international enrollment management office and to develop an international enrollment recruitment strategy. Under Stephen’s exceptional leadership, UB provides excellent services for our international students and has a global reputation as a welcoming and diverse university, which has helped UB become a destination of choice for many excellent students from abroad. As a result, UB has ranked among the top 25 U.S. institutions hosting international students for the past 15 years.
Stephen holds a PhD from UB in Higher Education, and his research interests focus on the relationship between language and culture and comparative education. As a Learning and Instruction faculty member, he established new master’s and doctoral programs in teaching English to speakers of other languages, and has taught and advised many students who have gone on to successful careers at institutions in the US and abroad.
Stephen has received many honors recognizing his leadership in international education and scholarship, including prestigious awards from the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA) and NAFSA: Association of International Educators, as well as several international universities, and the Embassy of Poland. In addition, he has served as President of AIEA, and in important board and leadership roles in NAFSA, World Education Services, and the European Association for International Education. A distinguished UB alumnus, Stephen is the recipient of the President’s Medal for outstanding service to the university.
I will announce the appointment of an Interim Vice Provost for International Education shortly.
Colleagues, please join me in thanking Stephen for his nearly 30 years of extraordinary leadership as Vice Provost for International Education. His contributions have transformed UB into a globally recognized center for international education, and will continue to influence our institutional direction for years to come.
Sincerely,
Charles F. Zukoski
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs