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UB’s international diversity sparks Dalai Lama visit
By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Staff Writer
UB's large number of international students was one of the reasons His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama decided to visit the university next month, the co-chair of the steering committee planning the event said last week.
The three-day visit, set for Sept. 18-20, will be the longest an American educational institution has ever hosted the spiritual leader and head of state in exile of Tibet, noted Stephen C. Dunnett, vice provost for international education.
"The visit is one of the most exciting things the university has ever done in the Office of International Education," said Dunnett, who discussed the Dalai Lama's visit to UB and its relationship to the university's growing international reputation July 27 during a UBThisSummer lecture, "Promoting Peace Across Borders Through Education: The Dalai Lama's Visit and the Mission of International Education."
Hosting the Dalai Lama is an honor, Dunnett said, noting that most universities are fortunate to receive even a short visit from His Holiness. He also pointed out that the Dalai Lama, who turned 71 last month, is not visiting the United States as frequently as he did in the past when he traveled to the U.S. a couple times a year.
While the waiting list for such a visit can be as long as 10 to 15 years, Dunnett continued, the visit to UB was set a mere two years after an official decision was reached.
However, he said the question his colleagues in the United States and abroad continue to ask is "Why would the Dalai Lama come to Buffalo?"
There are numerous reasons.
"One of the reasons UB was chosen for a visit by the Dalai Lama is the fact that we enroll such a large and diverse community of international students," Dunnett explained.
More than 14 percent of UB students are international students, he said, adding that UB is number one nationally in terms of international enrollment among public institutions based on percentage of the student body.
Furthermore, two-thirds of those international students come from Asia, with India, Korea, China and Taiwan being the top four countries of origin, respectively. Others nations in the top 10 are Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. In addition, UB is hosting several Tibetan Fulbright Scholars.
A special audience with the Dalai Lama has been scheduled with a select number of UB's international students at the request of His Holiness.
The visit is of historical significance not just to UB, but also to the local and regional communities of Western New York, Dunnett said. In fact, he said UB has received requests to attend Dalai Lama-related events from organizations as far away as Texas.
Yet despite the hubbub that follows His Holiness, he said the Dalai Lama insists no one lose sight of the true reason for his visit. "The purpose of the visit is primarily educational," Dunnett said.
He related an anecdote that reinforces the point. In 2005, Dunnett and Richard V. Lee, professor of medicine in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Science and adjunct professor of anthropology, received an audience with the Dalai Lama in Toronto. "Who are you?" the Dalai Lama asked them. The question, Dunnett noted, was deceptively simple. "'I'm just a teacher,'" Dunnett answered. "'Me too,'" His Holiness responded.
"Whatever your personal beliefs are, meeting the Dalai Lama is a revelation," Dunnett recalled. He and Lee met the Dalai Lama in an enormous room that was empty except for a couple of chairs, a couch, a cot, a screen, water and flowers. "Yet," he said, "this small man filled the entire room."
"Promoting Peace Across Borders Through Education" is not just the theme of the Dalai Lama's visit, but it also underscores the mission of UB's international education and exchange programs, said Dunnett. He explained that international education provides the tools to participate in globalization through exposure to other peoples, cultures and languages.
Foreign language acquisition is one of the most important aspects of international education, he noted. He said he traveled to China two weeks ago and most of the people there could converse with him in English. Compare this to the United States, he said, where only one in nine people speak a foreign language. And the high rate of immigration is all that prevents even lower foreign language fluency numbers in the U.S., he added.
"This is hurting us in our global markets," he said.
Dunnett said the number of UB students who participate in international education has doubled over the past five years. Ten percent travel abroad—a significant number considering the undergraduate average nationally is 2 percent.
"The sun never sets on UB study abroad," he said, adding that UB offers more than 60 programs in 25 countries, and students can choose from programs in cities ranging from Beijing, China, to Havana, Cuba.
"UB is now the only university in the United States that has a study abroad program in Cuba," said Dunnett. UB also was the first institution to re-enter China following normalization of diplomatic relations in the late-1970s, he noted.
Dunnett said international education benefits Western New York from an economic standpoint as well. He said NAFSA (Association of International Educators) reports that UB international students contributed $67 million to the region's economy in 2005 and estimates that will rise to $71 million in 2006. Contrast this with the Buffalo Bills, which brought in $50 million last year, Dunnett said.
The visit by the Dalai Lama will increase further UB's international education and exchange through its impact on the university's international reputation. Dunnett pointed out that the Dalai Lama is covered in the foreign press in the same manner as papal visits are in the North American media.
"The visit will elevate our profile overseas and in Asia, and increase our recruitment efforts in that part of the world," he said.