University Business - April 2009 - (Page 11)

81 tons s tat s W at C H DATA P O I N T —The amount of edible food dumped in the trash every year at The University of Texas at Austin dining halls —the Daily texan student newspaper Study Abroad Has Global Benefit EvEr sincE a University of Delaware profEssor took Eight students to france in 1923, study abroad has been touted as a way to expand a student’s understanding of the world. Most research on the benefits of study abroad has focused on the individual benefit to participants, such as language acquisition. “there is a lot of anecdotal evidence about [study abroad] experiences,” says gerald fry, professor of international and intercultural Education at the University of Minnesota. he and fellow professor Michael paige recently completed research examining the long-term effects of study abroad and the benefits to “society at large.” the researchers surveyed 6,391 people from 22 higher education institutions who had studied abroad during the last 50 years. they found a high level of global engagement, which they define as civic engagement, philanthropy, knowledge production, social entrepreneurship, and voluntary simplicity. fry says there are generational differences, with more recent graduates showing a high level of volunteerism, while graduates from the 1960s and ’70s are in a financial position to be philanthropic. “it was gratifying that study abroad attendees attributed these behaviors to study abroad. it was their perceptions,” fry says, adding that respondents’ behavior reflects their attitudes. although foreign institutions would prefer american students to come for yearlong or semester-long programs, the researchers say it is the “intensity and quality” of a program that matters, not the duration. the senator paul simon study abroad foundation act, which has the goal of increasing to 1 million the number of students studying abroad in 10 years, was originally introduced in 2007, when it passed the house. although it failed to reach a vote in the senate when the last session of congress ended, it was reintroduced in february. “We certainly think these data will inform how much funding should be given to this project,” fry says. “our data is pretty timely; we have hard empirical data, not just anecdotal.” —A.M. Office Supply Sharing at NAU FreecycliNG, tHe prActice OF exchanging unneeded items at no cost, is catching on at Northern Arizona University. An Office of Sustainability program for sharing office supplies aims to save money and curb waste. NAU employees are being encouraged to not only clean out their offices but also to recognize what items may just be collecting dust. Administrators hope the program will be an easy, effective way to keep budgets in check and conservation efforts going. Sustainability coordinator Heather Farley says the university spends on average $560,000 a year on office supplies, and the goal is to reduce that amount by 10 percent. the first swap occurred in January at the university’s Applied research and Development building, a facility that has earned leeD platinum status. employees from different offices brought in items and placed them on tables. they then took whatever they wanted that had been brought by other employees. leftover goods were taken to the school’s Surplus property department. “everybody was able to clean out their closet a little bit,” says Farley, who picked up some marketing folders with the university’s logo for her own use. the Office of Sustainability is working on bringing the program to other buildings on campus, and a second swap is in the works for July. —M.H. Study Abroad Decade Impact on Philanthropic Donations 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 2% 16% 10% 4% 8% 33% 25% 16% 15% 32% 54% 55% 45% 39% 26% 29% 29% 29% 20% 11% 1960s Never Rarely 1970s Sometimes 1980s Frequently 1990s 2000s Source: University of Minnesota, Sage sOUND BItE ‘s tudents who would be eligible for aid see how complex the form is, getD B Iit E “form fright,” and just stop. s O U N what call —Pat Watkins, director of financial aid, Eckerd College (Fla.) ‘ universitybusiness.com April 2009 | 11 http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - April 2009

University Business - April 2009
Contents
Editor's Note
Company Index
Advisory Board
College Index
Behind the News
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Internet Technology
Financial Aid
The Main Event
Software Serves
Managing the Experience
Independent Outlook
What's New
End Note

University Business - April 2009