University Business - November 2006 - (Page 53)

Under Nirschel's administration speakers from Salman Rushdie to Laura Bush have come to campus, underlining a campus commitment to open and civil discourse. In 2005 the president climbed Kilimanjaro for a global view. them about the institution, indicated that RWU wasn't even on many folks' radar screens. If it was, high-profile programs such as architecture or marine biology were all people knew about, except for perhaps the beautiful waterfront campus, says Micken, who was involved with the survey. If we asked the same question today, she says, my guess is that the responses would be much different. That's largely because Nirschel believes in making one's strengths known. One of the president's most notable accomplishments has been engineering a shift in public perception of Roger Williams. When Nirschel first joined RWU's administration, he involved campus and community constituencies in creating a branding cam- paign, complete with a slogan, Learning to Bridge the World. The university purchased billboard space for ads, not necessar- ily in Rhode Island but beyond. In the campaign's second year, a freshman approached Nirschel on campus. The new student re- marked on the university's visibility, noting that he had seen a bill- board down in Florida. The one near Orlando, near Sea World? Nirschel asked. Yeah, great billboard, the student said. But there wasn't a billboard in Florida. People were saying they saw us in places where we weren't, Nirschel says. Some people say billboards are tacky, advertising's tacky. I don't agree. We don't do billboards now, but people saw us everywhere. People would see a billboard in Westchester County N.Y. , and a week later they would Exhibit A of that global mindset: The Center for Macro Projects open U.S. News & World Report and think we were everywhere. and Diplomacy, created in 2003. Working with Nirschel, White and An ad campaign and public relations push mean little, however, RWU Overseer and MIT Professor Frank Davidson who helped without good stories to tell. Since taking on his role, Nirschel has develop the English Channel Tunnel created the center to produce set about helping RWU build its brag book. broad proposals to meet challenges around the world. This past spring alone, the university gathered a thick stack of Rather than just ponder issues like a think tank, the center acts news clips. RWU broke ground on a new marine science center, as a do tank, as Nirschel likes to say. It teams researchers, pol- the Luther Blount Shellfish Hatchery and Oyster Restoration Cen- icy experts, and academics from various disciplines to create real ter. First Lady Laura Bush spoke at graduation. And three young proposals. For example, the center has overseen development of a women who had witnessed horrors growing up in Afghanistan strategy for the infrastructure of an independent Palestinian state. graduated from Roger Williams, thanks to the Initiative to Educate High-ranking United Nations officials, engineers, architects, and Afghan Women, a scholarship program founded by Paula Nirschel, international relations experts, among others, have joined in plan- the president's wife. The initiative provides Afghan women with ning Palestinian ports, an offshore island, and linkages between the four-year scholarships to RWU and other U.S. colleges and univer- Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The center has secured $250,000 sities, bringing the students together at events and supporting them for feasibility studies. as they return to their home country to create lasting change. The president has been centrally involved in that, says White. We've got great projects going on, says President Nirschel, We work out the agenda for the work together. He really sees it as and we're telling people the story. one of the key elements of the globalization of the university. Study abroad and admissions of international students have A Global Mindset also blossomed under Nirschel's guidance. In 2005, 39 percent of International relations and a global perspective lie high on Nirschel's juniors at RWU participated in study-abroad programs. Five years list of priorities. His work is projecting us far beyond the campus ago, students had five sites to choose from. Now there are 39, in- and region, so that we'll improve qualitatively by being connected cluding RWU campuses in Florence and Ho Chi Minh City. The both locally and globally, which matches the `Learning to Bridge newest destinations include Jordan, India, Costa Rica, South Africa, the World' identity that he's created, says Stephen White, dean of Germany, and Argentina. RWU's School of Architecture, Art, and Historic Preservation. universitybusiness.com November 2006 | 53 Stars.indd 53 10/24/06 10:36:17 AM http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - November 2006

Table of Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Stats Watch
People Watch
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Marketing
Human Resources
Money Matters
Community Colleges
Wireless: The "n" is Near
TECH Central
Rising Stars
Coming Back from Katrina
Business Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - November 2006