Vice chancellor selected for Fulbright seminar

September 08, 2015

Tom Rios, vice chancellor for student affairs, is one of only 20 U.S. participants selected for a 2015 Fulbright International Education Administrators Award in Germany this fall.

The highly selective two-week group seminar takes place October 10-24 and focuses on German higher education for American university, college and community college administrators. The program includes briefings, campus visits and cultural events in Berlin and other cities in Germany.

Rios, who has been deeply involved in efforts to strengthen the multicultural and international culture at UW-Whitewater, selected the German program for its interactive nature and because of statements that the German chancellor has made.

"Angela Merkel has said that multiculturalism in Germany was an utter failure," Rios said. "That it encouraged cultures to live apart, in enclaves, instead of enculturating them. In the U.S., we talk often about how our universities should bring together various cultures in meaningful interactions and to internationalize our campuses. It would be interesting to see how German universities are addressing issues of multiculturalism and whether they are successful."

He hopes to bring what he learns about higher education in Germany to a course on comparative higher education he is co-creating with Brent Bilodeau, assistant vice chancellor of student affairs, and Courtney Luedke, an Inclusive Excellence Fellow. The course, which is part of the Higher Education Leadership graduate program, will include a trip to Ecuador in spring 2016 to witness the effects of the tremendous reforms that country has made to its institutions of higher education.

As for the Fulbright seminar this fall, Rios said, "Success for me would be meeting people and connecting with universities that would allow us to amplify the work that we do collectively on our campus, while also allowing me to bring my learning on comparative higher education to the classroom," he said.

A new feature of the Fulbright seminar is a meeting in Strasbourg with American colleagues who are participating in a similar program in France, offering each group new insights into the French and German education systems. Coincidentally, former UW-Whitewater chancellor Martha Saunders, now provost and executive vice president at the University of West Florida, was selected for the program in France and will participate in the Strasbourg portion of the seminar with Rios.

The Fulbright Program aims to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries, and it is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government.