Last night, Gifford Doxsee reflected on his 36 years spent teaching at Ohio University as the keynote speaker for the 30th annual International Week.
Doxsee, professor emeritus in history, began teaching at OU in 1958. Until his retirement in 1994, he was involved in many international programs. In his speech, he recalled numerous highlights of the international programs at OU and his personal experiences.
International students play a very important role in this community
he said.
OU's first international program was contracted with Nigeria in 1958 and allowed faculty to study abroad and bring many international students to Athens, Doxsee said.
Only 50 international students attended OU when Doxsee first came to Athens, he said. Now roughly 1,600 international students study here.
The early 1980s saw a steep increase in international students. At that time, about 150 Nigerian students attended the university at one point, including many graduate students who had families of their own. When an oil boom collapsed in Nigeria and the value of money dropped, a lot of post-secondary education funding was cut, Doxsee said. Students and their families were stranded in Athens.
OU faculty members with spare rooms in their houses banded together and played host to the students and their families. Doxsee took in a family with whom he grew close and who returned the favor in 1978 when he stayed with them in Canada, he said.
Another of Doxsee's personal experiences involved the arrival of the first Chinese students to OU. A group of senior administrators from Chinese schools came to the United States in 1977 to look into opening new education outlets and to negotiate the entrance of Chinese graduate students into American universities.
The group thought the best universities were on the two coasts and didn't consider midwestern schools. The group was advised to look into schools in other regions for technical and political reasons, he said. When they visited Ohio State University, a visit to OU was suggested.
The group was impressed with the university and faculty members' backgrounds and experiences with Chinese culture and language. OU faculty even went so far as to create an authentic Chinese meal for the guests, while rumor has it that the administrators' first meal at OSU was McDonald's. The following year, seven students from China attended the school.
Internationalism at OU also has acted as a support for Peace Corps volunteers. The school was contracted to train Peace Corps volunteers in the 1960s. After they served in other countries, Peace Corps members often returned in culture shock, and those in Athens offered each other moral support, Doxsee said.
Doxsee spoke about many positive aspects of the international programs at OU but said the difference between co-existence and general interaction still is a problem in the community. He asked a class of 25 students how many had had an in-depth conversation with an international student. Only four had, and the rest said they feared they wouldn't be able to communicate or understand the culture. Doxsee said.
A higher portion of folks in Athens haven't taken the opportunity to interact with the students he said. Doxsee then concluded his speech with the motto he lives by: Think globally act locally.
International Week continues through Saturday, finishing with the International Street Fair on Court Street.
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Gifford Doxsee, professor emeritus of history, presented the International Week keynote address in Walter Hall Rotunda yesterday evening. Doxsee kicked off International Week at Ohio University by highlighting the opportunities for international activitie
