Friday October 30, 2009
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Crawford Hall – Room 9
Inamori Center
Case Western Reserve University

Dear Colleagues,

If you look around the university world – whether by attending conferences of university leaders, or just checking out websites – it appears that most university leaders want to make their institutions more “international.”

Among what we consider our peer universities, many have specifically international institutes of one sort or another. We do not. Most have long had some sort of international office at associate or vice provost level. Until this past May, when David Fleshler was appointed Associate Provost for International Affairs, we did not.

So now Associate Provost Fleshler has the remit to, in business terms, work to improve CWRU’s international products and profile. They’re not quite the same. We produce international research in many fields, with a wide range of collaborations across borders, as should be expected from a leading research university. But that is not the same as being known as an “international” institution. So some of his task may be to improve recognition of current activities. Yet discussions around the university have also revealed many ideas about how our programs of teaching, research, and service could be improved.

When Provost Baeslack convened the search for the Associate Provost’s position, the job description was left fairly vague. (I was on the advisory committee, so am not criticizing!). The idea was to get someone good in place and then figure out how best to define the enterprise. So David has been consulting and learning the university and getting a sense of what are the greatest concerns and opportunities. This Friday’s Public Affairs Lunch is an opportunity for both Associate Provost Fleshler and the participants to expand that discussion process.

As usual, we will gather in Room 9 of the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence, on the lower level of Crawford Hall, for free cookies, beverages, and brown bag lunch.

Best regards,
Joe White

About Our Guest

David Fleshler comes to the university with extensive international relations experience. After serving as chief of staff for former U.S. Congressman Eric Fingerhut, and practicing as an attorney, he spent eight years at the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, where he led its international efforts, including establishment of partnerships in Israel, Hungary, Russia, and elsewhere. Most recently he has worked with the Ohio Board of Regents as a consultant on efforts to globalize Ohio’s universities, including on projects such as the University of Akron’s BioInnovation Institute. He will continue to contribute to the Board of Regents’ statewide global relations efforts in his capacity as Associate Provost for Internationalization of the state’s leading university.

At the time of his appointment, the press release quoted Associate Provost Fleshler’s belief that, “one of the exciting features about Case Western Reserve is that it has a wide array of outstanding international initiatives already in motion.” Yet it also listed some of the many expectations of the new office – such as to “work with public, private, and nonprofit organizations to assure the university is an integral part of international economic strategy locally and throughout the state, to grow the ranks of international and study-abroad students, extend global research partnerships, increase research and other funding from sources outside the United States, and expand on relationships with alumni from around the globe.”

Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:

November 6: An Update on the H1N1 Flu, With Amy Ray, Medical Director, System Infection Control Committee, Case Western Reserve University Medical Center

November 13: What Should the Common Reading for New Students Do? With Mano Singham, Director, University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education and Mayo Bulloch, Director, Educational Enhancement Programs at Case Western Reserve University

November 20: Chesapeake Bay and the Need for Dark Green Environmentalism. With Howard R. Ernst, Associate Professor of Political Science, U.S. Naval Academy

November 27: Thanksgiving Break

December 4: What the Health Care Reform Legislation Will Do, or Why Health Care Reform Failed, or Health Care Reform: What Next? or All of the Above. With Joe White, Professor of Political Science

The Friday Lunch discussions are held on the lower (ground) level of Crawford Hall. Visitors with mobility issues may find it easiest to take advantage of special arrangements we have made. On most Fridays, a few parking spaces in the V.I.P. lot in between Crawford Hall and Amasa Stone Chapel are held for participants in the lunch discussion.

Visitors then can avoid walking up the hill to the first floor of Crawford by entering the building on the ground level, through the garage area under the building. The further door on the left in that garage will be left unlocked during the period before the Friday lunch. On occasion, parking will be unavailable because of other university events.

For more information about these and other Center for Policy Studies programs, please see http://policy.case.edu.