By Kyle Peveto, Page Editor

Faculty members in the Center for International and Intercultural Education are refocusing their roles to concentrate on furthering Study Abroad programs and increasing the number of international students who attend ACU.

Kevin Kehl, associate director of the CIIE will now concentrate on Study Abroad issues while executive director Ted Presley will focus on international student recruitment and service.

“We had a real need to focus more on recruiting international students,” Presley said.

The number of international students has decreased from an all-time high of 263 in 1998 to 200 this semester. Events related to Sept. 11, 2001, have limited the number of students who are able to study here because of stricter immigration policies and the state of the global economy.

“People all over the world are having trouble making ends meet,” Presley said.

His goal is to increase the number of international students to 8 percent of the student body, or 300-350 students.

“We feel that in the world of the 21st century, it is essential that ACU have a high international student population,” he said.

Presley, as executive director, will still head the Center and be in charge Study Abroad, but Kehl will be immediately responsible of the abroad programs.

“Prior to this refocusing, both of us shared responsibilities,” Kehl said.

Kehl said his goals include “building on what’s already been done” in Study Abroad.

“We want to … be at the business of improving the quality and providing the best programs possible,” he said.

Recruiting students for the spring semester programs and helping students be aware of the opportunities for studying abroad are goals Kehl has for now.

“We need to make students aware of Latin America,” he said, “and raise the awareness of educational and travel opportunities in Latin America.”

The Center for International and Intercultural Education also plans to enlist the help of admissions counselors, who may help students plan for Study Abroad before they arrive at the university, Kehl said.

Kehl and Presley both said they are passionate about giving students a more international and multicultural education.

“Universities large and small have realized that education for the 21st century must be a global education,” Presley said.

Presley said he wants 50 percent of all graduating seniors to have a Study Abroad experience.

“Those are the kind of people who become leaders and servants throughout the world,” he said. “That’s our mission statement.”