September 23, 2005 Source: Wilfrid Laurier University:
http://www.wlu.ca/news_update.php?grp_id=28&nws_id=871&filter_type=update New Laurier International director settles into Laurier and Waterloo Sep 23/05 Peter Donahue can relate to the thousands of new Laurier students trying to find their way around the campus and the city. As the university’s new director of Laurier International and a newcomer to the university, the city and the province, he is right there with them. “I took the wrong exit once – mistaking it for University Avenue – and ended up in Kitchener,” says Donahue, who is still trying to figure out why King Street goes north, south, east and west. Donahue comes to Laurier from the University of New Brunswick’s Saint John (UNBSJ) campus, where he was the assistant director/international student advisor in its International Liaison Office. He joins Laurier at a time when internationalization has been identified as a key growth priority for the university. “Peter Donahue will play an important role at Laurier in helping develop international activities in all aspects,” says Dr. Sue Horton, vice-president: academic. “We look forward to Peter sharing his experience and expertise in order to take Laurier’s international activities to the next level.” During his tenure at UNBSJ, the number of exchanges and enrolment of international students substantially increased. International students now represent 20 per cent of the UNBSJ student body and come from 40 countries. “It’s the largest percentage of international students of any university campus in Canada,” says Donahue. Focus on internationalizing Laurier Donahue is excited about expanding Laurier’s international activities. “When I looked at coming to Laurier, I saw that Laurier believes in excellence,” says Donahue. “I see that from its academic and athletic programs as well as residence experiences right down to the type of student who comes here. I think the furthering of Laurier’s internationalization is going to continue that tradition of excellence.” “My main goal is to expand Laurier’s international involvement and focus on how to engage all elements of the campus in the internationalization process,” says Donahue. “The education that we give to a Laurier student has to have an international component because we live in a globalized world with integrated economies.” Donahue points out internationalizing involves more than students participating in exchanges. Support programs and services must be in place in order to meet the needs of all Laurier students. “Right now, I am assessing where Laurier is, looking at opportunities that we can take advantage of and developing a Laurier brand for what our internationalization will be,” he says. “I was attracted to Laurier because internationalization is being delivered as an academic exercise,” says Donahue. “It’s a wonderful opportunity because there is a commitment by Laurier to provide the students with the best education possible.” He feels that Laurier is well positioned to expand its international involvement. Currently, there are almost 400 international students at Laurier. As well, every fall and winter more than 100 Laurier students travel abroad on exchange and a corresponding number of international exchange students come to Laurier. A priority for Donahue is to determine where our faculty members are conducting research and what connections they already have. “What we want to do at Laurier International is to highlight some of those connections and to feed off that. We want faculty to be leading where our exchanges go,” says Donahue. “We will be asking faculty to do what they do best – and that is to make academic connections, continue to undertake their research internationally and give insight to students on international issues. Laurier International will facilitate the non-academic side by managing the pre-departure process and preparing students for the experiences of living with students from another culture, here at Laurier and around the world.” Internationalizing UNBSJ Donahue was instrumental in the rapid internationalization of UNBSJ, which was triggered by a declining New Brunswick population in the early 1990s. “We were projecting that enrolments were going to take a huge drop,” says Donahue, who explains that 95 per cent of UNBSJ’s students were coming from the local area. “The only market that really wasn’t tapped at that time was an international market.” In a period of two years, international enrolment at UNBSJ increased from 35 students to 500 students. “We had to work with the community,” says Donahue. “We went to convenience stores and said ‘if bring in different kinds of rice, you could really attract a different market’ and so what has happened over the years is that we have expanded the Saint John marketplace.” With Donahue’s urging, local businesses soon realized the potential in catering to international students. “Suddenly there were signs welcoming international students,” says Donahue. “You see that here in Waterloo with the signs welcoming back the students, but in Saint John they never had students from away. They were all local students. So nobody really had a sense of what students brought to the economy.” In the end, he thinks the internationalization of UNBSJ changed the city of Saint John. “There are things celebrated that were never there before, such as Chinese New Year and Eid,” says Donahue. “The local farmer’s markets now carry spring rolls and Indian food, and it always sells out. It is estimated that close to $20 million a year is now being spent in the local Saint John economy by international students.” Settling into Waterloo Donahue is now settling into Waterloo with his partner, Phyllis, and their daughters, Bliss, 6, and Beatrice, 3. He says that Waterloo is “very attractive … it feels a lot like Saint John.” Donahue doesn’t see many differences between New Brunswick and Ontario since “it’s still Canada – we share a lot of same beliefs and values of being Canadian.” For him, the biggest difference between the two provinces is population. “New Brunswick is so small – you regularly say ‘hi’ to people on the street because you know you are going to see them again,” says Donahue. “You know your neighbours because there are so few of you. You are in contact with them all the time.” Donahue says Laurier is “a bigger institution than I’m used to,” but he has found the people at the university are “very friendly.” After 12 years at UNBSJ, he is “not used to have to be introduced to people,” but he looks forward to reaching out at Laurier and in the broader community. “Laurier International will be looking into partnerships with the local multicultural communities and other Ontario schools and plans to “be active within the region and look at collaborations with a variety of organizations," says Donahue. “My goal is to make Laurier a leader in Canada in international education,” says Donahue. “I hope that when people think of Laurier they will think of it as an international institution.” Sheila Taylor Public Affairs
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