PaCIE:
for International Education
______________________________________________________________________________________
Christina Good, Executive Director web site: www. pacie.org
1854 Old Orchard Road
Abington, PA 19001
phone: (215) 884-9430
e-mail: ceagood@comcast.net
April 6, 2004
Senator Judd Gregg, Chairman
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
US Senate
393 Senate Russell Building
Washington, DC 20510-2904
FAX - 202-224-4952
Dear Senator Gregg,
The Pennsylvania Council for International Education (PaCIE) provides professional development and networking opportunities for international educators in Pennsylvania, promotes linkages for K-12 teachers and administrators with colleges and universities, collaborates with other organizations in the state and coordinates and participates in advocacy activities on behalf of international education in Pennsylvania, across the US and around the world.
As the chair of the Advocacy Committee of the PaCIE Board of Directors, I write to you today to express our gratitude for your fine and careful work on the legislation that will renew the HEA Title VI international education programs.
However, we must also express our concern about some of the specific provisions for the proposed International Education Advisory Board. We join our national colleagues at ACE, NAFSA and the Alliance for International and Cultural Exchange in conveying to you our deep reservations about the academically intrusive and investigative character of a board that, if it exists at all (and we agree with Senator Kennedy that the money would be better spent on additional programs in languages critical to national security), should be a forum for exploring programmatic ideas and enhancing the federal role in supporting international scholarship.
Contrary to the inflammatory rhetoric of the proponents of the advisory board, we can present case after case of Title VI programs that have broadened, rather than narrowed the perspectives and the teaching of participating faculty, enhanced learning of essential languages and brought scholars together to share and compare a multiplicity of viewpoints.
We urge you and your colleagues on the HELP Committee to remove the Advisory Board provision from the Senate version of this legislation and to work with the House to either remove it from the final bill and apply the funds to programming or to create an Advisory Board that is truly advisory with provisions for a balanced and academic membership and appropriate oversight and regulation to enable it to strengthen and enhance the already formidable accomplishments of the Title VI program.
We are willing to work with the members and staff of the HELP Committee to address our concerns and to provide clear evidence of the balance and success of Title VI in our institutions. We hope that, as this bill moves through the legislative process, you will examine the evidence from many institutions and come to the conclusion that the Advisory Board is not necessary. Please feel free to contact me if you would like more information from our members.
Sincerely,
JoAnn deArmas Wallace, Chair
PaCIE Advocacy Committee