Q: Why is globalizing a Wheaton education important for Wheaton students, faculty, and staff as they seek to represent Christ in the 21st century? 

Dr. Jill Peláez Baumgaertner, Dean of Humanities and Theological Studies and Professor of English: We are not called to be insular in our comfortable lives in our comfortable communities, but rather to be a part of the growth and development occurring in other countries. I hear this all the time from students who go overseas, especially with Wheaton’s Human Needs and Global Resources program (HNGR). They come back transformed. We have to make global connections because we love God and want to carry the message of Christ, and we want to learn from others who are infused with a new and different understanding of how God works in the world. We need to get faculty overseas also, as faculty will create energy and enthusiasm and help promote the dream in their students.

Q: As part of the initiative, will course selections in relevant areas like world religions, Mandarin, and Arabic expand? What will be the impact on faculty, students, and staff as a result of these changes? 

Dr. Laura Montgomery ’78, Dean of Global and Experiential Learning and Professor of Anthropology: We hope to establish course offerings in a less commonly taught language, such as Arabic, and in world religions. We currently have a minor in Mandarin and plan to hire a second faculty member in this area. We would also like to have monies available for students to study abroad intensively in languages such as Hindi and Turkish, among others. Expanded opportunities and requirements to study languages are critical to preparing students to participate more fully in the global body of Christ and to be competitive in today’s workforce. Regarding world religions, when I was a student here in the 1970s, there wasn’t a Hindu temple in the area. There wasn’t an Islamic Center in Wheaton. Today, world religions are not just encountered in faraway places but also in our local communities. How do we engage, from a position of understanding, different religious traditions? One of the benefits of studying other world religions is that it helps you deepen and clarify your own beliefs and practices.

Q: What are some new opportunities for providing enhanced cross-cultural learning experiences for students? 

Dr. Montgomery: We just completed two exchange agreements with two international Christian universities. One is Tokyo Christian University and the other is Handong Global University. Our students have been able to go, but it hasn’t always been easy for their students to come our direction, which would enrich our campus. These agreements will help facilitate that. The number of study abroad programs where our students can use their institutional aid has greatly expanded.

Q: By providing these types of learning experiences, what are the planned outcomes for students and faculty as they live out their calling in the world and address the issues facing God’s kingdom today? 

Dr. Montgomery: If we don’t prepare our students to engage and live in a world of global and intercultural connections, we aren’t educating them effectively. Our goal is to have students be able to share the gospel graciously and humbly with members of other cultures, languages, and backgrounds; and to develop intercultural competencies that foster effective global citizenship through study and sustained, meaningful engagement with others in a manner that reflects the love, humility, empathy, and servanthood of Jesus Christ.

Q: Why give to help globalize a Wheaton education? 

Ms. Deb Gasoske Kim ’93, Director of Study Abroad: Now is an exciting time to give to globalize a Wheaton education. More and more students are eager for study abroad programs to be part of their Wheaton education. Our students are interested in pursuing internships and study in foreign languages, world religions, cross-cultural ministry, sustainable development, international business, and more. We’re helping facilitate and make that happen with and for them, and we’d love to enhance connections and deepen learning experiences. We want Wheaton students to engage educationally abroad, but we also want them to go out with culturally-appropriate, service-minded, and Christ-minded goals—these motivations are all the more reason for Wheaton students to be engaging study abroad experiences.