2. Session Overview
1
This session will:
• Review the key roles and functions of administrators at U.S. universities.
• Highlight how to initiate contact and conversations with U.S. universities.
• Suggest areas of interest to U.S. universities.
• Discuss when and where to connect.
• Indicate who manages the partnership and assesses its potential viability.
• Provide some email templates and other best practices.
4. Common Roles and Functions at U.S. Universities
Leadership
President
Provost
Vice
Presidents/Vice
Provosts
Deans
Senior
International
Officer
Faculty and
Administration
Directors
Department
Chairs
Faculty
Business
Officers
Coordinators
International
Office
Compliance
Legal Counsel
Risk
Management
Export Control
Technology
International
Student and
Scholar Services
Academic
Programs and
Research
Development
Academic Affairs
Admissions
Graduate College
Research Office
Advancement
Alumni Office
Development
Office
Communications
5. Common Roles and Functions at U.S. Universities
Leadership
President
Provost
Vice
Presidents/Vice
Provosts
Deans
Senior
International
Officer
Primary Role
• Development of the campus internationalization strategy
• Public champion
• Ceremonial role
• Signing agreements
• Reporting activity to public
• Resources – Human and Financial
6. Common Roles and Functions at U.S. Universities
Primary Role
• Identify and evaluate opportunities for feasibility
• Implementation of program or project
• Agreement development
• Tracking and reporting activity
• Resource management
Faculty and
Administration
Directors
Department
Chairs
Faculty
Business
Officers
Coordinators
International
Office
7. Common Roles and Functions at U.S. Universities
Primary Role
• Legal counsel and agreement/contract review
• Insurance policy recommendations and protocol
• Intellectual property regulations and protocols
• Linking activity to industry
• Immigration rules and regulations and advising
Compliance
Legal Counsel
Risk
Management
Export Control
Technology
International
Student and
Scholar Services
8. Common Roles and Functions at U.S. Universities
Primary Role
• Oversees academic program development and protocols
• Curriculum development and articulation
• Admissions protocols and requirements
• Research development support and seed funding
Academic
Programs and
Research
Development
Academic Affairs
Admissions
Graduate College
Research Office
9. Common Roles and Functions at U.S. Universities
Primary Role
• Alumni tracking and outreach
• Relationship building
• Cultivates financial support from donors
• Announcements, distributing news items
Advancement
Alumni Office
Development
Office
Communications
11. 1. International Office and Academic Units
• Serve as the first point of contact at U.S. institutions
• Administrative staff and faculty evaluate the potential viability of the
initiative and alignment with institutional goals and priorities
• Communicate directly with the partner
• Coordinate the internal vetting and approvals at the U.S. institution
• Often report to the Provost or Chief Academic Officer on campus
10
12. 2. Academic Collaboration: Areas of Interest
• Dependent upon the institutional strengths, often differ by regional
needs and geographic location
• Varies by institution type (research/doctoral level, master level,
bachelor level, community colleges)
• Represented in this delegation are large, public research institutions
with strengths and expertise in:
- science and engineering
- agriculture and life sciences
- public policy and law
- business
- education
- social sciences
- health sciences
- humanities
11
13. 3. When and Where to Connect
• Professional international conferences for administrators
• European Association of International Educators (EAIE)
• Eurasia Higher Education Summit (EURIE)
• Association of International Educators (NAFSA)
• Asian Pacific Association of International Educators (APAIE)
• Professional conferences for faculty and researchers (varies by
discipline)
• Campus visits, preferably when university is in session
• Virtually (video calls) – anytime as needed
• Written correspondence – email – anytime as needed
12
14. 4. Partnership Management and Assessment of Potential
• International Office and the Academic Department oversee the
management of the partnership and handle internal mechanisms for
recruitment, enrollment and needs of the students and faculty on
behalf of the U.S. institution
• Assessment is handled by the International Office and the Academic
Department in conjunction with the partner institution
• Assessment criteria and techniques should be defined during the
development phase and implemented at the inception of the
program
13
15. 5. Email Sample
Dear _______:
My name is _____ and I am the _____ at ______ university in ______. ______ university is a public, state
institution that offers degrees in _________. We have ______ students and are focused on providing
education and training to support the growing need for _____ in our region.
We are looking to ___________ in ___________ and I noted that your university has demonstrated
strengths in this area. I would like to discuss possible opportunities for collaboration further with you
and would be happy to send additional information while we arrange a time to meet.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
14
17. 1. International Research
• Research collaborations with U.S. partners are often
created organically at the peer-to-peer level
• meetings and conferences
• contacting experts about their publications
• leveraging networks for introductions
• This does not mean it is a passive process. You should
utilize every opportunity to be proactive and strategic
in your search for collaborators.
16
18. 1. International Research – U.S. Context
• There is usually a positive tension between faculty-driven
partnerships and senior administrative-driven partnerships
• Faculty – independent pursuits of interest
• Administration – desire a unified direction
• Collaborations can come from the top down, but often it is
better to focus on faculty connections since they have the
final decision
• When it comes to research you are approaching individuals
(faculty) much more than an entire institution or university
17
19. 2. Engaging Faculty for Research or Scholarly Collaboration
• Be smart about who you are targeting
• Be honest about your capabilities and those of your
institution
• No one is great at everything and that is okay
• Look for complementarity as that gives you an opportunity
to offer something to the partnership
18
20. 2. Engaging Faculty for Research or Scholarly Collaboration
• Focus on finding motivations that align with faculty
• desire for tenure
• improved publications
• access to populations, datasets, resources, or samples they
would not have otherwise
• desire to expand industry connections
• employability of graduates
• better positioned for funding opportunities
• Rankings do not matter to faculty
19
21. 3. Research Collaborations: Areas of Interest
• Do your research on potential faculty partners
• Where are they in their career?
• How will both partners benefit from the collaboration?
• Do they have connections to the region?
• Are their summers available or do they have sabbatical soon?
• Deeply review websites (ex. ResearchGate)
• This will tell you where individuals and institutions are strong
and where they get funding
• Get a student to compile dossier on possible partners
20
22. 3. Research Collaborations: Areas of Interest
21
• You may target a particular faculty member, but you can also
start at the institutional level and then drill down to identify a
faculty member you did not know about before
24. 3. Research Collaborations: Areas of Interest
23
Washington State University
Total R&D expenditures, by field: 2017–08
(Dollars in thousands)
Field 2017 2016 2015 2014
All R&D fields 356,901 334,082 333,134 326,414
Science 260,144 261,298 252,474 245,649
Computer and information sciences 6,346 4,322 5,201 6,226
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 11,001 9,811 10,614 7,557
Atmospheric science and meteorology 1,178 1,266 966 582
Geological and earth sciences 2,368 2,908 2,190 3,916
Ocean sciences and marine sciences 201 227 1,196 15
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences, nec 7,254 5,410 6,262 3,044
Life sciences 187,072 185,075 166,580 182,940
Agricultural sciences 98,094 101,892 86,195 92,529
Biological and biomedical sciences 47,331 51,099 47,352 66,402
Health sciences 37,032 30,409 30,042 14,243
Natural resources and conservation 3,407 0 0 0
Life sciences, nec 1,208 1,675 2,991 9,766
Mathematics and statistics 777 1,340 909 2,194
Physical sciences 35,985 40,781 43,737 26,015
Psychology 4,440 3,094 2,004 3,053
Social sciences 12,866 16,300 20,322 14,162
Engineering 50,463 46,133 54,515 42,293
25. 3. Research Collaborations: Areas of Interest
24
Washington State University
Federally funded R&D expenditures, by federal agency: 2017–08
(Dollars in thousands)
Source of funds 2017 2016 2015 2014
All agencies 152,843 136,646 134,889 126,955
Department of Agriculture 50,929 42,813 35,338 34,009
Department of Defense 6,108 7,539 8,753 8,671
Department of Energy 17,812 17,207 18,549 11,427
Department of Health and Human Services (including NIH) 34,379 26,129 25,870 20,754
National Aeronautics and Space Administration 805 596 264 280
National Science Foundation 18,539 17,893 17,351 17,376
Other Agencies 24,271 24,469 28,764 34,438
SOURCE:National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey
NOTE:
. = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
26. 4. Project Management and Assessment of Potential
• The choice of partners in most collaborations is at the
discretion of the faculty member so you want to present
yourself and your institution as a strong candidate.
• Once the faculty member receives an award and becomes a
Principal Investigator, they are responsible for fulfilling all
the requirements of the award. They will have support from
the university system, but they are ultimately held
accountable.
25
27. 5. Initiating Contact: When and Where to Connect
26
• Send a targeted request, usually to a central unit rather
than the faculty directly. This is often more effective as
the unit will advocate for you.
• Establish a recognized email address (i.e. Google)
• Put together an elevator speech for the appropriate
platform (email, leave behind, etc.)
• Do not send attachments or urls in your initial outreach
• Set up your professional LinkedIn page, ResearchGate
profile, or other website (usually in English)
28. 5. Initiating Contact: When and Where to Connect
27
• Make sure you have something to offer when you
reach out; this means knowing what the partner wants
• Do not ask for too much immediately
• Understand the academic calendar. Don’t email during
finals or the summer and expect an immediate
response.
• Reference common connections
• Follow-up is key; be persistent but not aggressive
29. 6. Outreach Sample – What not to do
28
• Not personal; no analysis was done to focus on WSU
or a specific faculty member
• Same letter probably sent to every U.S. land grant
university
30. 6. Outreach Sample – General WSU
29
• Can make these
general or
specific to an
audience.
Specificity based
on discipline or
results or any
factor important
to your audience.
• Send in your
follow-up once
you get a
response.
31. 7. Other Suggestions
• Watch forecasts (ex. https://www.usaid.gov/business-
forecast/search; https://www.grants.gov, https://www.fbo.gov)
and sign up for listservs. Send findings to possible U.S. partners.
• As in institution, establish a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate
Agreement (NICRA) with a recognized international agency
• For individuals, explore the possibility of securing adjunct status at
your partner U.S. university. It gives you a legitimate U.S.
affiliation, including .edu email address, and access to resources
like databases and virtual private network (VPN) for improved
online access.
30
32. Sharing the Impact of Internationalization
• Most International Offices and Academic units have their own
marketing and communication staff
• These marketing and communication staff members will develop
stories and reports to highlight the impact of international
initiatives on campus that demonstrate how they support the
institutional goals and strategies
• This information will be shared with senior leadership and with
the centralized marketing office for broad distribution
• Use the media tools and methods that work best by community
and by region (social media, news stories, press releases, videos,
reports, etc)
31
33. Lunch:
Discussion
Topics
• How do we increase the quality of international connections?
• How can we modernize the management of international
administration?
• How many staff members are required to be effective?
• What are the functional responsibilities of U.S. international
administrators?
