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> **U.S. Senate Resolution
Designates 2006 as Year of Study Abroad**
State of Alabama Legislature Designates 2006 as Year of Study Abroad
HJR 534 Resolution by the Legislature, State of Alabama
ENROLLED, House Joint Resolution
Designating 2006 as the Year of Study Abroad for the State of
Alabama,
WHEREAS, encouraging the citizens of the State
of Alabama to become globally literate is an important part of the
mission of higher education in this state ; and
WHEREAS, according to a 2002 American Council
on Education poll, 79 percent of people in the United States agree
that students should have a study abroad experience sometime during
college, but only 1 percent of students from the United States and
less than 1500 Alabama students currently study abroad each year;
and
WHEREAS, according to the Coalition for
International Education, institutions of higher education in the
United States are struggling to graduate enough students with the
language skills and cultural competence necessary to meet the
current demands of business, government, and educational
institutions; and
WHEREAS, providing the future leaders of this
state with the broadest possible education will significantly impact
our national security, foreign policy, economic competitiveness, and
capacity for tolerance; and
WHEREAS, study abroad programs help students to
be more informed about the world and empowered to develop the
cultural awareness necessary to better understand themselves and
others through comparison of cultural values and ways of life; and
every student in the Alabama education system should have the
opportunity for study abroad; and
WHEREAS, increasingly complex international
trade relations, the urgent needs of developing nations, concerns
for the preservation of our global ecology and the constant goal of
world peace require that today's students be concerned about
international events; and
WHEREAS, the United States Senate has declared
2006 as the Year of Study Abroad and Alabama Governor Bob Riley, in
recognition of the US Department of State and Department of
Education, has each year declared one week in November as State of
Alabama International Education Week; and
WHEREAS, the bipartisan, federally-appointed
Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program,
has made recommendations for enhanced support for study abroad
opportunities on a national scale; and
WHEREAS, the State of Alabama is ideally suited
to accomplish these objectives and take pride in its strong
international presence through research and academic programs
throughout higher education across the State of Alabama; and
WHEREAS, the emphasis on international education in Alabama will
strengthen global understanding and build a foundation for the
future of our state; now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE
STATE OF ALABAMA, BOTH HOUSES THEREOF CONCURRING, That we hereby
resolve as follows:
(1) That
2006 be designated as the Year of Study Abroad for the State of
Alabama.
(2)
Schools, institutions of higher learning, businesses, and
government programs are encouraged to promote, collaborate on and
expand study abroad opportunities.
(3)
Educators, school board members, business leaders and elected
officials are encourages to support initiatives and collaborative
efforts to promote and expand study abroad opportunities and observe
the "Year of Study Abroad" with appropriate ceremonies, programs,
and other activities.
(4)
Educators, school board members, business leaders and elected
officials are encouraged to come together each year for a summit on
international education to further the international education needs
of the State of Alabama and provide an annual report on the state of
international education in Alabama.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this
resolution be provided to the State Board of Education and the
Alabama Commission on Higher Education in recognition of the
importance of study abroad to Alabama students.
First Read, March 15, 2006
Adopted April 05, 2006
(by Representative Allan Boothe)
Created 04/20/2006, rev.
04/20/2006 03:03:24 PM |
