Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--During a visit next week to South Korea, Mississippi State President Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong will work to strengthen international educational and business ties between the land-grant institution and the South Asian nation.
Accompanied by J.P. Shim, a South Korea native who directs the university's international business strategy program in the College of Business and Industry, Foglesong will visit six universities with whom the university has formal or potential academic relationships.
The Nov. 5-9 trip also will include an invited university lecture on leadership, as well as visits with a food manufacturer with MSU research ties, a major national research agency, the land-grant institution's alumni in the country, and some of the nation's top political figures.
"One of the key initiatives identified in our recent strategic planning effort was strengthening our international programs to recognize the global nature of almost everything we do," Foglesong explained. In the formal planning document, titled FutureSTATE 2015, the university targeted international programs as a potential center of excellence, he added.
"We also want to enhance the educational experience of students through exposure to other cultures and to develop strategies that focus on recruiting international students," Foglesong said.
During his 33-year military career, the retired four-star Air Force general visited more than 130 countries. "I saw first-hand the need to understand other cultures and to have a global view," he said.
Shim, an MSU Grisham Master Teacher who arranged the visit, said one hoped-for outcome is "bringing more quality exchange students from Korean institutions to Mississippi State."
Exchange agreements between MSU and Korean universities have existed for the past decade, with nearly 30 students currently enrolled, and those numbers are expected to grow to nearly 100, Shim said.
Planned stops during the intensive weeklong visit are Korea International Culture University; Korea Aerospace Research Institute; Daejon, Yeungnam and KwangWoon universities; and Catholic University of Daegu.
Also on the agenda is the Chew Young Roo Co., a major manufacturer of Korean dumplings, or mandu. Earlier this year, MSU entered into a research collaboration with the company.
At Catholic University, the church's largest institution of higher learning in the country of 48.4 million, Foglesong will deliver a 40-minute invited lecture on leadership and take questions from students.
"We hope to significantly raise the visibility of Mississippi and Mississippi State in this South Asian nation," Foglesong said.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.