News from NAFSA 1958, 1975 and 1988

One of my many academic interests is the history of international education with particular interest to the mobility of students and scholars to and from the United States.  Earlier this year I was so excited to learn that NAFSA Region XI started a digital archive of historical records that I posted here on IHEC Blog about it.  The other day I was digging around the archives and came across NEWS FROM NAFSA 1958, 1975 and 1988 documents and I thought I would highlight and/or cite a few of the main issues/news of these three time periods:

 

1958

 

- NAFSA marks its tenth anniversary ~ membership rose from 88 to 685, annual budget increased from $2,500 to $40,000 and NAFSA had 20 active working relationships with more than 2o governmental and non-governmental agencies

- NAFSA discovers that many of their old files and photos (to be used in 10 birthday celebration) were destroyed by termites.

-  “New debate rages: Should it be TEFL or TESL?  Should it be English as a foreign language or English as a second language?

- “NAFSA would like to measure impact on American students of interaction with foreign students…will be looking for tools to accomplish this.”

- NAFSA expressed gratitude to IIE for all of it gave to the organization:

o   in starting NAFSA

o   in Hungarian student crisis

o   in fostering important research

o   in conducting foreign student census

 

1975

 

- GRAC Team met in the Rockies to write first comprehensive Advisers Manual on Immigration

- SECUSSA held its first national workshop and the Sourcebook written in five days [I have two original copies of the Sourcebook in my Bury Book International Education Library & Archive]

- ADSEC expresses concern about a new wave of forgery in student credentials and “urges extreme caution, verification of questionable documents”

 

1988

 

- NAFSA celebrates 40 years

- Archer Brown won the first Higbee Award

- Senator Fulbright was one of the plenary speakers at the annual conference

- “U.S. hosts more students from abroad than any country in the world….over 350,000 here now”

- New NAFSA publication – Helping them Home-A Guide for Leaders of Professional Integration and Reentry Workshops by Peggy Pusch and Nessa Loewenthal

- Governor Clinton of Arkansas picked the Region III raffle winner

- NAFSA Field Service Program enters its fifteenth year ~ accomplishments include:

o   Publication of 74 books, manuals and guidelines

o   533 in-service training grants

o   899 regional workshops

 

You can access these three NEWS FROM NAFSA issues here.