A Mandate for Internationalization

Originally included in the University of New Haven’s Summer ’25 Alumni Magazine, the below captures President Jens Frederiksen’s thoughts on the impact of and the opportunity by a global campus.

A generation ago, the political commentator and author Thomas Friedman argued in his groundbreaking book “The World is Flat” that the speed and ferocity of technological change happening across the globe were leveling economic disparities and creating a “flatter” economic playing field. Although more than a few economists argued that Friedman’s predicted economic leveling would not come to pass, there is no disputing that the pace of technological change has only accelerated in the past two decades, notably with advances in the world of artificial intelligence (AI). And it seems that Friedman’s notion of a shrinking, if not flatter, planet has ushered in a time when the acquisition of global perspectives and experiences by today’s college students — and tomorrow’s elite global workforce — is no longer optional.

Responding to that mandate, the University of New Haven has determined that a global focus is of strategic significance to the University’s future. “The tide of globalization is only going to advance in the years ahead,” says University President Jens Frederiksen, Ph.D. To underscore the University’s positioning, this year Frederiksen established a division of government affairs and global engagement and determined that U New Haven’s global focus would be built upon four pillars: student enrollment pipelines and exchanges; academic and industry partnerships; the expansion of bespoke contracting work for public and private organizations and institutions; and the unique opportunity of establishing a branch campus in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“We can learn a lot from differences,” Frederiksen maintains, “but we haven’t done enough as an institution to articulate how we have integrated globalization into our community as an incredible value-add to the student experience and a real enhancement to the return on their investment in us.” Frederiksen continues, “Some of this happens in the classroom, some of it outside of the classroom. We need to help our students understand that preparing them to live in an increasingly transformative world, where the pace of change is discombobulating, is essential. There needs to be an immersive quality to what we offer as we prepare our students to be competitive for higher-paying careers.”

Understanding that some jobs today will become obsolete in the years ahead, Frederiksen says that students need to develop flexible skill sets, prepare for multiple careers, and be demand driven from an economic standpoint while having the ability to wrestle with questions of taste, aesthetics, awareness, and resiliency that AI, at least today, cannot address.

“Internationalization is baked into our DNA,” he says, “but now we’re really leaning into why we did it and why it’s a part of us. This is our moment to assign some deliberate thought to how we tell this part of our origin story as an institution.”

He knows firsthand the value of a global experience that can expand students’ horizons, enlarge their perspectives as agile thinkers and doers, and equip them with a more well-rounded outlook on the world.

Born in Denmark, he moved to Luxembourg at age eight, where he “witnessed a real melting pot and grew up with the idea that people transcend nationality.” He spent time in France and Spain before traveling the globe as a professional tennis player. He eventually landed in the U.S. for collegiate studies at Vanderbilt University. “Maybe these experiences have given me a deep-rooted appreciation of the transcendent themes across cultures and nations,” he says.

Frederiksen says the work ahead at the University is exciting — and necessary. He speaks of infusing a global understanding and perspective in every academic discipline and expanding comparative studies. He firmly believes that as AI and other technological advances continue at warp speed, it behooves the University to prepare students for their roles as the next generation of an elite global workforce in industries from gaming and esports to social planning, healthcare, engineering, and business, all of which are demanding human capital at the highest level.

He says faculty at the University are receptive to his notion of evolving it into a university maintaining its local feel but with a global impact. “We have a global faculty with a can-do legacy around international education. They understand the possible upside and have a high appreciation for the opportunity for growth. Many are involved in existing international partnerships, and we want to encourage them to be more entrepreneurial in developing more.”

As a practical matter, Frederiksen says the focus on international enrollments is to diversify the international student population, which has traditionally and disproportionately relied on graduate students from India, and to grow the University’s international population at the undergraduate level.

“We are proactively focusing on international undergraduate enrollment,” he says, adding that the University’s approach to international recruitment is already shifting to realize a goal of doubling the international undergraduate enrollment over the course of the next 18 to 24 months.

With respect to diversification, Frederiksen says, “It is paramount to reverse the trend of relying almost exclusively on graduate students from India, as evidenced by the substantial drop in numbers this past fall. Considering the shorter duration of graduate programs, it creates unsustainable pressure on recruitment and, by extension, on the budget.” He says the University is now proactively mitigating the risk of its absence in non-Indian markets by elevating recruitment, branding, and partnerships in other markets.

The challenges, and the possibilities, of increased internationalization animate Frederiksen. He enthuses about a visit with participants in the University’s recently launched Afghan Women’s Scholarship program.

“I had lunch with the current cohort of Afghan women,” he recalls, “and it was impressive to hear of their struggles and hard not to be moved by their experiences.” The experience for Afghan students, he says, “can be life altering in many ways, and their presence on campus will also be significant for our domestic students, who can reflect on what they can do in a meaningful way to pave the way for women from distressed backgrounds. We are gratified to be involved in the kind of work that will allow these women to improve their lives and situations.”

He expresses similar sentiments about an encounter with a Ukrainian student on campus earlier this spring. “Again, I heard firsthand of the struggles she faced and the optimism she expressed about her experience in West Haven.”

��ɫAV, he concludes, will continue to expand on its international relationships and “engage the global community with our resources and expertise. In this vein, it is imperative to continue to build relationships that open new markets for recruitment, partnerships, and contracting.”

Positioning the University of New Haven to lead in an interconnected global environment.

One needn’t look too hard at the University of New Haven to gain an appreciation for its historic and continuing commitment to giving students an education infused with an international perspective. In ways both large and small, one finds examples of what President Jens Frederiksen, Ph.D., calls “a university with a local feel and a global reach.”

That global reach can be found in the University’s award-winning and record-setting Model United Nations program, with its growing portfolio of Outstanding Delegate awards; in the hundreds of students who have studied abroad at the University’s nearly 15-year-old campus in Prato, Italy; and in the depth and breadth of internationally related academic course offerings across all of the University’s schools and colleges.

It presents itself in an international conference hosted with Yale University in July 2024, examining the complex geopolitical past and present of the Baltic region and drawing participants from countries around the world.

��ɫAV’s reach can also be seen in the work of adjunct professor of national security Olena Lennon, Ph.D., who served as one of a handful of Americans to participate in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s election observation mission in Moldova in October 2024. Also, the University’s Lee College hosted a delegation from the University of Tirana, Albania, in December 2024 to share ideas that foster innovation and excellence in criminology education and research, solidifying the University’s leadership position in the field. In addition, the Lee College continues an exemplary exchange agreement developed nearly two decades ago with the Polish National Police (PNP), whereby approximately 100 students have participated in a summer study abroad experience in Poland, and members of the PNP come to campus annually for training and cultural immersion. According to Interim Dean David Schroeder, Ph.D., the exchange “provides a deep, rich experience for our students and is designed to create a new way of exposing students to police and police to students.” Dr. Schroeder was the third member of the University’s academic community to receive state recognition from the nation of Poland for this exchange — in this case, the Centenary Medal from the PNP in 2019.

A final example, the University’s participation in The BridgeUSA Ukrainian Academic Fellows Program brought Kateryna Lokes, Ph.D., a visiting scholar and oral and maxillofacial surgeon from Ukraine to West Haven for a six-week fellowship in the 2024 to 2025 academic year to work with students and faculty in the School of Health Sciences.

These are just a handful of the programs and partnerships that are putting University of New Haven students and faculty in positions to succeed and prosper in an increasingly interconnected global environment.

Today, the strategic intentionality of the University’s belief in the power and advantages of internationalization is more prominent, ambitious, and tangible than ever.

As Frederiksen puts it when describing the global nature of a U New Haven experience as a key strategic priority, “��ɫAV of New Haven is a private university with a public mission, and that mission is global. It has a long legacy of global engagement — whether in the form of university partnerships, a campus in Prato, student enrollment, exchanges, or bespoke programming for specific agencies and organizations in Europe, the Middle East, and East/South Asia. Today, the University is home to students from more than 50 countries, and international programs and partnerships continue to expand.”