After Sending Thousands Abroad, Edwards Is Bound for New Haven

After three years of working to enhance study abroad opportunities for Harvard students, the director of the Office of International Programs (OIP), Jane Edwards, will reroute to New Haven this fall as the Associate Dean of International Affairs at Yale College.

Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ‘71, who announced Edwards’ departure in an e-mail to staff Wednesday, said that the College will conduct a search for a new director for the office this summer.

Edwards was appointed in early 2003 by Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby to direct the OIP, an office he established in 2002 in response to a commitment by faculty and administrators to encourage more Harvard students to study abroad.

Unlike her directorship at the OIP, her associate deanship at Yale will not entail managing study abroad or advising students.

“She will provide strategic planning for and coordination of the various offices administering international programs for undergraduates, and she will serve as a liaison to those offices involved in admitting and retaining international students in the College,” Yale College Dean Peter Salovey wrote in an e-mail announcing Edwards’ appointment.

Edwards said she notified Gross of her pending departure, scheduled for August 4, on Tuesday.

The vice provost for international affairs, Jorge I. Dominguez—who was himself appointed on May 18—will work very closely with the OIP in the future and be actively involved in the search for new leadership, Gross said. Dominguez, who directed Harvard’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs for the past decade, will assume his vice provost post on July 1.

Edwards noted that she was not eligible for the vice provost position because the job required that candidates be tenured faculty members. Edwards said that when she was appointed, the OIP was a “start-up” organization created to better formalize “how to structure opportunities, how to target resources, and how to get information out to make an international experience something that every Harvard student would want to pursue.”

ABROAD VISITS ABOUND

“The growth in numbers of students going abroad, particularly during the summer, is itself an indication that we have been fulfilling our purpose,” Edwards said.

The number of students doing study abroad for credit increased from 172 in 2000-2001 to 351 in 2004-2005. Including students in non-credit programs, a total of 840 students went abroad with OIP support in 2004-2005.

This year about 1100 students participated in international study, work, or internships, either during term time or over the summer, Gross said in his e-mail to administrators.

Prior to her appointment at Harvard, Edwards helped build up Wesleyan University’s study abroad program and increase the number of students participating in foreign initiatives as director of international studies.

Edward has been credited with helping the OIP work with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ Computer Services to launch an online database to help students locate study abroad grants and advising resources. She has also worked with departments and concentrations to help students organize their course requirements to make room for study abroad opportunities.

Olivia H. Gage ’07, who corresponded regularly with Edwards, said that the director understood well what students needed and saw the “whole picture” in terms of what a college experience should be. Gage remembers Edwards characterizing Harvard students as “driven” but “risk-averse,” reflecting her desire to encourage more students to explore study abroad opportunities.

Chair of the Classics Department Richard F. Thomas, a Faculty Council member said that Edward’s departure is “another resignation of a significant administrator,” adding that “Yale’s gain is distinctly our loss.” Edwards kept the Council abreast on all study abroad issues and initiatives, he said.

Edwards’ new position at Yale will not displace any administrators currently working at their Office of International Education and Fellowship Programs.

“There are no other staff changes associated with adding it to the Yale College Dean’s Office,” Salovey wrote.

Edwards said she believes that the future the OIP, now out of her hands, is headed in a very positive direction.

“The start we made is a very good one. We set up a structure here that is durable and we believe that it serves the needs of students very well,” she said.

—Staff writer Ying Wang can be reached at yingwang@fas.harvard.edu.