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Wardlaw Center
177 North Avenue
Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0181
Georgia Tech is a unit of the University System of Georgia.
OIE names new director
David Terraso
Institute Communications and Public Affairs
On May 15, Howard Rollins will become the new director of the Office
of International Education (OIE). He will also join the faculty as
a professor of psychology, a position he’s held at Emory University
for the past 35 years.
In
1996, Rollins became the first director of the study abroad office in
Emory’s School of Arts and Sciences and the founding director of
the Institute for Comparative and International Studies. After six years
in those positions, he returned to psychology full time, but something
was missing.
“I realized I still had this passion for things international. I
missed the opportunity to administer the study abroad programs,”
Rollins said.
Providing students with an international experience is crucial to educating
students beyond the classroom, said Rollins.
“Students become different people as a function of having lived
abroad. They develop a sense of independence, the ability to cope with
difficult circumstances, respect for other cultures and gain a fresh perspective
of their own culture,” he explained.
When it comes time to enter the job market, students may find their international
experience gives them added value.
“We’re in a global economy where most major corporations have
international operations. Having study abroad experience and knowing how
to interact with people from all over the world, that’s going to
be the icing on the cake between a potential employer hiring you over
another candidate,” he added.
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies and Vice President for Academic
Affairs Bob McMath said Rollins’ insight and leadership will serve
Tech well. “As a faculty leader at Emory University, Howard played
a leading role in internationalizing the curriculum and the educational
environment. He understands the strides that Georgia Tech has made in
this area, as well as the challenges we face as an international institution,
and I’m excited about his leadership here in the years to come.”
Tech already has an impressive record in international education, hosting
more international students than any other university in Georgia and second
only to Emory in the percentage of students in study abroad programs.
Rollins said he wants to improve on that record, getting more students
into the semester and yearlong study abroad programs, as opposed to the
summer sessions.
“You can learn a lot in six weeks, but there’s no substitute
for living in another place for six more months,” he said.
He also wants to offer more support to international students coming to
Tech. Since the federal government mandated stricter reporting from international
students last semester, the advisors at OIE have been preoccupied with
the new regulations, leaving little time to advise students on non-visa
matters. Rollins hopes to increase the amount of time the advisors can
spend with the students, helping them get adjusted to life in the United
States.
“There are a lot of challenges for international students, being
in a new place and a new culture, speaking a new language, on top of meeting
the academic demands that come with being a student,” he said.
Rollins takes his own advice when it comes to traveling around the globe.
He’s been to every continent except Antarctica and has lived in
London on two occasions. Although he considers London his second home,
he said India and China were two of the most interesting and surprising
places he’s been.
“Those two cultures are so vastly different from our own that I
felt challenged, even uncomfortable about the differences, but that’s
the value of study abroad. You learn something about yourself when you
have to deal with difficult situations,” Rollins said.
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