Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of Internationalizing Higher Education: Discovering Opportunities to Meet the Challenges by Joseph Mestenhauser (review)

Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of Internationalizing Higher Education: Discovering Opportunities to Meet the Challenges expands on ideas presented during the Mestenhauser lecture series at the University of Minnesota. The publication pulls from Joseph Mestenhauser's six decades of experience working in international education as an administrator, faculty member, and in several other roles. The author's thorough analysis of internationalization trends is carefully backed by an extensive bibliography and should appeal to a broad audience including faculty, administrators, and graduate students.

The book consists of twelve chapters and complements this journal's theme of rethinking internationalization. While each chapter is able to stand alone, the complete publication presents a powerful tool for reimagining opportunities and confronting challenges related to internationalization. In short, the publication addresses the current state of a "fragmented, complex, multidimensional, interdisciplinary, intercultural field" (Mestenhauser, 2006a, p. 61) from a systems perspective while recognizing the important influence culture has over how international education initiatives unfold.

Senge (2006) describes systems thinking as a discipline for seeing "the interrelationships rather than the linear cause-effect changes, and seeing processes of change rather than snapshots" (p. 73). Mestenhauser is known for applying systems thinking to higher education, but he is not alone. In an analysis of the development of educational policy at the University of Twente, de Jong and Teekens (2003) assert, "the disparate types of internationalization of former days have now become part of a larger whole. It is no longer necessary to choose one approach; it is a matter of integrating the various possibilities" (p. 45). From a systems perspective, an institution is better able to achieve its goals when all parts are working in unison as opposed to operating haphazardly. However, evidence suggests the realization of systems thinking within the context of higher education may be the exception rather than the norm. Schroeder explains, "universities are characterized not by a sense of community, but rather by a constellation of independent principalities and fiefdoms, each disconnected from the other end from any commitment to institutional purpose or transcending values" (1999, p. 9). This results in significant barriers in the form of administrative structure and organizational culture that prevent systems thinking from being operationalized. Because internationalization runs like a vein through the heart of higher education, it is equally fortified against change.

According to Mestenhauser (2011), "international education is a fragmented field divided by various administrative and instructional units, reporting to various structures, and fluctuating in emphasis from 'process' to 'product' learning" (p. 2). While such a description may resonate across institutions, Mestenhauser's use of systems thinking within the current publication mostly applies to large, research universities where, presumably, the level of system complexity is highest and unit specialization is most prevalent. To this end, the author's analysis of critical issues in international education gives ample attention to shortcomings regarding organizational hierarchy, research, and graduate study. Additional consideration is given to cultural influences on teaching, learning, and educational administration.

The first chapter presents six recurring challenges to international education, which are mostly conceptual in nature, but have far-reaching implications for individuals, institutions, and the field. Because international education is frequently misunderstood and rarely institutionalized (Mestenhauser, 2002), the author calls for the field to be appropriately recognized as a profession and international educators to be given an adequate level of academic authority so that internationalization may be comprehensive rather than fragmented.

The next three chapters take the reader on an exciting journey through the author's career and include reflections on emerging and recurring trends in international education. While Mestenhauser encourages readers to maintain a future frame of reference with regard to international education strategy, the value of his reflections on historical events cannot be trivialized. For example, while employed as an international education administrator at the University of Minnesota during the 1979...