NITZSCHKE TRAVELS ABROAD, SINGS OUT FOR STUDENTS

Southeast Missouri State University president Dr. Dale Nitzschke loves to sing the praises of recruiting international students to the school. He even can hum a few bars.

On a recruiting trip to South Korea last month, Nitzschke sang "Puff the Magic Dragon" during a karaoke session orchestrated by the president of Kunsan National University in Kunsan City.

The bus featured a Karaoke machine that showed the words of songs on a television monitor.

Nitzschke's visit to Kunsan National University was part of a nine-day trip to Japan and South Korea in early April. The trip included visits to the university in South Korea and two universities and a private student-recruitment agency in Japan.

"Those are institutions where Southeast already has an established relationship," he said.

Nitzschke has logged plenty of frequent flier miles this school year. He previously traveled to Europe and Brazil.

Nitzschke said his visits abroad have helped forge solid relationships with other schools abroad.

"The president has to do it at least once," said Nitzschke.

The trip cost $4,4541 in airfare for four people, he said. The host institutions paid for lodging and other expenses.

Besides Nitzschke, those on the trip included his wife, Linda; Jesse Perry, who directs the intensive English program for international students at Southeast; and Dr. Gerald McDougall, dean of the business college.

The trip included social gatherings with officials at the various schools.

"You don't do business with Japanese and Koreans unless you socialize with them," he said. "What it is all about is getting to know people. You need to know the institution. You need to see it first hand," he said.

"I ate a lot of sushi. I ate with chop sticks all the time," said Nitzschke.

In both South Korea and Japan, he and the other Southeast officials traveled by bullet trains. The trains run constantly. "They are just swishing by you all the time," he said.

Southeast has experienced a drop in international enrollment in recent years.

Since being hired as president in 1996, Nitzschke has pushed to boost international enrollment.

Southeast has 179 international students enrolled from 37 countries. That's down from 263 international students in 1995.

Under Nitzschke, the university has moved to centralize its international programs.

English professor Adelaide Parsons has served as interim director of international affairs since January. She has worked with international students at Southeast for 14 years.

Parsons, aided by an informal committee, has proposed a restructuring of international programs that includes everything from foreign students to faculty and student exchanges.

More American students are choosing to study abroad, she said.

Parsons said the university has previously targeted its recruiting in Asian countries. Now, the school is expanding its reach to include Central and South America, as well as Africa and the Middle East.

"We also have begun to target exchange students in our high schools in Missouri," she said.

Parsons said the extra effort by the school shows promise. The admissions office has seen an increase in applications from international students.

Nitzschke said Southeast is in the process of hiring a full-time director of international affairs. The school has received more than 100 applications for the job. He said he hopes to have the position filled by fall.

International students mean revenue for the school. "The bulk of the students we recruit come and pay the full freight," Nitzschke said.

An international student taking 12 credit hours would pay more than $2,200 to attend Southeast next fall. That is just the cost of tuition and general fees. That doesn't take into account room-and-board charges that will total nearly $5,000 for students living in some of the residence halls.

Nitzschke said the recruitment of international students is important for more than financial reasons. It is important to have international students on campus because there is a multinational workforce in today's global economy, said Nitzschke.

"The world has shrunk so incredibly much," he said. It is important for people from different cultures to work together.

Nitzschke said Southeast benefits from having international students on campus, as does the community and area families who host international students.

"They enrich our environment in special ways," he said.