After three months at the SMU International Center, Stephen DePaul will officially resign from the director of education abroad position today in order to take a position with the University of Texas system as the director of global initiatives and special advisor to the chancellor.
“I have been very happy here,” DePaul said, “and if it wasn’t for this unexpected opportunity, I wouldn’t be leaving.”
In fact, DePaul will continue to work with Executive Director of the International Center Michael Clarke in order to find his replacement. The school expects to fill DePaul’s position by Jan. 1, but the International Center will continue to pick his brain since his new job will allow him to stay in the Dallas area.
“One of the things we were looking for when we hired Steve was a professional, and we got one,” Clarke said. “It used to be that back in the ’60s and ’70s a faculty member could organize trips for students to study abroad, but now it’s a fulltime job.”
The director of education abroad works to develop new cost-effective and safer programs for students. DePaul also worked to promote and market studying abroad, as well as making the process of transferring credits smoother. DePaul worked directly with students, something he says he will miss.
“My new job will not be based on a university campus so I will not see students,” DePaul said. “I will not see the direct result of my labor.”
But according to Clarke, DePaul and the International Center as a whole will see their works pay off in the near future, with new programs planned for the summer semester.
“It really is an exciting time to be here at SMU, mainly because of the International Task Force that worked throughout last year,” Clarke said. “The task force recommended that SMU expand and diversify studying abroad for its students.”
The International Center plans to add internships and service programs abroad, and in a wider array of countries. Specifically a program in Oaxaca, Mexico, an advertising program in India, and classes at American University in Cairo will be added once they pass approval, Clarke said. DePaul and Clarke want to emphasize that studying abroad is for all majors.
“I’d say that a majority of the students studying abroad are in the social sciences and humanities, but the largest increase in students studying abroad is in business,” DePaul said.
According to Clarke, the university is trying to expand to meet the needs and demands of its students.
“If we want to be a major university in the 21st century,” Clarke said, “then we have to be a global university.”
