Page 52 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES: THEORY AND PRACTICE, V.73, # 1, 2016, pp. 52-63

CONTINUING TO BUILD A “GLOBAL PENN STATE”

Dr. Shahin Bayramov

Associated Professor, Department of International Economic Relations,
Vice Rector for International Affairs and Programs,
Azerbaijan State University of Economics – UNEC
Visiting Scholar at the Pennsylvania State University (August 2015-April 2016
E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

Received 25 January 2016; accepted 14 June 2016; published online 30 June 2016

Abstract

There is no doubt that the current and potential trends in the global higher
education arena are mainly based on objective factors originating from rapidly
increasing internationalization processes in higher education. From this point of
view, higher education is characterized as one of the spheres mostly influenced by
globalization – a phenomenon that fundamentally changed a general political,
economic, ideological and cultural picture of the world during the last five decades. I
do believe that globalization and internationalization in higher education are
mutually connected and interdependent categories.
Obviously, the majority of world universities have always had an international
focus as part of their general mission or long-term development strategy. The scope
and level of this focus depends on each institution‘s main mission, capacity and
ambition in terms of providing academic services abroad, getting more international
students and having more sustained positions in international higher education
market. Universities develop their internationalization strategies in order to have a
framework for adaptation to new global trends and regional challenges as well as to
benefit from opportunities coming from globalized and more liberalized
international higher education market.
In this regard, my paper mainly deals with Penn State's strong international
focus and ongoing efforts to become a Global University. I am applying selected
organizational theories and concepts to review Penn State's administration
mechanism in international affairs and this flagship university‘s global presence in
general. The theories are loose and tight coupling, natural and rational systems, the
Mathew effect, and population ecology, I use these theories to cover Penn State's
university management system in terms of getting globally engaged, making
students inter-culturally competent, and preparing global citizens.

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