Amber Cruxton

Amber Cruxton has been working with Kent State University’s Office of Global Education

since 2012 and she was recently promoted to the Director of Education Abroad. Amber holds a

master’s degree in Higher Education Administration and Student Personnel and has participated

in two study abroad experiences as a student. Her experience as an administrator in education

abroad and knowledge of Kent State University’s programming structure makes her a valuable

resource in the development and implementation of re-entry programming for The Fashion

School. In addition, The Office of Global Education will work closely with The Fashion

School’s faculty and administration to establish programming.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Amber’s perspective of the proposal was supportive of integrating re-entry programming.

She noted that offering incentives would be useful in order to recruit faculty to participate in re-

entry programming. Another aspect that Amber supported was the inclusion of Career Services

to lead general resume and cover letter resources. However, in addition to the use of faculty who

have experience hiring in the industry. These people would have great advice related to resumes

and interviewing.

One weakness that Amber mentioned was that there are few faculty members on campus

who would be able to facilitate a discussion on the intercultural and personal aspects of re-entry.

Not all faculty members understand the complexities of education abroad and have the right

expertise to advise students through the re-entry process. It will also be difficult to limit these

faculty members to those who work within The Fashion School. This role may need to be

allocated to administrators within The Office of Global Education or Study Away Programs staff

within The Fashion School.

Mission and Goals

Overall, Kent State University strives to teach students to be global citizens. The act of

going abroad does not automatically make a person a global citizen, therefore Kent State

University must ensure that its students understand their experiences and are able to add meaning

to them. Re-entry programming is an effective way to close the loop in the learning process,

provide evidence of student learning, and inform the university that its students return from their

experience having acquired new skills and knowledge toward global citizenship.

Challenges in Enacting the Collaboration

Amber expressed that the time commitment from both faculty and students will be a

challenge. Historically, recruiting faculty and students for re-entry programming is difficult

because it is not a requirement and many institutions do not consider it to be as important as pre-

departure orientations that inform safety and security procedures. Re-entry is an extra service

that institutions provide. Although it is valued within international education, it will be

challenging to convince faculty to invest time in additional service.

Advice

In order for quality re-entry programming to be developed, the proposal should also

consider what group discussions would look like and the specific topics that would be covered,

in addition to what faculty experts would be on campus to facilitate them. As stated previously,

there are few faculty members who would be able to discuss the intercultural and personal

aspects of re-entry.

Review

After speaking with Amber about this proposal, it is clear that incorporating faculty

members with an interest in education abroad will not be enough. The Fashion School will need
to be selective in incorporating faculty who understand the complexities of international

education, can facilitate intercultural group discussions, and understand the importance of

supporting student development of global citizenship.