SCENE (online) :: The Magazine of Schreiner University

Even the average man on the street understands that he is living in a changing world— a world increasingly interdependent and interconnected. More and more products we buy have labels indicating manufacture in foreign lands, an ever-increasing percentage of our gross national product comes from the international component of American business, political upheavals in other countries increasingly impact our own lives, and interaction with people of other cultures is becoming routine. The popular name for all this is globalization.

Schreiner University is determined to provide its students with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in this changing world. Here at Schreiner we want our students to focus on the big picture. In support of that effort, last year President Tim Summerlin and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael Looney authorized the creation of the Center for Global Studies to coordinate actions to enhance the global perspective at Schreiner. Looney established a committee, co-chaired by Dr. John Huddleston, dean of the School of Liberal Arts, and John Jones, dean of the School of Professional Studies, to propose ways in which our curriculum could better prepare students for the globalizing world in which they will live and work.

The committee identified two new programs that offer the best opportunity for enhancing the global component of the Schreiner curriculum: an international relations focus within the political science major, and an international business focus within the business administration major.

The International Relations Program in political science has already been approved by the faculty and was introduced into the curriculum this fall. It is designed to prepare students for careers within government dealing with foreign policy in both political and economic matters. This curriculum also is a good foundation for careers in non-governmental agencies, such as international aid and charity, human rights, social justice, and missionary organizations. The full curriculum for this program can be found on the political science pages of the Schreiner Web site:
http://www.schreiner.edu/academics/political_science.html.

The program includes new courses such as globalization theories, issues, and trends; comparative political systems; international political economy; regional study (of a major area such as Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, or Asia); and the American foreign policy process.

The International Business Program will be submitted to the faculty this fall with the aim of introducing it into the curriculum in the spring of 2006. Perhaps the most apparent impact of globalization has been in the realm of business. Foreign economic activity makes up an increasing portion of our economy. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick points out that while international trade and international investments accounted for only 6 percent of U.S. gross national product in 1960, foreign sales of American goods and services and returns on American investments abroad now provide over 30 percent of our national income, and the importance of the international sector is growing at an accelerating pace.

American businesses recognize this trend. Coca-Cola now has to be worried about marketing to the world, not just the United States. The private sector Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award commissioned a survey of executives in a broad range of U.S. companies and other organizations concerning challenges to American business in the 21st century. Seventy-nine percent of the 300 CEOs who responded identified adjusting to globalization as their main challenge, requiring a close review of CEO skills needed for the future. University graduates who understand globalization trends are in demand. Trade Representative Zoellick says that those working in the international field in business can expect to be paid on average 18 percent more than their contemporaries working only in the domestic market.

To make sure Schreiner business graduates are competitive for these jobs, the global studies committee has devised a BBA degree that, in addition to traditional business administration courses in economics, accounting, management, etc., includes courses in international business, international political economy, American foreign policy related to international trade, and study of economic factors in a major world region such as Europe, Latin America, the Middle East or Asia.

Another important component of both the International Relations and International Business programs is foreign language. Students specializing in these programs must demonstrate capability in a foreign language equal to four semesters of study.

In addition to supporting the new global-oriented academic programs, the Schreiner University Center for Global Studies also is a point of contact for the University’s public service to the community on international matters.

In all of my travels I have found there are similarities in all people. We are all just part of the human family. We all want security, including financial security, to enhance the quality of life for ourselves and our family, and that means knowing how to function in a global world.

Dr. Ronald Hatchett was a senior civilian official in the Department of Defense working arms control and international security issues during the administration of President Ronald Reagan. From 1983 to 1986 he was the Secretary of Defense Representative to the Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions Talks negotiating NATO and Warsaw Pact conventional force levels in central Europe. In 1986 he became the Secretary of Defense Representative to three other multi-national security organizations in Europe: the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe concerning security, economic, and human rights issues; the mandate talks for NATO-Warsaw Pact negotiations on Conventional Forces in Europe; and the NATO High Level Task Force on conventional arms control. He held these positions until leaving the government in August 1988.

Prior to taking his position in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Dr. Hatchett served for 20 years as an Air Force officer working intelligence and politico-military affairs.

Dr. Hatchett’s academic specialties are foreign policy, European studies and Middle Eastern affairs. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Air Force Academy; a Master of Arts degree from California State University, San Diego; a certificate of Balkan studies from the University of Zagreb in Croatia; and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Hatchett says he first became interested in the world beyond America’s borders when his father presented him with a Hallicrafters shortwave radio on his 12th birthday.

“I would sit in my room in Waco, Texas, until late at night listening with earphones to the amazing sounds and programs coming from such places as Radio Moscow, Radio Havana, the BBC, Deutcher Wella (the Voice of Germany) and Radio Switzerland,” Hatchett said. I came to appreciate the fact that there were many other cultures in this world, each with unique beliefs, values and points of view.”

“I dreamed of visiting these far off places and peoples. In the Texas of 1961, I thought the best chance of realizing my dreams was to serve in the military, so I applied and won an appointment to the Air Force Academy. This began a 23-year career in government service, which allowed me to live in and travel to many countries of the world before retiring to full time academic life in 1988.”

Dr. Hatchett has held positions related to global studies on the faculties of the United States Air Force Academy, the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State, Texas A&M University, and the University of St. Thomas. At Schreiner University, he will teach many of the new global courses in both the International Relations and International Business programs, and also is a much sought-after television and radio commentator.

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