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Cross-cultural Program News
This article is from the EMU News Archive. Current EMU new is available at www.emu.edu/news
Number of Int'l Students Remains Stable
Photo by Kai Orenic
By Heather Bowser, Daily News-Record
Although James Madison University and Bridgewater College have fewer international students than they used to, Eastern Mennonite University’s numbers have remained relatively stable.
About 6 percent of EMU’s 1,025 students are from other countries, school records say. Seven years ago, the school had 7 percent.
JMU has 137 students from other countries — less than half the number seven years ago.
Bridgewater College increased its enrollment by about 300 in the last six years, but still has about 12 international students.
Why The Consistency
EMU officials say their numbers have remained stable for several reasons.
University spokesman Jim Bishop said undergraduate students are required to spend a semester abroad under the school’s Cross-Cultural Program.
"Our students make connections and friends there and then [the international students] come back here," he said.
Jonathan Kratz, Director of International Student Services, agrees.
"The Mennonite Church is globally minded," he said. "Between the voluntary service and the Cross-Cultural Program, we have a lot of connections."
He also said EMU’s numbers remain high because they participate in the government-sponsored Fullbright program.
In 2001 EMU applied for the Fulbright grant, which pays the tuition for about 20 students to study at the university’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.
