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Ten years ago, international students made up less than one percent of Skidmore鈥檚 student body. Today, that number is approaching ten percent, while an additional seven percent have dual citizenship or permanent residency. Skidmore students now represent 66 nations.

As more students from around the world have found their way to Skidmore, conversations both in and out of the classroom have become more diverse, more global, and more inclusive. Skidmore celebrated the trend with a fitting tribute Oct. 24 to the Davis United World Colleges (UWC) Scholars Program, the largest international undergraduate scholarship program in the world. The festivities included a panel discussion on the future of international education and the awarding of honorary degrees to the program鈥檚 main architects, Philip O. Geier and Shelby M.C. Davis.

Established in 2000, the Davis UWC Scholars Program provides grants to selected American colleges and universities to support graduates of 14 United World Colleges, founded in the midst of the Cold War with a mission to educate  students to become champions of peace. After a successful pilot of the program at five institutions, Skidmore was among 47 institutions to be included in the first expansion group in 2004.

In that first year, Skidmore welcomed to its Class of 2008 four Davis UWC Scholars from India, Swaziland, Malaysia, and Sierra Leone. This year, 38 Davis Scholars from 27 countries are now enrolled across the four classes.

鈥淒avis Scholars bring a distinct, expansive perspective to their academic dialogue at Skidmore,鈥� says Darren Drabek, international student coordinator. 鈥淭he program has inspired and catalyzed the campus. We've been transformed."

Each year, institutions participating in the Davis UWC Scholars Program are offered 100 grants of $10,000 each to be awarded to students in support of international grass root projects. A unique opportunity for undergraduate students to make a difference in communities around the world, the 鈥淧rojects for Peace鈥� experience helps students develop skills in project and budget management, organizational leadership, and collaboration. 

Since the establishment of these grants in 2007 by Kathryn Wasserman Davis, Shelby M.C. Davis鈥檚 mother, Skidmore students have received 11 such awards and applied them toward such projects as promoting the use of sustainable charcoal made from bio-waste in Madagascar, building an agricultural co-op in Sierra Leone, developing a mobile library system in Nicaragua, and developing a field for exercise and play in Swaziland.

One of the College鈥檚 first recipients of a Davis Projects for Peace grant, Joseph Kaifala 鈥�08, joined the Oct. 24 panel on international education. In 2007, Kaifala applied his grant toward the construction of a small library in his native Sierra Leone. Now the holder two graduate degrees and a member of the Washington, D.C. bar, Kaifala continues his work in that region as the founder of the , a non-profit organization committed expanding educational opportunities and human rights in the war-torn regions of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

As the number of international students coming to Skidmore has sharply increased over the last decade, so has the number of students with U.S. citizenship opting to study abroad. Last year, 377 Skidmore students studied at one of the College鈥檚 many approved programs, an increase of 40 percent over 2004-05.

What substantially accounts for this increase are key decisions made by the College ten years ago to make international study more accessible to students in all economic circumstances and to ensure a higher standard of quality, says Cori Filson, director of Off-Campus Study and Exchanges.

Prior to 2004-05, Skidmore students who wanted to study abroad at a program that was not directly affiliated with the College had to take a leave of absence, a step that essentially closed off to them the many systems and forms of support that Skidmore can provide. Today, such students retain access to all of the rights, privileges, and services that are available to students on campus.

Another big change was the College鈥檚 decision to ensure that students鈥� finances  did not limit their access to international study. That means any student who receives financial aid can apply that aid to study abroad, even if that necessitates a charge to the College by the international programs. As a result of this change, the percentage of students receiving Pell grants who studied abroad last year at non-Skidmore programs was nearly triple the percentage who did so in 2004-05 鈥� rising from 4.2 to 13 percent. Participation by students of color increased from 9.7 percent to 24.9 percent.

Filson prefers the term 鈥渋nternational learning鈥� to 鈥渋nternational study.鈥�

鈥淭hat鈥檚 because our students increasingly are looking at new types of international experiences, such as internships, work and volunteer opportunities, and community outreach,鈥� she explains. 鈥淲e鈥檙e developing a new model in which students can engage with different people and different realities on a much deeper level according to their interests.鈥�

鈥淪tudents are now integrating international learning into their four鈥憏ear educational plan, rather than regarding it simply as a junior-year experience on their checklist,鈥� she continues. 鈥淭his really speaks to the type of students that we have here at Skidmore. It also speaks to the type of commitment that Skidmore has made to international learning, which I think is critical for our students in the 21st century.鈥�