The “Power of One,” a new open-access book published by the University of Minnesota Libraries, will be available to read online as an e-book or to download as a PDF on January 8.

This collection illustrates the power that one teacher, researcher, or administrator has to change their campus and the hearts and minds of students. Through developing programs and redesigning courses, faculty can build a better tomorrow through international and intercultural education.

The book includes observations from experts in the field who draw from their experiences in the classroom, personal reflection, and evidence-based research. Readers can explore a range of perspectives and insights on developing networks and on teaching strategies that will develop intercultural competencies in the next generation of professionals.

Chapters include overviews of undergraduate research study abroad programs with partners in Morocco, South Africa, and Brazil. Chapters also address the establishment of a professional learning community for the internationalization of higher education. Contributors also outline the application of partnership-driven approaches to nursing curricula and multilingual scholarly publications, among many other topics. Contributions speak to how international education can enhance curricula across disciplines as diverse as biology, communication, marketing, and other fields.

The “Power of One” also honors the legacy of Gayle Woodruff, the founding director of curriculum and campus internationalization for the University of Minnesota system, who retired in 2021. Woodruff founded the Mestenhauser Legacy Initiative and the Internationalizing the Curriculum and Campus conference and co-founded the Internationalizing Teaching and Learning Faculty Cohort Program, a transformative faculty retreat which brought co-editors Katy Chapman and David Beard together to serve as mentors.

The “Power of One” will be an outstanding resource for those considering establishing new international educational programs. It will be a useful toolbox for faculty and staff who want to incorporate intercultural components into their teaching and reflect on their existing work in their university community.

As an open-access resource, the handbook is free to read, adapt, and re-use for educational and other non-commercial purposes. It can be accessed as an e-book and as a downloadable PDF on the University of Minnesota Libraries’ Pressbooks platform. Print copies will also be available for purchase.

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About the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing Services

Publishing Services supports scholars by contributing quality, scholarly works to the public commons through open access publishing. We provide consultations about general publishing questions, and publish journals, books, dynamic scholarly serials, and textbooks through our University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing imprint. We seek to create partnerships on campus and beyond, to help shape the future of scholarly publishing. For inquiries and questions, please contact libpubs@umn.edu.

About the editors

Dr. Katy Chapman is an Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Sciences and serves as the Director of Sustainability at the University of Minnesota Crookston.  She has published in several journals including the Journal of Environmental Quality, Agronomy Journal, Soil Science, Ecological Engineering, Chemosphere, Botany Research Journal, Bioresource Technology, to name a few.  Chapman has also been recognized by UMN Crookston many times with the 2020 Distinguished Faculty Service Award, 2017 Distinguished Scholar Award, 2017 Outstanding Support for International Students, and at the University of Minnesota with the 2016 C. Eugene Allen Award for Innovative International Initiatives; she is also an educator with the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota.  She has also not only been a participant in the University of Minnesota’s Internationalizing Teaching and Learning Cohorts but has also served as a mentor to other faculty in this program a number of times and been an International Teaching and Learning Fellow.  Through these activities Chapman internationalized not only her classes, but also both the Environmental Science and Biology Programs at the University of Minnesota Crookston.

Dr. David Beard is Professor of Rhetoric at the University of Minnesota Duluth.  He has published in the International Journal of Listening, Philosophy and Rhetoric, Southern Journal of Communication, and Enculturation, among other venues. With Richard Enos, he co-edited “Advances in the History of Rhetoric” (Parlor Press). With Heather Graves, he co-edited “The Rhetoric of Oil” (Routledge).  Like Chapman, he has won awards for advising and for teaching at the University of Minnesota Duluth and been a participant in the University of Minnesota’s Internationalizing Teaching and Learning Cohorts, a mentor to other faculty in this program, and an International Teaching and Learning Fellow.  He is also a Fellow with the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota.  Beard is most proud of internationalizing courses that students don’t expect to internationalized, integrating international perspectives into courses in the history of literacy, in board game design, and on Minnesota writers.