New director of international affairs has extensive overseas experience

A University of Illinois administrator, who has extensive experience in international education, has been selected as director of the International Affairs Center at Indiana State University.

Jacques Fuqua Jr., currently director of international engagement, communications and protocol at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will assume his new duties at Indiana State on August 1.

“Indiana State University has long recognized the importance of international collaboration and exchange. In recent years, we have expanded both the number and quality of international partnerships and more students than ever are studying abroad. Given Jacques’ experience, he is the right person to help Indiana State build on its past successes and forge new relationships that will help our students get the global education they need and the state of Indiana remain competitive in the global economy,” said C. Jack Maynard, ISU provost and vice president for academic affairs.

“I am delighted by the prospect of joining the ISU team and excited by the challenges that lie ahead,” Fuqua said. “Having had the opportunity to meet with ISU administrators, faculty, staff and students, I am convinced the campus not only recognizes the importance of globalizing its programs, but also is prepared to comprehensively embrace globalization, in all its forms, so that it permeates the whole of campus and benefits the university’s many constituencies.”

Building interdisciplinary global programs of study is key to a university’s success in the 21st Century and study abroad opportunities, once considered an “add on,” are now essential, Fuqua said. A commitment to globalization also must include expanded efforts to address the needs of international students and provide opportunities for their family members to enjoy the unique Midwest experience, he said.

Prior to assuming his current position at Illinois in 2005, Fuqua served for five years as associate director of the East Asian Studies Center at Indiana University in Bloomington. A former U.S. Army officer, he was previously director of government relations for U.S. Forces in Japan, liaison officer to the Japanese Army headquarters in Tokyo, director of administrative services for U.S. Forces/Korea in Seoul and the Army’s representative to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.

He also designed and taught two upper-level undergraduate courses in Japanese history for the University of Maryland in both Tokyo and Seoul.

“We had a strong pool of candidates from which Jacques emerged, and we are excited about his strengths and hopeful that he will enhance the collaboration of the International Affairs Center with partners on and off campus,” said Robyn Lugar, associate professor of social work and chair of the search committee.

Fuqua holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, and a master’s degree in East Asian Studies from Indiana University. He also received training at the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service Institute in Yokohama, Japan and at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif.

Photo:
Jacques Fuqua

Contact: Bob English, associate vice president for academic affairs, Indiana State University, 812-237-2307 or renglish1@isugw.indstate.edu

Writer: Dave Taylor, media relations director, Indiana State University, 812-237-3743 or dave.taylor@indstate.edu