Pittsburg State University President Dr. Steve Scott will be out of the office for a period of time this month. Even out of the city. For that matter, Scott will be out of the country.
Scott will be making his first overseas trip as PSU president this month, making a business trip to Vietnam to recruit students and to establish connections with Vietnamese officials.
“Every one of our international trips are very carefully thought out and planned,” Scott said. “Each is designed to fit into our strategic plan. This is about our international recruitment development.”
The trip to Vietnam will primarily be to the Hanoi University of Technology, where Dr. Scott, alongside Chuck Olcese, director of international programs and services, will work on an articulation agreement with the school. Scott and Olcese will also visit a series of university fairs, including one in Ho Chi Minh City. The trip will also include a trip to Thailand to speak to a group of Pittsburg State alumni.
“You don’t have 500 international students on your campus without working hard to get them here,” Scott said. “Our goal will be to explain what Pittsburg State is and show that there are a lot of support services to bring them here and be successful. The reason for going to Vietnam is it is an emerging market of people seeking a higher education. There is a lot of manufacturing in Vietnam, which creates wealth. Vietnamese workers want an American education for either themselves or their kids, and they want an English-speaking school with an American experience.”
However, with budgets being cut and the university having to deal with fewer funds, Scott said there was still a justification for overseas travel.
“What I said to the faculty and staff is that we will not hunker down, but we will continue to invest in the future,” Scott said. “We will not remove our admissions officers from the road, we will not stop traveling to meet with donors, and we will continue to recruit international students. If we stop recruiting international students, we will have a decline in the population at Pittsburg State and a decline in revenue.”
Scott reiterated that the trip is not for travel purposes, but for business. He said he has been to China before on trips, but has never seen the Great Wall.
“You’re just too busy,” he said.
Scott said his goal is to go on “a minimum of one and a maximum of two” international trips every year.
Andrew Nash can be reached at andrew.nash@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 ext. 132.
