For Immediate Release

Contact: Anthony Twyman
Public Relations Coordinator
Community College of Philadelphia
Office: (215) 751-8082
atwyman@ccp.edu

COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF PHILADELPHIA PRESIDENT KEYNOTES AT INTERNATIONAL RECRUITMENT WORKSHOP

PHILADELPHIA, March 28, 2007 – Community College of Philadelphia President Stephen M. Curtis will deliver the keynote address at the 2nd Annual International Student Recruitment Workshop in New York City on Thursday, March 29.

President Curtis will speak on “The Role of Campus Leadership in Promoting U.S. Community Colleges in Asia,” at 1:45 p.m. at the Institute of International Education (IIE), 809 United Nations Plaza, 12th Floor, in New York City. The event is sponsored by IIE and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). The workshops are designed for those working in the international student field to expand their knowledge and share ideas on recruiting and serving students from abroad.

President Curtis accompanied U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and 11 other college and university presidents to Asia in November, 2006. The group, co-sponsored by the U.S. Departments of State and Education, was the first official, high level educational delegation to promote U.S. higher education opportunities in China, Japan and Korea. It was also the first in a series of such delegations that will travel overseas to promote educational opportunities in the United States.

Community College of Philadelphia has actively recruited international students, and is a Regional Center affiliated with the Asian Studies Development Program of the East-West Center and the University of Hawaii. Through this program, many of the College’s faculty members have participated in faculty exchange programs with Japan, Korea and China. Each year, the College also offers study abroad opportunities with England, Mexico and Spain as the primary host countries. The College currently has over 156 international students from 60 countries. According to the U.S. State Department, more than 325,000 Asian students studied in the United States in the 2004/2005 academic year, the equivalent of 58 percent of all international students.