President John Hennessy visited the Bing Overseas Studies Program center in FlorenceFriday, emphasizing the importance of the abroad experience for all undergraduates in conversations with professors and students.
“Being abroad is not only about in-depth study, but also about taking advantage of everything there is to see around you,” he said.
Hennessy spent the morning with long-time Stanford in Florence professor Timothy Verdon. They then visited Palazzo Capponi, the 15th century palace that will house the Breyer Center for Overseas Studies in Florence starting next fall. Hennessy had lunch with students and professors, sharing travel advice and his thoughts on Italy’s current political situation.
Florence is the sixth BOSP campus that Hennessy has visited during his presidency. This March, Hennessy took the first part of his sabbatical to attend the dedication of the Stanford Center at Peking University in Beijing.
Although Hennessy does not deal directly with BOSP operations, he does spend a considerable amount of time thinking about the abroad experience. As a graduate of Stanford engineering, Hennessy shared concerns and hopes for involving more engineering and pre-med students in the study abroad programs.
Roughly half of the student body takes advantage of BOSP programs, through either quarter-long immersion or summer seminars, but BOSP and Hennessy would like to focus on the participation disparity seen between the various majors and between athletes and non-athletes. Athletes, engineers and science majors on the pre-medical track often lose the opportunity to study abroad because of strict schedules and requirements, he said.
“It’s just as important to study abroad [as it is to learn the content of your major],” Hennessy said. “There is definitely enough time, you just have to plan ahead.”
The directors of BOSP have made some changes that have increased participation from science and engineering majors in recent years, such as offering a wider variety of courses at the abroad locations, making the language requirements more flexible for students with schedule restrictions and reintroducing the overseas summer seminars.
In addition to traveling for Stanford related purposes, the sabbatical has given Hennessy the opportunity to spend some leisure time in Italy.
“[My wife and I] make an effort to come here once a year,” he said. “Florence is definitely our most frequented city in Italy.”
Hennessy will spend this week in Italy before he returns to campus for graduation.
“I’ve been doing lots of reading on the places I travel to and on higher ed,” he said. “I read two large history books on Egypt and China, and it was nice to be able to learn about the places before I visited them. I also read the biography of Steve Jobs. I wasn’t sure if I should read a biography of someone I knew personally, but everyone who read it said it was a must read. So, I finally did.”