The topic for “Rhetoric of the Nobel Prize” – a seminar commemorating the prize’s 100th anniversary – was to be the peace prize on Sept. 11, 2001. Instead, the topic was, “Why do ‘they’ hate us so much to take innocent lives?” That was what a student asked after we settled in, looked at one another and wondered how to make sense of the day.

That day and its aftermath strengthened my resolve as an international educator to promote better understanding of world cultures, politics, religions, economies and social structures as a preventative force. But there are challenges. Students need to understand the world and our role in it, but fears of terrorism discourage some from studying abroad. With more countries on travel warning lists, we struggle to balance security needs with the need for intellectual exploration.

At a time when the world needs to see “the real America” (as many students call Lawrence), visa restrictions and competition from other, more inviting countries cut into international numbers. KU has dropped less than many other universities, but we are still down 100 international students from five years ago. Recruitment is a constant challenge.

The emphasis on homeland security puts more pressure on universities to interest students in lesser-taught languages, courses on security issues and more international topics throughout the curriculum. KU is meeting that challenge on many fronts, including a new program – the Global Awareness Program – that awards transcript certification for study abroad and international curricular and co-curricular activities.

Deans across the country have worked to encourage Congress to respond to security threats through a new version of President Eisenhower’s National Defense Education Act. The act trained a generation of scientists and engineers whose research and that of their students has given us the high-tech means to avert an untold number of terrorist acts and has kept the country economically strong – another factor in maintaining security.

Whether it is making a new plan to convince international students they are welcome at KU and to help them obtain a visa, ensuring that KU students are safe when a bomb goes off in London or creating a marketplace of ideas on international issues, my life at KU is touched nearly every day by 9/11.

When my students and I grappled with questions of hate and senseless death, we tried to understand what creates intolerance and violence. President Eisenhower founded People to People because he believed peace would come only when people around the world knew one another as neighbors. All of us at KU who believe in the importance of international education are working harder than ever to be part of building a world community built on understanding and tolerance so that future lesson plans and, more importantly, life plans are not derailed or ended by acts of violence seemingly without explanation.