History

Under the aegis of Global Affairs, the Wake Forest University Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) was launched in 2016, with the goal of enhancing the global mindsets of faculty, staff, and students at WFU. Enacted by the Center for Global Programs & Studies, the QEP led to the development of four new initiatives focused on building a global campus community and concurrently catalyzed:

  • Enhancement of inquiry into the cross-cultural adaptation of abroad students;
  • Founding of the Academic and Cultural Transition Research Team to understand international student adjustment and engagement at U.S. universities; and
  • Development of new measures and interventions to assess global competency

During the QEP’s Connect@Wake initiative for incoming international students in Shanghai during summer 2018, the Research on Abroad and International Student Engagement (RAISE) Center was conceived by Kline Harrison and Nelson Brunsting as a natural derivative of Wake Forest University’s global focus and research strengths.

With the growth in personnel, research output, and grant funding garnered through inquiry into abroad and international student engagement as well as the need for a centralized space for researchers and practitioners in the field, Wake Forest University launched the RAISE Center in summer 2020 to serve as a nexus for research, practice, and professional learning on abroad and international student engagement.

Photo: Bridge