Good morning and welcome! Thank you for that kind introduction, Allan, and for your partnership with the State Department on the Open Doors report.

Let me also welcome the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, led by Chairman Tom Healy. We’re grateful for the work they do in international education.

Today, to launch International Education Week, we’re releasing the 2012 Open Doors report. It contains a wealth of good news and encouraging trends in international education.

Let’s hear it directly from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

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International education is vital to strengthening economies and societies in the United States and around the world. More and more people and governments recognize that. At the State Department, we see those trends reflected daily.

In this year’s Open Doors report, we broke three key records that show the increasing popularity of international education.

• First, last year, over 764,000 international students came to the United States—a new record! That’s up 6% from the previous year. Through their cultures, traditions, and diverse backgrounds, international students always
  enrich classrooms and communities, so it’s critical that we continue to open our campuses to them;
• Second, 274,000 Americans studied abroad—an increase from the year before. And their destinations are more diverse than ever; and,
• Third, international students in all 50 states contributed $22.7 billion to the U.S. economy. In challenging economic times, international education is a growth industry.

From a policy perspective, today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders—and we have to invest in them now, so they gain the knowledge, skills, and self-reliance needed to compete in a global economy. In a recent survey of 1000 Fortune executives, 65% of them thought global awareness was a key indicator for success.

International education also creates strong, lasting relationships between the United States and emerging leaders worldwide. From climate change to food security, these future entrepreneurs, engineers, journalists, policymakers, scientists, and scholars will work together to solve shared global challenges.

This year’s report also shows us that we must do more to encourage American students to study abroad. As Secretary Clinton said, “studying abroad can be one of the most rewarding and enlightening experiences of your life.” There is no substitute for living in a foreign country, communicating in another language, and understanding other cultures and traditions.

As a leader of that community, the State Department has many programs, including the Fulbright, Gilman, Global Undergraduate, Community College Initiative, and Critical Language Scholarship.

Our EducationUSA advising network also helps millions of international students navigate the U.S. higher education system.

And, to expand study abroad opportunities for Americans, we’ve awarded 39 grants to U.S. schools. Last year alone, we received over 125 proposals.

It’s clear that American institutions are committed to going global! By partnering with us, they’re taking their investment to new heights.

International education is a proven and effective way to foster people-to-people connections among a wide range of students—not just elites. In fact, it benefits everyone involved. The United States can—and must—make study abroad a reality for more students.

By expanding our impact, we multiply the positive influence the United States can have on the world—and vice versa. Our doors open both ways, and we’re eager to see more students pass through them.

It boils down to this: International education strengthens economies, cultivates globally-minded leaders, and advances foreign policy priorities at home and around the world.

The 2012 Open Doors report demonstrates that we’re moving in the right direction—and with increasing momentum! Thank you.