Andrew and Jeanna Westmoreland came to Samford with an understanding of the transformative power of intercultural engagement and the personal experience to help guide it. Upon their arrival, they found thriving programs focused on Europe, the Americas and the United Kingdom, but they were keen to lead Samford into the Asian Century.
The Westmorelands were especially interested in developing partnerships in Indonesia, where they already supported Christian K-12 and higher education institutions. In 2013, Jeanna Westmoreland led a group of Samford education students to the Indonesian capital of Jakarta for cross-cultural classroom experiences. Andrew Westmoreland and a small group of Samford academic leaders embarked on a simultaneous tour of China, South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia in hopes of recruiting Asian students to Samford and developing further exchange partnerships. It was reported the trip opened many doors for Samford's future presence in the region.
Jeanna Westmoreland explored further exchange possibilities in Myanmar and continued to lead Samford students to Indonesia, most recently in 2018 and 2019. Through all of these efforts the Westmorelands built or refreshed relationships with Hong Kong Baptist University, Pelita Harapan University in Jakarta and Seinan Gakuin University in Japan.
Since 2015, the Asia and other international initiatives have been coordinated by Samford’s Global Engagement Office. The office now guides almost 400 students per year to more than 50 programs, including opportunities for study and professional internships in Italy, England, Australia, Israel, West Indies, Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, France, Spain, Tanzania, Netherlands and Belgium. The office also supports students from 29 countries enrolled at Samford for their own intercultural experiences.
Jeanna Westmoreland has continued to play an active role in this work. “She has been an important advocate of international education in every way,” said Lauren Doss, director of global engagement. In addition to leading the Legacy League’s annual welcome dinner for international students, Jeanna Westmoreland served on the committee that created new academic programs to match the physical refurbishment of Samford’s beloved Daniel House in London. And although the Westmorelands have encouraged the Samford community to explore beyond its traditional international focus, the president’s approval of that new investment in Samford’s London program recognized its continued value. “There’s no way that project would have happened if he wasn’t supportive and wanted that program to thrive,” Doss said.
COVID-19 halted travel to London and everyplace else, but Samford’s international programs are poised to continue and grow, especially as the university exchanges Jan term for a new May term in 2022. International cooperation will end the pandemic and demonstrate, again, how important it is that Samford students and faculty travel, study and work in other cultures.
