Kent State University Provost and Senior Vice President Melody Tankersley, Ph.D., and Vice President for Global Education Marcello Fantoni, Ph.D., joined officials from Dewey International University in Battambang, Cambodia, to celebrate a new partnership expected to bring Cambodian students to Kent State.
The pair were in Cambodia in March to attend a gala marking the formal beginning of the new 2 +2 program, which Kent State formalized with Dewey in October 2023.
“The collaboration with Dewey International University is strategic for Kent State because it is our first partnership in the country. It will generate a regular pipeline of students transferring to Kent to complete their bachelor’s degrees,” Fantoni said. “Cambodia is just now opening up to international education and Kent State is truly a pioneer in the country.”
Fantoni said he expects the relationship to bloom into an even deeper collaboration with Dewey and bring about new partnerships with additional Cambodian universities and government agencies.
When signing the agreement last fall, Tankersley noted the historic bonds between Kent State and Cambodia.
“This is really a full-circle moment for Kent State,” she said, noting how on May 4, 1970, Kent State students were protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia and the expansion of the War in Vietnam, when they were fired upon by Ohio National Guard troops, killing four students and wounding nine others. That pivotal moment in Kent State's history forever links it to the people and history of Cambodia, she said.
The agreement opens a pathway for Dewey students to obtain a Kent State degree.
Kent State first formed a partnership with Dewey in 2018. In October 2023, that agreement was renewed and expanded to spell out a 2+2 pathway for Dewey students to obtain a Kent State degree. Under the new agreement, students who complete two years of their coursework at Dewey will then be eligible to transfer to Kent State to complete their remaining two years and receive a bachelor’s degree from Kent State – a Bachelor of Arts degree in either English literature or teaching English as a second language.
Gwen Higaki, chair of the board of directors of Dewey, who resides in Macedonia, Ohio, said the 2+2 program will enable Dewey students to earn a degree from a high-quality American university. “We’re pleased to have such a strong educational partner and international partner in Kent State University,” she said.
Aside from celebrating the partnership, Tankersley said another goal of the trip was to look for other ways that Kent State and Dewey could expand collaborative programs.
Higaki and her husband Vernon Higaki, both retired executives from the First Energy Corp., first visited Cambodia on a mission trip through their church about 15 years ago and were struck by the children and the need for better educational systems. Vernon Higaki also is a member of the Dewey board of directors.
In 2011, the Higakis co-founded, with another couple, a non-profit educational organization BrightStart Learning, which operates study centers in the Battambang area of Cambodia, serving more than 500 students. Their work in the educational field is how they came to be invited to be on Dewey’s board of directors.
Dewey was established by the Cambodian government in 2011, with strong support from the United States and Germany. The university is devoted to the concept of “learning by doing,” based on community service learning with a strong emphasis on research.
Learn more about Kent State's new partnership with Dewey International University.