[gu-l] (01/09/02) Letter sent to Prof. Brenda Gourley of U.K. Open
University
Tak Utsumi
utsumi@columbia.edu
Wed, 09 Jan 2002 13:51:03 -0500
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<<January 9, 2002>>
Archived distributions can be retrieved by clicking =B3Correspondence=B2 in our
home page at <http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/>.
For those after 2/27/01, see or bookmark:
<http://www.friends-partners.org/pipermail/gu-l/> and click on =B3Date,=B2 for
example. The most recent archives are the bottom line.
P. Tapio Varis, Ph.D, Professor <tapio.varis@uta.fi>
Dr. Paul Lefrere <p.lefrere@open.ac.uk>
Dear Tapio:
(1) Many thanks for your excellent letter sent to Professor Brenda Gourley,
new Vice Chancellor of the Open University in the U.K. (ATTACHMENT I).
Dear Paul:
(2) Many thanks for your info (ATTACHMENT II).
Dear E-Colleagues:
(3) The followings are relevant list distributions I made previously;
>=20
> (a) (12/15/01) Goals of global learning by Tapio Varis =A0
> (b) (12/31/01)"Diversity and Change in a Global Context" by Professor Bre=
nda
> Gourley of U.K. Open University
> Both can be retrieved at;
> http://www.friends-partners.org/pipermail/gu-l/2001q4/date.html
Best, Tak
ATTACHMENT I=20
Letterhead of the University of Tampere
Date: January 4th, 2002
Professor Brenda Gourley
Vice Chancellor
The Open University
Milton Keynes MK7 6AA
UK
Dear Vice-Chancellor
Please let me introduce myself. I am the Acting President of Global
University System (GUS) which project was initiated at a highly successful
workshop/conference on the "Emerging Global Electronic Distance Learning
(EGEDL '99)" held at our University of Tampere, Finland in August, 1999. As
an introduction to my City I am enclosing herewith our "Tampere Business
Journal" No 2, 2001, including my essay on "The Goals of Global Learning."
By the kind introduction of Sir John Daniel, your predecessor, we had the
honor of attendance by Dr. Paul Lefrere of your Institute of Educational
Technology at this event. We appreciate Sir John's subsequent support for
our GUS project, particularly his assignment of Paul for help with
networking and partnerships and liaison with key Open University staff
(e.g., the Business School's former Director of External Affairs, Dr Colin
Gray).
Dr. Marco Antonio Dias, former Director of Higher Education at UNESCO, was
also at the Tampere event, and kindly accepted to be Vice President for
Administration of our GUS. He is my long-standing friend since I was the
Rector of the U.N. University of Peace in Costa Rica many years ago. He
organized the highly acclaimed World Conference on Higher Education in
October of 1998 which adopted the "World Declaration on Higher Education fo=
r
the Twenty-first Century: Vision and action." In last June, he kindly
introduced us to Dr. Federico Mayor, former Director-General of UNESCO, in
Madrid, Spain, who then accepted to be one of Trustee members of our GUS.
Dr. Lefrere also attended the meeting with him.
Another key person of the GUS project is Dr. Takeshi Utsumi who is the
Laureate of the Lord Perry Award for Excellence in Distance Education. Your
office doubtless has a file on this. For convenience here are some
highlights, mentioned when the award was made: founder of the CAADE
(Consortium for Affordable and Accessible Distance Education); Chairman of
GLOSAS/USA (GLObal Systems Analysis and Simulation Association in the
U.S.A.); President Emeritus and V.P. for Technology and Coordination of the
Global University System (GUS).
In those roles he has had the pleasure of collaborating with successive
Vice-Chancellors of the Open University, both directly and through their
representatives.
It is my earnest hope that your appointment will see significant growth in
our collaboration. The need for a global approach is greater than ever.
Happily, there is much to build upon. This past year in particular has seen
the emergence of strong international partnerships and other relationships
that have been established in part because of the support of Sir John Danie=
l
and others at UNESCO and complementary agencies. Those relationships are
creating opportunities. Below I outline some possibilities for your
consideration, which I feel are consistent with the issues you highlight in
your Council Lecture, Diversity and Change in a Global Context. Funding to
further such work could be available from a variety of sources, including
charities, corporations, the World Bank, the Japanese government, the
European Commission and the British Council.
Here are some suggestions that I and my colleagues would be happy to enlarg=
e
upon, particularly in relation to collaboration with the Open University:
- joint applications to funding agencies (e.g., infoDev Core Grant Program)
- developing courses that meet the needs of wider audiences across the worl=
d
(Africa, Asia, South America), including courses on English as a foreign
language
- using appropriate technologies and systems to reach those wider audiences
economically and in sustainable ways
- delivering localized versions of key Open University courses (e.g., on
management), via appropriate partnerships (e.g., in the former Soviet Union=
,
in Brazil and in Japan, etc.)
- getting sponsors for UNESCO Chairs to support international
inter-university programs on major issues of our time (AIDS, health, peace
and reconciliation, etc) related to Diversity and Change - incidentally, th=
e
UNITWIN program for this was created by Dr. Marco Antonio Dias, more
than a dozen years ago.
I would also be interested in exploring GUS collaboration with the United
States Open University, although I appreciate that legally it is a separate
institution. We think there is significant untapped demand for courses, eve=
n
in a country as well-provided for as the USA.
Yours truly,
P. Tapio Varis, Ph.D, Professor
Acting President, Global University System
Professor and Chair
Media Culture and Communication Education
University of Tampere
ATTACHMENT II=20
Subject: Re: My letter to the Vice Chancellor
Date: Friday, January 4, 2002 4:54 AM
From: Paul Lefrere <P.Lefrere@open.ac.uk>
To: <tapio.varis@uta.fi>
Cc: <p.lefrere@open.ac.uk>, <utsumi@columbia.edu>, <tvaris@helsinki.fi>,
<mardias@club-internet.fr>, <utsumi@columbia.edu>
For interest, here is an article from today's Times Higher Education
Supplement
OU: we aim to woo NGOs
=20
Alison Goddard
04 January 2002
The Open University will develop a more holistic approach to its curriculum
and recruit more students from non-governmental organisations under its new
vice-chancellor Brenda Gourley, who took up her post this week.
In an interview with The THES , Professor Gourley said: "The NGO sector is
the largest-growing sector in the world; I think it has something to do wit=
h
the failure of democracy to deliver. Universities aren't engaging enough
with the NGO sector to fulfil their educational needs. Higher education has
focused on big business and corporate lawyers and the general arts and
sciences.=20
"Arts and sciences need to come together to produce more rounded people.
Problems in the real world do not divide themselves into disciplines."
Professor Gourley joined the Open University from the University of Natal i=
n
South Africa, where she oversaw its transformation from a whites-only
institution. She established a series of multidisciplinary centres in
leadership skills, entrepreneurship and ethics.
About a quarter of the Open University's students are from overseas, taught
through partnerships with local colleges. Professor Gourley said she
intended to maintain this figure.
She said: "It used to be publish or perish; now it is partner or perish.
Aids has swept through not only Africa but India too. We are losing huge
numbers of teachers for a start. Aids is a catastrophe of enormous
proportions. In KwaZulu/Natal alone, 80,000 teachers will die in the next
five to seven years. The Open University can help to train more teachers."
Professor Gourley, who has an academic background in accounting and
business, said she intended to win funding for overseas work.
She said: "There are a lot of funders who know that at the heart of
development is education. Getting teachers educated so that children can be
educated is very much part of our business."
List of Distributions
P. Tapio Varis, Ph.D, Professor
Acting President, Global University System
Chairman, GLOSAS/Finland
Professor and Chair
Media Culture and Communication Education
Hypermedia laboratory
University of Tampere
P.O.Box 607
FIN-33101 Tampere
FINLAND
Tel: +358-3-215 6111
Tel: +358-3-614-5247--office in Hameenlinna
Tel: +358-3-215 6243--mass media lab in Tampere
GSM: +358-50-567-9833
Fax: +358-3-215 7503
tapio.varis@uta.fi
tapio.varis@helsinki.fi
http://www.uta.fi/~titava
Dr. Paul Lefrere
Senior Lecturer
Institute of Educational Technology
Director, Networking and Partnerships, Joint Information Systems Committee
(JISC)
Centre for Educational Technology Interoperability Systems
Open University
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes MK7 6AA
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: +44-1-908 65 33 88
Fax: +44-1-908 67 28 02
p.lefrere@open.ac.uk
http://www-iet.open.ac.uk/
**********************************************************************
* Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D., P.E., Chairman, GLOSAS/USA *
* (GLObal Systems Analysis and Simulation Association in the U.S.A.) *
* Laureate of Lord Perry Award for Excellence in Distance Education *
* Founder of CAADE *
* (Consortium for Affordable and Accessible Distance Education) *
* President Emeritus and V.P. for Technology and Coordination of *
* Global University System (GUS) *
* 43-23 Colden Street, Flushing, NY 11355-3998, U.S.A. *
* Tel: 718-939-0928; Fax: 718-939-0656 (day time only--prefer email) *
* Email: utsumi@columbia.edu; Tax Exempt ID: 11-2999676 *
* http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/ *
**********************************************************************
--B_3093429064_828593
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Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>(01/09/02) Letter sent to Prof. Brenda Gourley of U.K. Open Universi=
ty</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<FONT FACE=3D"Courier"><<January 9, 2002>><BR>
Archived distributions can be retrieved by clicking “Correspondence&#=
8221; in our home page at <http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/>.<B=
R>
For those after 2/27/01, see or bookmark:<BR>
<http://www.friends-partners.org/pipermail/gu-l/> and click on “=
;Date,” for example. The most recent archives are the bottom lin=
e.<BR>
<BR>
P. Tapio Varis, Ph.D, Professor <tapio.varis@uta.fi><BR>
<BR>
Dr. Paul Lefrere <p.lefrere@open.ac.uk><BR>
<U><BR>
<BR>
<B>Dear Tapio:<BR>
</B><BR>
</U>(1) Many thanks for your excellent letter sent to Professor Brenda Gour=
ley, new Vice Chancellor of the Open University in the U.K. (<B>ATTACHMENT I=
</B>).<BR>
<BR>
<B><U>Dear Paul:<BR>
</U></B><BR>
(2) Many thanks for your info (<B>ATTACHMENT II</B>).<BR>
<BR>
<B><U>Dear E-Colleagues:<BR>
</U></B><BR>
(3) The followings are relevant list distributions I made previously;<BR>
</FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE=3D"Courier"><BR>
(a) (12/15/01) Goals of global learning by Tapio Varis ? <BR>
</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE=3D"Courier"><BR>
</FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE=3D"Courier">(b) (12/31/01)"Diversity and C=
hange in a Global Context" by Professor Brenda Gourley of U.K. Open Uni=
versity <BR>
</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE=3D"Courier"><BR>
</FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE=3D"Courier">Both can be retrieved at;<BR>
http://www.friends-partners.org/pipermail/gu-l/2001q4/date.html<BR>
</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE=3D"Courier"><BR>
Best, Tak<BR>
<HR ALIGN=3DCENTER SIZE=3D"3" WIDTH=3D"95%"></FONT>
<P ALIGN=3DCENTER>
<FONT FACE=3D"Courier"><B>ATTACHMENT I
</B></FONT>
<P>
<FONT FACE=3D"Courier"><BR>
</FONT>
<P ALIGN=3DCENTER>
<FONT FACE=3D"Courier">Letterhead of the University of Tampere
</FONT>
<P>
<FONT FACE=3D"Courier"><BR>
Date: January 4th, 2002<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
Professor Brenda Gourley<BR>
Vice Chancellor<BR>
The Open University<BR>
Milton Keynes MK7 6AA<BR>
UK<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
Dear Vice-Chancellor<BR>
<BR>
Please let me introduce myself. I am the Acting President of Global Univers=
ity System (GUS) which project was initiated at a highly successful workshop=
/conference on the "Emerging Global Electronic Distance Learning (EGEDL=
'99)" held at our University of Tampere, Finland in August, 1999. As <=
BR>
an introduction to my City I am enclosing herewith our "Tampere Busine=
ss Journal" No 2, 2001, including my essay on "The Goals of Global=
Learning."<BR>
<BR>
By the kind introduction of Sir John Daniel, your predecessor, we had the h=
onor of attendance by Dr. Paul Lefrere of your Institute of Educational Tech=
nology at this event. We appreciate Sir John's subsequent support for our GU=
S project, particularly his assignment of Paul for help with networking and =
partnerships and liaison with key Open University staff (e.g., the Business =
School's former Director of External Affairs, Dr Colin Gray).<BR>
<BR>
Dr. Marco Antonio Dias, former Director of Higher Education at UNESCO, was =
also at the Tampere event, and kindly accepted to be Vice President for Admi=
nistration of our GUS. He is my long-standing friend since I was the R=
ector of the U.N. University of Peace in Costa Rica many years ago. He=
organized the highly acclaimed World Conference on Higher Education in Octo=
ber of 1998 which adopted the "World Declaration on Higher Education fo=
r the Twenty-first Century: Vision and action." In last June, he =
kindly introduced us to Dr. Federico Mayor, former Director-General of UNESC=
O, in <BR>
Madrid, Spain, who then accepted to be one of Trustee members of our GUS. &=
nbsp;Dr. Lefrere also attended the meeting with him.<BR>
<BR>
Another key person of the GUS project is Dr. Takeshi Utsumi who is the Laur=
eate of the Lord Perry Award for Excellence in Distance Education. Your offi=
ce doubtless has a file on this. For convenience here are some highlights, m=
entioned when the award was made: founder of the CAADE (Consortium for Affor=
dable and Accessible Distance Education); Chairman of GLOSAS/USA (GLObal Sys=
tems Analysis and Simulation Association in the U.S.A.); President Emeritus =
and V.P. for Technology and Coordination of the Global University System (GU=
S).<BR>
<BR>
In those roles he has had the pleasure of collaborating with successive Vic=
e-Chancellors of the Open University, both directly and through their repres=
entatives.<BR>
<BR>
It is my earnest hope that your appointment will see significant growth in =
our collaboration. The need for a global approach is greater than ever. Happ=
ily, there is much to build upon. This past year in particular has seen the =
emergence of strong international partnerships and other relationships that =
have been established in part because of the support of Sir John Daniel and =
others at UNESCO and complementary agencies. Those relationships are creatin=
g opportunities. Below I outline some possibilities for your consideration, =
which I feel are consistent with the issues you highlight in your Council Le=
cture, Diversity and Change in a Global Context. Funding to further such wor=
k could be available from a variety of sources, including charities, corpora=
tions, the World Bank, the Japanese government, the European Commission and =
the British Council.<BR>
<BR>
Here are some suggestions that I and my colleagues would be happy to enlarg=
e upon, particularly in relation to collaboration with the Open University:<=
BR>
<BR>
- joint applications to funding agencies (e.g., infoDev Core Grant Program)=
<BR>
- developing courses that meet the needs of wider audiences across the worl=
d (Africa, Asia, South America), including courses on English as a foreign l=
anguage<BR>
- using appropriate technologies and systems to reach those wider audiences=
economically and in sustainable ways<BR>
- delivering localized versions of key Open University courses (e.g., on ma=
nagement), via appropriate partnerships (e.g., in the former Soviet Union, i=
n Brazil and in Japan, etc.)<BR>
- getting sponsors for UNESCO Chairs to support international inter-univers=
ity programs on major issues of our time (AIDS, health, peace and reconcilia=
tion, etc) related to Diversity and Change - incidentally, the UNITWIN progr=
am for this was created by Dr. Marco Antonio Dias, more <BR>
than a dozen years ago.<BR>
<BR>
I would also be interested in exploring GUS collaboration with the United S=
tates Open University, although I appreciate that legally it is a separate i=
nstitution. We think there is significant untapped demand for courses, even =
in a country as well-provided for as the USA.<BR>
<BR>
Yours truly,<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
P. Tapio Varis, Ph.D, Professor<BR>
Acting President, Global University System<BR>
Professor and Chair<BR>
Media Culture and Communication Education<BR>
University of Tampere<BR>
<HR ALIGN=3DCENTER SIZE=3D"3" WIDTH=3D"95%"></FONT>
<P ALIGN=3DCENTER>
<FONT FACE=3D"Courier"><B>ATTACHMENT II
</B></FONT>
<P>
<FONT FACE=3D"Courier"><BR>
<B>Subject: </B>Re: My letter to the Vice Chancellor<BR>
<B>Date: </B>Friday, January 4, 2002 4:54 AM<BR>
<B>From: </B>Paul Lefrere <P.Lefrere@open.ac.uk><BR>
<B>To: </B><tapio.varis@uta.fi><BR>
<B>Cc: </B><p.lefrere@open.ac.uk>, <utsumi@columbia.edu>, <t=
varis@helsinki.fi>, <mardias@club-internet.fr>, <utsumi@columbia=
.edu><BR>
<BR>
For interest, here is an article from today's Times Higher Education Supple=
ment<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
OU: we aim to woo NGOs <BR>
<BR>
Alison Goddard<BR>
04 January 2002<BR>
<BR>
The Open University will develop a more holistic approach to its curriculum=
and recruit more students from non-governmental organisations under its new=
vice-chancellor Brenda Gourley, who took up her post this week. <BR>
<BR>
In an interview with The THES , Professor Gourley said: "The NGO secto=
r is the largest-growing sector in the world; I think it has something to do=
with the failure of democracy to deliver. Universities aren't engaging enou=
gh with the NGO sector to fulfil their educational needs. Higher education h=
as focused on big business and corporate lawyers and the general arts and sc=
iences. <BR>
<BR>
"Arts and sciences need to come together to produce more rounded peopl=
e. Problems in the real world do not divide themselves into disciplines.&quo=
t;<BR>
<BR>
Professor Gourley joined the Open University from the University of Natal i=
n South Africa, where she oversaw its transformation from a whites-only inst=
itution. She established a series of multidisciplinary centres in leadership=
skills, entrepreneurship and ethics. <BR>
<BR>
About a quarter of the Open University's students are from overseas, taught=
through partnerships with local colleges. Professor Gourley said she intend=
ed to maintain this figure. <BR>
<BR>
She said: "It used to be publish or perish; now it is partner or peris=
h. Aids has swept through not only Africa but India too. We are losing huge =
numbers of teachers for a start. Aids is a catastrophe of enormous proportio=
ns. In KwaZulu/Natal alone, 80,000 teachers will die in the next five to sev=
en years. The Open University can help to train more teachers."<BR>
<BR>
Professor Gourley, who has an academic background in accounting and busines=
s, said she intended to win funding for overseas work.<BR>
<BR>
She said: "There are a lot of funders who know that at the heart of de=
velopment is education. Getting teachers educated so that children can be ed=
ucated is very much part of our business."<BR>
<HR ALIGN=3DCENTER SIZE=3D"3" WIDTH=3D"95%"></FONT>
<P ALIGN=3DCENTER>
<FONT FACE=3D"Courier"><B>List of Distributions
</B></FONT>
<P>
<FONT FACE=3D"Courier"><BR>
P. Tapio Varis, Ph.D, Professor<BR>
Acting President, Global University System<BR>
Chairman, GLOSAS/Finland<BR>
Professor and Chair<BR>
Media Culture and Communication Education<BR>
Hypermedia laboratory<BR>
University of Tampere<BR>
P.O.Box 607<BR>
FIN-33101 Tampere<BR>
FINLAND<BR>
Tel: +358-3-215 6111<BR>
Tel: +358-3-614-5247--office in Hameenlinna<BR>
Tel: +358-3-215 6243--mass media lab in Tampere<BR>
GSM: +358-50-567-9833<BR>
Fax: +358-3-215 7503<BR>
tapio.varis@uta.fi<BR>
tapio.varis@helsinki.fi<BR>
http://www.uta.fi/~titava<BR>
<BR>
Dr. Paul Lefrere<BR>
Senior Lecturer<BR>
Institute of Educational Technology<BR>
Director, Networking and Partnerships, Joint Information Systems Committee<=
BR>
(JISC)<BR>
Centre for Educational Technology Interoperability Systems<BR>
Open University<BR>
Walton Hall<BR>
Milton Keynes MK7 6AA<BR>
UNITED KINGDOM<BR>
Tel: +44-1-908 65 33 88<BR>
Fax: +44-1-908 67 28 02<BR>
p.lefrere@open.ac.uk<BR>
<U>http://www-iet.open.ac.uk/<BR>
</U>**********************************************************************<=
BR>
* Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D., P.E., Chairman, GLOSAS/USA  =
; &nb=
sp;*<BR>
* (GLObal Systems Analysis and Simulation Association in the U.S.A.) *<BR>
* Laureate of Lord Perry Award for Excellence in Distance Education *=
<BR>
* Founder of CAADE &n=
bsp; =
&nbs=
p; &n=
bsp; *<BR>
* (Consortium for Affordable and Accessible Distance Education)  =
; *<BR>
* President Emeritus and V.P. for Technology and Coordination of &nbs=
p; *<BR>
* Global University System (GUS) =
&nbs=
p; &n=
bsp; *<BR>
* 43-23 Colden Street, Flushing, NY 11355-3998, U.S.A. &n=
bsp; *<BR>
* Tel: 718-939-0928; Fax: 718-939-0656 (day time only--prefer email) *<BR>
* Email: utsumi@columbia.edu; Tax Exempt ID: 11-2999676 &=
nbsp; *<BR>
* http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/ &nb=
sp; &=
nbsp; *<BR>
**********************************************************************<BR>
<BR>
</FONT>
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</HTML>
--B_3093429064_828593--