Recognize the power of activism in driving social, political, and educational transformations, and use it as a tool to create meaningful impact. Activism is more than protest. It is network and coalition building. Be a force for change; build lasting coalitions.

"I learned much of what I know, what I've done over the years through, the social movements that I was involved in. I've always had a kind of a political social interest in my scholarship and work." - Phil

"My dissertation was on student political activism, stemming from my own involvement in student political activism in the United States when I was a student, and at the time I got into it, there was really nobody doing serious research and analysis of that topic, especially in an international perspective." - Phil

Understand the power of symbol in organizing people around important causes.

"I noticed that the symbol that they were using, which was ubiquitous all over the place, the flags and all kinds of things was this, what's now called the peace symbol in this country." - Phil

"I convinced them that this thing was much cooler and more, you know, more clear what it meant." - Phil

Ford Foundation support in the early years of the Center for International Higher Education (CIHE).

Founding of the Center for International Higher Education (CIHE) at Boston College.

"That first semester I took his course at the end of the semester, he did a slideshow of universities around the world." - Laura

Adopt a critical perspective and add a different point of view to the discussion with a relentless focus on what’s ethical and in the best interest of students.

"We have been quite critical... and that critical aspect I think has always been a very important basis for the center... and because I am responsible to nobody for nothing, we can just say what we want. And, we've been very happy to do that over time." - Phil

"We always look into what, from our perspective, is ethically the right approach to take." - Hans

Define terms, acknowledge differences, and consider the complexity of context to develop targeted, effective policies and initiatives.

"We want to understand the complexity of context and what does that mean in the relationships, that we have as institutions of higher education, as systems of higher education, and how we have to relate that to policy making in the real world." - Hans

Recognize the unsustainability of the market-driven approach to internationalization. Use analysis as a tool to guide and shape practical solutions to shift towards ethical and inclusive internationalization.

"Internationalization over the past decades has moved from a much more cooperative exercise of, exchange of students, exchange of faculty joint curriculum development to a competitive marketization." - Hans

Look down-the-road for important issues that are not on-the-radar but could have a major impact. Raise awareness about those issues. Don’t shy away from debate when important principles are at stake. Be critical but offer a vision of hope.

"I think right now we have such a, we have, I would just offer a vision of hope because I think it's easy not to have it right now." - Gerardo

"We know that if we don't pick up particular issues, nobody is, nobody else is going to do it." - Gerardo

The Altbach method: gather people in a room to exchange ideas, build relationships, and harness the power of cross-border networks. Share knowledge, resources, and expertise. Gathered minds, multiply success.

"I've always been interested in network building. I've always been interested in developing countries. I was always interested in research topics … that I thought had policy relevance and also were new, unresearched." - Phil

"The center has always had this tradition of learning about higher education systems with people who work within those higher education systems." - Rebecca