FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (12/21/05)
Contact: Lynn Stewart, Centenary News Service, 318-869-5120

Centenary's Schwab Invited to Secretaries' U.S. University Presidents Summit in Washington, D.C.

	Dr. Kenneth L. Schwab, president of Centenary College of Louisiana, listens to students in a First-Year Experience class. File photo.

SHREVEPORT, LA — Centenary College President Kenneth L. Schwab is among a select group of higher education leaders invited to the U.S. University Presidents Summit Jan. 5 and 6 in Washington, D.C.

The invitation was issued by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, who have asked attendees to discuss the future of international higher education in the national interest. Fewer than 100 education leaders are being invited to attend.

Schwab, who has been president of Centenary since 1991, has participated in numerous local, state and national boards and organizations, including the Salzburg Seminar sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. He served as chair of the Associated Colleges of the South Board of Directors and serves on the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana Board and AmSouth Bank’s Shreveport-Bossier Advisory Board.

Schwab also maintains membership in Omicron Delta Kappa and actively participates on Centenary’s behalf in many other local and national organizations, including the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education, and the National Association of Schools and Colleges of the United Methodist Church.

He has also published a book, numerous articles, and several institutional planning documents regarding presidential leadership and transformational change.

Centenary has been recognized for its requirement of an intercultural experience by all students and for its numerous study abroad options, ranging from a full academic year to short-term summer study. The Chronicle of Higher Education ranked Centenary third highest among its Top 10 U.S. master's institutions cited for exemplary participation in study abroad by undergraduates, citing a 2003 report from the Institute of International Education. The report showed that 57 percent of Centenary's students had studied abroad.

"We agree with the institute's findings." Schwab said. "Study abroad should be an integral part of education and an opportunity for all students. An intercultural experience is certainly an important part of the Centenary experience."

Centenary hosts a wide range of international students and exchange students on campus each year. In addition, it offers exchange programs in connection with the following universities:
•Université de Liège, Belgium
• Université de Mons, Belgium
• Aarhus School of Business, Denmark
• University of Aarhus, Denmark
• British Studies at Oxford, England
• Université Catholique de Lille, France
• MICEFA (Consortium of Parisian Universities)
• University of Applied Sciences, Germany
• Queens University, Ireland
• University of Ulster, Ireland
• Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education, Ireland
• Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome, Italy
• Lingnan University, Hong Kong
• Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico

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