Globally Diverse: International student enrollment sets record

Lamar University registered 1,402 international students for the fall 2023 semester, a new record for international enrollment for the university.

Hailing from 50 different countries and studying 64 different majors, this year’s international enrollment is a 38% increase from last year.

Mustapha Jourdini, executive director of the Office of International Education & Services, said the impressive numbers are due to President Jaime Taylor’s policies regarding international study.

“International student enrollment has quadrupled in the last two years because Taylor clearly understands the needs of international students and is putting in place resources to recruit and retain this richly diverse community,” Jourdini said.

Taylor said the Office of International Education & Services does their best to listen to international students’ needs and accommodate them accordingly.

“As an example, Dr. Jourdini discovered our international students were walking from the campus to their apartments late at night, after the campus shuttle has quit running,” Taylor said. “We found a donor that wanted to support our international students, and we were able to extend the hours of our shuttle service. This might seem like a small thing, but it was very important to our international students.”

Taylor also credited Dann Brown, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, for emphasizing international students’ priorities.

“When I arrived at Lamar University a little over two years ago, one of the first things Provost Brown told me was how important our international students were and that we needed to provide more support for them,” Taylor said.

LU not only provides support for students during their academic career, but continues to support them after graduation, Jourdini said.

“Many of our international students become successful and get sponsored for work visas, green cards, to become permanent residents, and even become U.S. citizens because of the set of skills and talents they develop while pursuing their studies at Lamar University,” he said.

For more information on international studies, visit lamar.edu/international-education.

(Originally published October 1, 2023 in the University Press.)