FEATURING
Special Topics
Kevin Sanders, DMA, ACC
Founder, Cornerstone
Leadership Group, USA
Leadership Spotlight
Professor Muthanna G.
Abdul Razzaq, President
and CEO, American
University in the Emirates,
UAE
Academic Perspectives
Laura Salesa Amarante,
PhD Researcher, University
of Cantabria, Spain
Industry Perspectives
Dr. Ashraf Mahate,
Consultant, UN
Committee on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD)
Academic Advisory
Board, Studiosity, UAE
Regional Focus
Dr. Murni Winarsih, M.Pd.
& Mayasari Manar, M.Pd.
Department of Special
Education, Universitas
Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia
Volume 12
September 2026
Beyond Graduation
Special Topics
How International Alumni Are Reshaping
Global Higher Education
Fardin Sanai, Vice President for University Advancement &
Executive Director of The University at Albany Foundation, USA
Multilingual Global Exclusive
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At the University at Albany,
we turn ideas into action.
We’re committed to advancing
the greater good, locally and
globally, through meaningful
engagement and research
that makes a difference.
We don’t hope for a better
world tomorrow – we strive
to create one today.
A L B A N Y. E D U
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Academic Perspectives
32
Traveling Through Stories: Experiential Consumption and the Rise of
Screen Tourism
Laura Salesa Amarante, PhD Researcher, University of Cantabria, Spain
Special Topics
International Alumni Power: The Hidden Engine of Global Higher
Education-COVER STORY
Fardin Sanai, Vice President for University Advancement & Executive
Director of The University at Albany Foundation
Collective Capacity: What Today’s Challenges Require of a Campus
Kevin Sanders, DMA, ACC, Founder, Cornerstone Leadership Group
10
Regional Focus
Beyond Access: Building Experiences for Students with Disabilities in
Indonesian Higher Education
Dr. Murni Winarsih, M.Pd. & Mayasari Manar, M.Pd. Department of Special
Education, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia
44
Leadership Spotlight
Building Universities, Building Nations
A conversation with Professor Muthanna G. Abdul Razzaq, President and
CEO, American University in the Emirates
26
Editorial
Welcome to UniNewsletter
Editorial Team
06
Table of Contents
Industry Perspectives
38
Reimagining Higher Education: Leadership Insights from the Frontlines of
Change
Dr. Ashraf Mahate, Consultant, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD);
Academic Advisory Board, Studiosity; Host: Reimagining Higher Education
Podcast
05
Beyond Graduation: How International Alumni Are Reshaping Global Higher Education |
A degree is often treated as an ending. This
September 2026 issue of UniNewsletter argues
the opposite. “Beyond Graduation: How Inter-
national Alumni Are Reshaping Global Higher
Education,” our title and cover story, comes
from Fardin Sanai, Vice President for University
Advancement and Executive Director of the
University at Albany Foundation, featured in our
Special Topics section. Tracing his institution’s
ties to international students back to 1877,
Sanai makes the case that alumni are not pas-
sive beneficiaries of an education but a univer-
sity’s most credible recruiters, its most persua-
sive brand ambassadors abroad, and a
source of philanthropic support that most
institutions have barely begun to tap.
Also in Special Topics, Dr. Kevin Sanders, Foun-
der of Cornerstone Leadership Group and
publisher of The Academic Leader’s Playbook,
turns to a problem every campus leader
recognizes: the meeting that reconvenes for
months without a decision. Using the scramble
to write AI policy as his case study, Sanders
shows in “Collective Capacity: What Today’s
Challenges Require of a Campus” that the
obstacle is rarely a shortage of ideas — it is the
absence of shared machinery to turn agree-
ment into action.
Our Leadership Spotlight interview brings us
Professor Muthanna G. Abdul Razzaq, President
and CEO of the American University in the
Emirates. Across a career spent founding Abu
Dhabi University in 1999, AUE in 2005, and the
American University in Kurdistan in 2012, Profes-
sor Abdul Razzaq has built not one but three
institutions from the ground up. In “Building
Universities, Building Nations,” he distills that
Welcome to
UniNewsletter:
Editorial Team
Editorial
Editorial
06 | Beyond Graduation: How International Alumni Are Reshaping Global Higher Education
Editorial
Editorial
experience into five guiding principles — chief
among them, his conviction that “people are
more important than processes.”
In Academic Perspectives, Laura Salesa Ama-
rante, PhD Researcher at the University of Can-
tabria, Spain, asks why a Netflix series can do
what decades of tourism campaigns could
not: send travelers to a specific street corner
years after the cameras have gone. “Travelling
Through Stories: Experiential Consumption and
the Rise of Screen Tourism” pushes past fami-
liar destination-image research to a sharper
question: why some filming locations become
enduring pilgrimage sites while most are
forgotten within a season.
Writing in Industry Perspectives is Dr. Ashraf
Mahate, Consultant to the UN Committee on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and host of
the Reimagining Higher Education podcast.
Drawing on conversations with Gulf university
leaders from Abu Dhabi University, RIT Dubai,
AURAK,
Hamdan
Bin
Mohammed
Smart
University, and Bahrain Polytechnic, Mahate
confronts a question few institutions have
answered: if AI can produce an A-grade essay
in under a minute, what is a university now
grading? His contributors agree the field must
shift from judging the finished essay to exami-
ning how the thinking behind it unfolds.
Closing, within our Regional Focus section, Dr.
Murni Winarsih and Mayasari Manar of Univer-
sitas
Negeri
Jakarta’s
Special
Education
Department take us into Indonesia’s fast-mo-
ving digital classrooms. “Beyond Access:
Building Experiences for Students with Disabili-
ties in Indonesian Higher Education” rebuts the
idea that accessibility is a feature bolted on
after a platform is built. Grounded in Universal
Design for Learning and their own interviews
with deaf and visually impaired students,
Winarsih and Manar argue that even the most
sophisticated technology fails if it was never
designed with every learner in mind.
We are grateful to all our contributors for the
depth and candor of their work in this issue,
and we hope, as always, that they leave you
with something worth carrying into your own
conversations.
07
Beyond Graduation: How International Alumni Are Reshaping Global Higher Education |
Advance HE Gulf Fellowship
Network Forum 2026
Recognising Excellence | Building Integrity | InspiringChange
o/PWFNCFS 2026, Ajman University, UAE
advance-he.org/gff
The Advance HE Gulf Fellowship Network
was founded to create more than a community
it was established to elevate the visibility and
impact of educators whose work shapes the
future of higher education. The Forum represents
a key milestone in this journey. Building on the
momentum of our inaugural gathering, this
second edition expands its scope to integrate
the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Conference and the Academic Integrity
Symposium, reflecting our shared commitment
to advancing teaching excellence in a holistic
and sustainable way.”
“
Dr Mahinour Ezzat, SFHEA
Founder, Advance HE Gulf Fellowship Network
Fardin Sanai
Vice President for University Advancement & Executive Director of
The University at Albany Foundation
10
| Beyond Graduation: How International Alumni Are Reshaping Global Higher Education
Special Topics
Special Topics
COVER STORY
“Graduation is not the
end of a student’s
relationship with a
university. In many
cases, it is the
beginning of a much
longer partnership.”
International alumni are often viewed simply
as recipients of a university education. In
reality, they become one of a university’s
most valuable long-term strategic assets. In
my work with international alumni, I have
seen relationships that began in a classroom
develop into research partnerships, recruit-
ment networks, philanthropic support, and
even diplomatic connections. Graduation is
not the end of a student’s relationship with a
university. In many cases, it is the beginning
of a much longer partnership.
The return on a university’s investment in
international students extends far beyond
the classroom, generating decades of insti-
tutional, economic, diplomatic, and societal
impact.
Graduates return to more than 150 countries
carrying not only their degrees but also the
reputation, values, and aspirations of their
alma mater. Every successful international
alumnus or alumna strengthens the universi-
ty’s global brand—often far more effectively
than traditional marketing campaigns. Their
influence grows through their work and
professional
relationships.
When
alumni
remain connected to their university, they
often introduce the institution to new com-
munities, partners, and students.
The University at Albany has witnessed this
International
Alumni Power:
The Hidden Engine of Global
Higher Education
The Hidden Engine of Global
Higher Education
Special Topics
Special Topics
11
Beyond Graduation: How International Alumni Are Reshaping Global Higher Education |
President Havidán Rodríguez with UAlbany alumnus
Omar M. Yaghi ’85, recipient of the 2025 Nobel Prize in
Chemistry
impact for nearly 150 years. Founded in 1844,
the University welcomed its first international
student, Sensaburo Kudzo of Japan, who
graduated in 1877. Upon returning home,
Kudzo became a leader in Japan’s Normal
School movement, helping shape teacher
education and leaving a lasting legacy on the
nation’s
educational
system.
His
story
marked the beginning of a remarkable tradi-
tion.
Since then, the University at Albany has edu-
cated thousands of international students
who have gone on to become leaders in gov-
ernment, academia, business, and public
service. Their achievements remind us that
the true impact of international education is
measured not simply by degrees awarded,
but by the lives transformed and the global
influence those graduates create.
International Alumni: The University’s Most
Credible Recruiters
Perhaps nowhere is the influence of interna-
tional alumni more visible than in student
Special Topics
Special Topics
recruitment. Alumni are among a university’s
most trusted and persuasive advocates. At
the University at Albany, we have seen how
strongly prospective students and their fami-
lies value conversations with alumni from
their own countries.
Our alumni regularly host recruitment events
in their home countries, mentor prospective
students,
and
volunteer
as
admissions
ambassadors. Their authentic experiences
provide a level of credibility that no marketing
campaign can replicate. We have also
observed that engaged alumni help build
confidence among parents, who often place
greater trust in the advice of graduates from
their own country than in institutional adver-
tising.
International Alumni and the Future of
University Philanthropy
One of the most significant—and often
12
| Beyond Graduation: How International Alumni Are Reshaping Global Higher Education
“
“
Their achievements
remind us that the true
impact of international
education is measured
not simply by degrees
awarded, but by the lives
transformed and the
global influence those
graduates create.
Michael Christakis Vice President for Student Affairs &
Enrollment (right) and Ambassador Savva, Ambassador
of the Republic of Cyprus to the United States (left)
Special Topics
Special Topics
“In my
experience, the
strongest alumni
relationships are
not built through
fundraising
appeals. They are
built through
years of
communication,
recognition, and
genuine
involvement.”
Beyond Graduation: How International Alumni Are Reshaping Global Higher Education |
underestimated—contributions of interna-
tional alumni is their growing role in university
philanthropy. While fundraising has tradition-
ally focused on domestic graduates, univer-
sities increasingly recognize that internation-
al alumni represent an important and largely
underdeveloped source of philanthropic
support and strategic partnership.
As graduates establish distinguished careers
and assume leadership positions in business,
government, academia, and the nonprofit
sector, many seek meaningful ways to give
back to the institutions that helped shape
their lives.
International alumni philanthropy is about far
more than financial contributions. It reflects
gratitude, trust, and a lifelong commitment to
expanding educational opportunity for future
generations. Their generosity supports schol-
arships, research, and programs that expand
opportunities for students. Many establish
scholarships for students from their home
countries, creating lasting legacies while
13
University at Albany alumni gathering in Shanghai
opening doors for future generations to
pursue the same life-changing educational
experience.
Building a culture of international philanthro-
py requires sustained engagement. In my
experience, the strongest alumni relationships
are not built through fundraising appeals.
They are built through years of communica-
tion, recognition, and genuine involvement. By
engaging international students before grad-
uation, maintaining connections throughout
their careers, recognizing their achievements,
and creating opportunities for continued
involvement, institutions cultivate a lasting
sense of belonging that often inspires future
generosity.
The impact of international alumni is perhaps
most visible through major and principal
gifts. Across higher education, some of the
most transformative philanthropic invest-
ments have come from international gradu-
ates who became global business leaders,
entrepreneurs, physicians, scientists, innova-
tors, and public servants. Their generosity has
funded
academic
buildings,
research
centers, institutes of public policy, innovation
hubs, endowed faculty positions, scholar-
ships, and interdisciplinary programs that
benefit students, advance research, and
address society’s most pressing challenges.
The University at Albany has experienced this
firsthand. One of our most distinguished
endowed lecture series was established
through the generosity of Dr. Seung Park,
former Minister of Construction and Governor
of the Bank of Korea, in honor of his professor
and mentor, Dr. Pong Lee. Dr. Park’s gift not
only celebrates the enduring influence of an
exceptional educator but also ensures that
future generations of students and scholars
continue
to
benefit
from
intellectual
exchange and global perspectives.
Dr. Park is one of many international alumni
who continue to strengthen the University in
meaningful ways. Beyond philanthropy, these
alumni invest their time, expertise, leadership,
and
professional
networks
to
mentor
students, foster international research
Special Topics
Special Topics
14
| Beyond Graduation: How International Alumni Are Reshaping Global Higher Education
Thanksgiving gathering at president’s home with international students
collaborations, create internships and career
opportunities, and open doors to partner-
ships around the world. Their engagement
demonstrates that the value of international
alumni extends far beyond financial sup-
port—it is an enduring investment in the insti-
tution’s mission, its people, and its future.
International Alumni: Advancing Diplomacy
and Soft Power
Perhaps one of the most significant yet often
overlooked contributions of international
alumni is their role in advancing diplomacy
and strengthening a nation’s soft power.
International students return home with far
more than a degree; they carry lasting rela-
tionships and a deeper understanding of the
culture, values, institutions, and people of
their host country. These experiences often
become the foundation for lifelong goodwill
and international collaboration.
Beyond Graduation: How International Alumni Are Reshaping Global Higher Education |
“In an
increasingly
interconnected
world, universities
are no longer
simply
institutions of
higher learning—
they are
architects of
global
relationships.”
Special Topics
Special Topics
15
Thanksgiving gathering at president’s home with international students
“The deeper value
emerges over time,
as graduates
become mentors,
partners,
advocates, and
friends of the
institution.”
Special Topics
Special Topics
History is filled with international graduates
who later became presidents, prime minis-
ters, cabinet ministers, ambassadors, central
bank governors, supreme court justices, mili-
tary leaders, business executives, and heads
of international organizations. While they
serve the interests of their own nations, many
retain a lifelong appreciation for the universi-
ties that shaped their education and world-
view.
These alumni frequently facilitate academic
exchanges, scientific collaboration, trade
missions, cultural initiatives, and govern-
ment-to-government dialogue. They con-
nect university leaders with policymakers,
create opportunities for faculty and student
exchanges, and help forge partnerships that
benefit both institutions and nations.
The University at Albany provides a compel-
ling example through alumnus Ambassador
Evangelos Savva, the Republic of Cyprus’s
Ambassador to the United States. Through-
out his distinguished diplomatic career, Am-
bassador Savva has played a leading role in
humanitarian and international develop-
ment initiatives, reflecting both the global
impact of a University at Albany education
and the University’s commitment to prepar-
ing leaders for international service.
For universities, these relationships represent
a powerful form of institutional soft power.
Their influence is measured not only by
research excellence or academic rankings,
but also by the achievements and global
leadership of their graduates. Every alumnus
who rises to a position of influence enhances
the institution’s international reputation and
expands its global reach.
Recognizing this strategic value, countries
including France, the United Kingdom, and
Canada
have
established
international
alumni networks to maintain relationships
with graduates who studied abroad. The
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) has noted that these
initiatives strengthen long-term diplomatic,
economic,
scientific,
and
cultural
ties,
demonstrating that international alumni are
enduring national assets rather than simply
the byproduct of educational exchange.
In an increasingly interconnected world,
universities are no longer simply institutions
of higher learning—they are architects of
global
relationships.
Their
international
alumni become lifelong ambassadors who
foster
trust,
expand
cooperation,
and
strengthen ties across borders. Few legacies
of higher education are more enduring or
consequential.
Meaningful Alumni Engagement Begins
Long Before Graduation
Meaningful alumni engagement begins long
before students graduate. At the University at
Albany, we believe lifelong alumni relation-
ships are built upon the quality of the student
experience. We take great pride in fostering a
welcoming and inclusive campus that truly
becomes a home away from home for
students from around the world.
Internationalization is one of the five pillars of
the University’s strategic plan, and President
16
| Beyond Graduation: How International Alumni Are Reshaping Global Higher Education
Havidán Rodríguez has made enhancing the
international student experience a personal
priority. His commitment extends well beyond
policy—from hosting annual Thanksgiving
dinners for international students in his home
to celebrating cultural traditions such as
Diwali alongside students and his family.
That commitment was perhaps most evident
during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under Presi-
dent Rodríguez’s leadership, the University
kept residence halls open for students who
had nowhere else to go, particularly interna-
tional students unable to return to their home
countries. Supported by faculty, staff, and
volunteers, these students remained safe,
connected, and supported during one of the
most challenging periods in recent history.
Acts of compassion and inclusion leave a
lasting impression. They strengthen students’
sense of belonging, create enduring loyalty
among future alumni and their families, and
reinforce the University’s reputation as a
community that genuinely cares for its
students. Those experiences become the
foundation for lifelong engagement, advo-
cacy, partnership, and philanthropy.
Special Topics
Special Topics
17
Beyond Graduation: How International Alumni Are Reshaping Global Higher Education |
A Strategic Imperative for Higher Education
As higher education becomes increasingly
global, universities must rethink the role of
international alumni, not as the final chapter
of the student experience, but as lifelong
partners in advancing institutional excel-
lence, expanding global engagement, and
shaping the future of higher education.
The traditional model has been:
Recruit ڨ٪Educate ڨ Graduate
Today’s global university should embrace a
more comprehensive vision:
Recruit ڨ Educate ڨ Engage ڨ Connect ڨ
Partner ڨ Invest ڨ Give ڨ Lead
Universities often measure international edu-
cation through enrollment, graduation, and
employment outcomes. Those measures
matter, but they capture only the beginning
of the relationship. The deeper value emerg-
es over time, as graduates become mentors,
partners, advocates, and friends of the insti-
tution. The universities that understand this
will not simply maintain alumni databases.
They will build global communities.
University at Albany alumni event in Korea, hosted by Provost Carol Kim (center row).
18
Dr. Kevin Sanders, DMA, ACC
Founder, Cornerstone Leadership Group
Newsletter Publisher, The Academic Leader's Playbook
Special Topics
Special Topics
| Beyond Graduation: How International Alumni Are Reshaping Global Higher Education
“Capable, eager
leaders are
convened to decide
something that
matters. Several
units are
represented.
Everyone wants a
decision. Then
months pass. The
group consults
more widely,
circulates another
draft, and
schedules a
follow-up. By the
time anything is
issued, the problem
has evolved.”
Every institution where I have worked has a
version of the same meeting schedule…
Capable, eager leaders are convened to
decide something that matters. Several units
are represented. Everyone wants a decision.
Then months pass. The group consults more
widely, circulates another draft, and sched-
ules a follow-up. By the time anything is
issued, the problem has evolved.
I have chaired those meetings. More than
once, I was the reason they dragged on. We
chalk it up to the pace of the campus, or aca-
demic culture. It is the price of shared gov-
ernance. But how do we decide anything
when the challenge is bigger than a single
office?
The challenge of developing institutional
policies
Watch what is happening with AI policy right
now. Institutions everywhere are convening
working
groups,
although
faculty
and
students have been using the tools for more
than two years.
Drafting an AI policy is rarely the hard part.
Most campus leaders already know what
their policy needs to say. What they are wait-
ing for is the rest of the institution: Which
offices will contribute people, time and
budget? What will happen to faculty who
have built a career on the kind of teaching
that the policy will change? And how quickly
can people be reasonably asked to move?
Most importantly, should we be using AI at
all?
Collective Capacity:
Special Topics
Special Topics
What Today's Challenges Require
of a Campus
19
Beyond Graduation: How International Alumni Are Reshaping Global Higher Education |
Special Topics
Special Topics
“Using a
collaborative
approach, the group
convenes in
September and
reaches a decision
in three weeks
because that first
meeting addresses
the hard questions
head on, instead of
waiting for them to
surface in month
five.”
Not one of those questions can be answered
by an individual. No single office can own the
decision. Shared ownership is now required to
solve the problems that matter most, and
collective capacity is what a group needs to
work through them. However, few of us were
trained to work collaboratively.
What a campus gets without collaboration
The same absence of collaboration that can
stall an AI policy also kills interdisciplinary
work on many campuses. We celebrate
cross-disciplinary teaching in the strategic
plan, then discover nobody can agree whose
budget pays the instructor, which depart-
ment gets the credit, or how shared research
or teaching counts toward workload. John
Kotter's diagnosis of large organizations lands
here. Hierarchies were built to run the enter-
prise, not to absorb constant change, and his
answer is not to dismantle the hierarchy but
to build a second way of working alongside it.
Ideas have never been the obstacle. The
challenge has always been the machinery to
implement those ideas.
The stakes are rising. Major funders increas-
ingly want consortium bids spanning several
faculties and often several institutions, which
20
| Beyond Graduation: How International Alumni Are Reshaping Global Higher Education