Director of the Office of Education Abroad Matthew Yates first began at California Lutheran University three years ago, in 2021. He has since then implemented a variety of programs at Cal Lutheran to promote study abroad programs. Yates says he has dedicated a good portion of his adult life to continuing to enlighten himself and others on the subject of education.
Before being named the Director of the Office of Education Abroad at Cal Lutheran University in July 2021, Yates earned his Bachelor of Arts in History and International Studies from Indiana University Bloomington.
As far as Yatesโ work experience, he was Assistant Director of Education Abroad at Kansas State University and most recently served as Director of Education Abroad at the University of Connecticut, Yates said.
โI like to joke that my career path has sort of been like Iโve been studying abroad myself,โ Yates said.
Yates said his decision to come to Cal Lutheran was in part due to his position at the time at the University of Connecticut having been eliminated due to COVID-19.
โI was director at the University of Connecticut of education abroad before this, from 2017 until 2020, when I was laid off because the pandemic forced the university to eliminate my position โฆ so part of what drove me to want to be at Cal Lutheran was that it was not a large state public institution. Not that I thought I would like it more necessarily, I just wanted that experience,โ Yates said.
Assistant Director of the Office of Education Abroad Azar Amir-Mokri said Yates brings much-needed energy to the school as well as to the Office of Education Abroad.
โI started working with Dr. Yates in October 2022. Very soon, I saw so much enthusiasm in what heโs doing and a very big love for what heโs doing and a great expertise and knowledge,โ Amir-Mokri said.
Assistant Professor and Director of French and Francophone Studies Sophia Khadraoui-Fortune said that Yatesโ knowledge and experience in regards to traveling abroad are what separate him from other directors.
โHe, himself, travels a lot [in] his personal life โฆ every time I bring to him an idea of traveling in a certain country, most likely heโs already been there,โ Khadraoui-Fortune said.
As director, Yatesโ schedule is often hectic and varies on a day-to-day basis.
โThe typical days, I have an office and Iโm in here a lot, but I like to get out and go to visit faculty to work with them on how to identify programs that make sense for the different majors on our campus,โ Yates said.
Cal Lutheran junior Aaron Yoshida said Yates is very persistent and focused when it comes to the needs of the students here at Cal Lutheran.
โHeโs obviously very helpful, always there to help the students, try and look into programs, get what they need,โ Yoshida said.
Yates said he has a strong desire to help students both in and outside the traditional classroom setting.
โInstead of just teaching in a classroom setting, I could help teach students as they are going to different countries, learning more about themselves, their identities, and becoming what we call โglobal citizens,โ,โ Yates said.
Amir-Mokri said she sees all the passion and energy that Yates puts into his work, even attempting to better the Office of Education Abroad program during quieter periods like summer vacations.
โHe has so many ideas, itโs really so funny. Every summer when all the students go on vacation or home and you think this is the time for us to plan, the time that everything is quieter, he shows me a list full of ideas, what we could do better, what we could improve,โโ Amir-Mokri said.
Yates said that the biggest challenge in transitioning from the University of Connecticut to Cal Lutheran was adapting to a smaller academic institution.
โUConn was about 13 times the size. And I had a much larger budget and I had a much larger staff…I think, to having my hands on everything here versus being a little distanced from that at UConn was a learning curve,โ Yates said.
Yates said that another important aspect of his role is engaging with faculty from various fields, which helps him better understand different perspectives beyond his area of expertise.
โThese faculty and their disciplines are like cultures, and to be able to sit and listen and talk with them and hear where theyโre coming from, even though itโs not my background, has been something thatโs really powerful for me here,โ Yates said.
