Tugrul Polat, the new director of International Student Services at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, never intended to craft a career in higher education.

Polat, a native of Turkey, came to the U.S. to study finance and economics as an undergraduate student at North Alabama University. He originally planned to focus on banking or a related field following graduation.

But it turns out that Polat’s part-time work on campus – including driving the airport shuttle for international students and helping them adjust – led to a career path that has perfectly fit his accommodating nature.

“I liked serving them,” he said. “I knew what they were feeling, and I knew what their parents were going through.”

It is this empathy for what the student is experiencing that still guides Polat and his view on the role of the Office of International Student Services.

And with close to one million international students studying in the U.S., Polat said it simply makes sense to invest time in not only the recruitment, but retention, of this particular student population.

“If you have an international student having a great time on campus, they will tell their friends, and those friends will tell even more friends and family,” he said.

By creating a caring and supportive environment, while also encouraging the international student to become independent, a university is taking the most appropriate approach to serving them, according to Polat.

Polat said the skills that international students gain exceed academic boundaries. When an international student adapts to America’s cultural and educational values, it makes them excellent ambassadors as they return to their home countries.

And international programs provide an education for Americans as well, as more employers hire graduates who can adapt to a more diverse and global work environment.

“It exposes faculty and staff to different perspectives, and it expands and elevates classroom discussion, which is what a college education is all about,” Polat said.

Part of UALR’s emphasis on global exposure includes the annual International Celebration Week, sponsored by the Office of Campus Life, which seeks to celebrate diverse cultures, ideas, music, food, and traditions from many different nations and cultures from across the globe.

This year, International Celebration Week will be held Nov. 18 through 21.

UALR has 569 international students on campus representing 78 countries. It is a significant number, but Polat is certain that number has the potential to increase as more become aware of all that the university has to offer.

“We are situated in the capital city, with all the cultural diversity that it provides,” he said. “UALR is a great school and it has a lot of potential to attract international students. We just need to maximize that potential.”

“International students are an important part of a rich educational experience that will prepare students for the globally competitive world in which we live,” said UALR Chancellor Joel E. Anderson. “A larger international student presence will be beneficial to all of our students.”

Anderson concluded, “We are fortunate to have someone of Mr. Tugrul Polat’s caliber to lead the university’s International Services office.”

Polat is pursuing his Ph.D. in heritage studies and is expected to graduate in spring 2016. He received his MBA in 2007 from Arkansas State University, where he previously worked for six years as director of the Office of International Programs.

He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2002 from the University of North Alabama in Florence, Ala., and a bachelor of science in economics in 1998 from Anadolu University in Eskisehir, Turkey.