The 1980s were a time when the University saw its highest enrollment of international students — then came 9/11.Chancellor Michael Martin said universities across the nation struggled to recruit international students in the post-9/11 world.”The nation made it much harder for international students to get here,” Martin said. “We’re backing away from [the post-9/11 mindset].”And the University is doing just that.The University had about 1,700 international students in the fall semesters of 2001 and 2002. During the fall 2007, the University had more than 1,400 international students.Lakshman Velupillai, associate vice chancellor of the Office of International Programs, said about 5 percent of University students are considered international.”It’s not good, but it’s not bad either,” Velupillai said. “A lot of people have upward of 10 percent.”Amy Prejean, associate director of international enrollment, said the Office of Undergraduate Admissions began recruiting in other countries in hopes of increasing the University’s reputation in the world.Prejean said the admissions office visited Honduras last summer and plans to return in October.”International recruiting is a new effort,” Prejean said. “The University is now interested in international recruiting, and so that is our first step to Honduras.”Prejean said Honduras was chosen as the University’s first recruitment site because Honduras and Louisiana share similar interests in agriculture.Velupillai said there is a potential growth of possible international students in other countries.”All universities are competing in the same market,” he said. “Strategically, we know which markets are potentially promising markets.”Velupillai said the University traditionally has strong links with Asian and African countries — India, China, South Korea and Nigeria.”Those countries traditionally have sent a lot of students to LSU,” he said. “There is a large, middle-class, English-speaking population in India with a desire in sending their students to the United States.”Prejean said the University plans to expand international recruiting in countries like India and China.Martin said having international students at the University greatly enhances students’ experiences, and it creates a worldwide network for the University and Louisiana.”This is a great University, and we ought to offer its ability as broadly as we possibly can,” Martin said.Martin said he hopes to use his connections to help turn the University into a stronger competitor for international students. —-Contact J.J. Alcantara at [email protected]