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President's Blog

A university for the world

image1I was proud to be part of the Mason delegation that received tonight NAFSA’s 2014 Senator Simon Award for our innovative international programs.  The award was given in part for the Global Problem Solving consortium, an initiative started by Provost Emeritus Peter Stearns, based on the idea that scholars from multiple cultural backgrounds and perspectives working together may be able to produce new approaches to some of the world’s most pressing challenges, from water, to food, to climate.

I love the photo, not only because it was taken by an alumna who’s an expert in international higher education (thank you Rebecca Morgan!!) but also because it depicts the diversity of people and backgrounds dedicated to internationalize our university: faculty, administration, and partners (thank you CISCO for the support!!).

When we crafted the new vision for the university, it became clear that global engagement would be one of our central commitments for the future.  The consensus in the community was so strong in fact that the idea of becoming a “university for the world” bubbled up as a headline for the new vision.  We are now working to make that vision a reality.  And I feel we have just the right people to make it happen!

Congratulations Mason Nation on this well-deserved recognition!