IT’S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL

It’s a small world, after all.

It’s a small, small world.

One doesn’t normally think of Walt Disney as a source for insights on international relations, but the words of this familiar song are truer than ever:

• A farmer living and working in small-town Illinois? The price you pay for fuel and fertilizer is affected by decisions made by a handful of oil ministers meeting in Vienna.

• The prices that you and your neighbors receive for your corn and soybeans turn sharply one way or another based on the actions of one person in Moscow.

• Need a replacement part for a piece of equipment in your business? Policies set in Beijing affect whether you’ll get that part in two weeks or six months.

• Hundreds of thousands of people yearn to come to our country because of conditions in their own countries, creating the persistent challenges of dealing with immigration.

• The security of our bank accounts and credit cards can be threatened by some bad actor at a keyboard halfway around the world.

• The safety and health of our loved ones during the pandemic was affected by actions taken around the world.

• On top of all these, the ever-present challenges to our national security that at any moment can put our friends and loved ones in the military and foreign service in harm’s way.

We live with these connections, and many more.

I had a chance recently to think about this topic of a “small world” in a concentrated way when I had the honor of participating in the U.S. Army War College’s National Security Seminar. Held every year, the NSS brings civilians from many backgrounds together with the faculty and students at the Army War College. It gave me the opportunity to go back to my diplomatic history background, which was great fun.

But participating in the NSS was also one of a couple of recent reminders of the role that Monmouth alumni have played and continue to play in the many facets of international and global affairs. While at the NSS, I spent time with Brig. Gen. Chris Lawson ’88, who was kind enough to nominate me for the seminar. I also had an enjoyable conversation with Col. Joel Hillison ’83, who holds the General Colin Powell Chair of Military and Strategic Studies at the Army War College.

And just before going to the NSS, I was honored to be with Maj. Gen. Phil Killey ’63, who had a long and distinguished career in the Air Force, and with Karen Krueger ’72, whose 41-year career with the Department of State took her to crucial postings around the world. Both Phil and Karen are Hall of Achievement inductees.

That’s why it is important for the College to continue this legacy of global engagement and service by nourishing global awareness and leadership in our students. From providing a passport to any eligible student who doesn’t have one, to creating a more robust studyabroad program, to hosting an official Peace Corps Prep Program (alumna Ann Mack Collier ’63 and her husband, John, served in the second group of Peace Corps volunteers), and in many other ways, Monmouth is seeking to prepare students, in the words of the Mission Statement, “to shape their communities and world through service and leadership.”

Because, after all, it’s a small world.

My Best,

Dr. Clarence R. Wyatt