Dean's Introduction

Introduction to Compass: Strategic Planning Edition

By CIS Dean Scott Fritzen

The College of International Studies was founded a decade ago with one key purpose: to sustain global engagement as an indispensable element of what it means to be educated, and what it means to be a flagship public research university, in the 21st century. In so doing, CIS builds on a proud tradition of such engagement at the University of Oklahoma, which for decades has had a vibrant set of global programs and partnerships benefiting its students, faculty and the broader community.

No one said this would be easy. As of late 2022, we are confronted with a broad range of threats shaping the context in which international education efforts, from study abroad to the international student experience, play out on our campus: the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation, geopolitical instability and war, trends toward increasing authoritarianism and a decline in public confidence in democratic and civil institutions, including higher education, both at home and in many countries abroad. In addition, our international mission is subject to the same financial and demographic stresses affecting U.S. higher education as a whole.

While these threats and stresses are real, there are also significant opportunities in our changing environment. We are living in an era of unprecedented flows of people and information; in that sense, it should be a golden age for public research universities in open societies such as the United States. The pandemic has underscored the importance of global scientific and development cooperation. The cross-national and cross-disciplinary partnerships that will drive scientific innovation are becoming more global and distributed in recent years. The relevance of international studies and of global fluency — our college’s rallying cry — has never been greater. In addition, the University of Oklahoma approaches the next phase of global engagement from a position of relative strength, having made decades of investments in this area.

Against this backdrop, the College of International Studies has formulated a strategic plan, covering the years 2022-2025, that attempts to take stock of this legacy, goal and landscape, with its complex set of threats and opportunities, as we chart out the next phase. Three aspirations have guided its creation: mission-oriented and innovative; grounded in stakeholder participation, context and data; and adaptive learning oriented.

Mission-oriented and Innovative

The focus in this strategic plan is squarely on the value that we can bring to the world, through our three primary goals — serving international students, facilitating study abroad opportunities, and developing high-impact programs and research in international and area studies. And we are conscious of the need to innovate — to develop both new purposes to which our capacities can serve, and new means to serve continuing goals, as we build on the strong legacy of international engagement at OU.

Grounded in Stakeholder Participation, Context and Data

The plan went through an extensive process of participatory development, involving a large steering committee composed of faculty, staff and students and involving hundreds more in consultations.

Adaptive and Learning Oriented

Our objective in creating this plan is to embed strategic thinking and execution into our work during these turbulent times. This year’s edition of the Compass: International Profile is focused as usual on three main sections, corresponding to the three channels of the impact we seek to have in the world: for study abroad, for international students and for international and area studies and research. At the head of each section is a summary of our key strategies in that area, followed by the typical range of information, news and the engaging and often touching stories of our stakeholders. These stories and voices show the many ways in which we are pursuing our goals — organically, based on the deep commitments and talents of our faculty, staff and students; and strategically, taking into account our changing context of threats and opportunities. We hope you will enjoy the edition, and we invite you to join forces with us in the coming year to help realize our global dreams for OU.

Scott Fritzen, November 2022