Academic Excellence: Bringing Our Interconnected World into Clearer Focus

By CIS Dean Scott Fritzen

Our vision: A Leading Institution for International and Area Studies

Our undergraduate and graduate academic programs in International and Area Studies, as well as our interdisciplinary research centers, place us among those of the country’s leading public research universities. Through these programs, OU puts international and cultural fluency at the heart of a 21st century education. T

he strategic goal of the College of International Studies, as advanced by the Department of International and Area Studies and our research centers, is to become the premier academic institution for International and Area Studies in the Central U.S. and to gain national recognition for excellence in research, teaching and outreach. We will accomplish this through the following breakdown of objectives and strategies, combined with supportive tactics detailed in the strategic plan.

Objective: To nurture a community of scholars and practitioners who advance knowledge.

- Enhancing impact via research support, collaboration between faculty and the CIS academic centers and institutes, and broader national and international dissemination of our work.

- Utilizing the research centers/institutes to attract visiting Fulbright Scholars and other distinguished visiting faculty.

Objective: To attract the best students from the state, country and world and provide an innovative, accessible and transformative education.

- Redesigning undergraduate curriculum to be more cohesive and coherent.

- Exploring more ways to incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion into the curriculum.

- Increasing faculty participation in recruiting efforts.

Objective: To be a globally engaged community of scholars, public intellectuals and practitioners.

- Expanding individual faculty research partnerships with scholars and institutions abroad; creating new opportunities for students to benefit from research partnerships as well.

- Making resources available to support the development of transnational grant proposals.

- Partnering with the Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships to jointly promote global research throughout the university.

Objective: To foster, support and value diversity within our faculty, culture and curricula.

- Making our classrooms welcoming and inclusive learning environments for a diverse group of students.

- Continually developing mechanisms to stimulate and celebrate work on matters of diversity, equity and inclusion among students and faculty.

- Fostering a culture of faculty diversity and inclusion in governance and administration.