Message from the Deans

We celebrate the 10th anniversary of OU’s College of International Studies at a moment of monumental challenge — and great hope.

The COVID pandemic plunged international higher education into a crisis, interrupting international research, education abroad and the ability of international students to study in the United States. This issue of the Compass tells the story of how the College of International Studies has navigated these challenges, and how we plan to emerge energetically as the pandemic wanes.

The story includes the heartbreak of bringing home students in the midst of realizing longimagined study abroad experiences and of returning and new international students unable to reach home or to fulfill their dreams of arriving on the OU campus to study. But the pandemic story is also marked by the steadfastness of the College of International Studies in its dedication to students and by the professionalism of CIS staff.

When we began discussions in February 2020 that ultimately led to the return of all OU students abroad and the temporary closing of our study centers in Arezzo and Puebla, we did not imagine that international travel would be disrupted for more than a year. But as the travel shutdown has worn on, we have redoubled our efforts to meet the pandemic-related housing and food security needs of international students on the OU campus, to safely receive new international students (even if, unfortunately, a smaller group than in recent years) and to plan for a vibrant future of education abroad.

These efforts relied on collaboration with numerous partners across campus and the work coordinated by the International Student Task Force established by CIS Dean Scott Fritzen.

During the pandemic, faculty in the Department of International and Area Studies have adapted their teaching to mixed in-person and online formats. This issue of the Compass includes stories of how faculty members creatively enriched their classes. Additionally, in summer 2020 the growing Global Affairs M.A. program pioneered courses that brought substantive content from Ireland and from Italy, respectively, into the online classroom.

The research and outreach centers located in CIS adapted to the online environment, shifting from in-person events to online discussions and webinars, often reaching broad audiences at OU and far beyond in this format and forging ties with new international partners in the process.

The arrival of new CIS Dean Scott Fritzen in July 2020 accelerated strategic planning to position the College of International Studies to innovate in international education. The college continues to plan in ways that resonate with the OU strategic plan, reflecting a commitment to expanding research impact, augmenting diversity in study abroad and increasing the number of international students studying on the OU campus. We have developed a new Research Council within the college and have identified additional resources to support faculty research.

During the pandemic, we have been drafting plans to ensure that there are robust study abroad offerings for all parts of the globe and that we reach all OU students with a highly inclusive study abroad enterprise. We have invited faculty across the OU campus to contribute their expertise to creative new study abroad programs.

We are pursuing projects that will intensify the strengths of our study centers in Arezzo, Italy, and Puebla, Mexico. And we are excited to work with university leadership to realize the aspiration contained in the new OU strategic plan to significantly increase the number of international students on the OU campus. As we do so, we will continue to engage actively with international students to provide programming that ensures a welcoming environment and celebrates the immense contribution of international students to the richness of the OU campus.

We are grateful to staff, students and faculty for their dedicated adaptation and caring for each other throughout this trying period. The strengths we have shown throughout lead us to have every confidence that CIS is poised for a steep upward trajectory as we emerge from the pandemic.

Sincerely,

Scott Fritzen, College of International Studies Dean

Mitchell Smith, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs

Rebecca Cruise, Associate Dean for Student Services