Our Mission Statement
The mission of the International Programs Center is to augment and enrich the international aspects of the curricula, the activities of students, and the research and public service activities of the faculty and staff of the University; and to reach out to alumni and to state, national, and international communities to enhance the University's role as a leader in our nation's international relations.

Message from the Vice Provost
(March 2008)

Since becoming the Vice Provost for International Programs in August 2007, I have strived to focus the International Program’s Center’s (IPC) on its primary mission: to help foster a sense of global awareness at University of Oklahoma. While many of our programs are also designed to make contributions to the internationalization of the community and the state and add to the national and international dialogue about global issues in the 21st century, OU students remain at the core of our priorities.

Administratively, the IPC serves as the coordinating office for International Programs at OU that includes the School of International and Area Studies (SIAS) and the offices of Education Abroad (EA) and International Student Services (ISS).

Under the leadership of Dr. Robert Cox, SIAS has grown by leaps and bounds in the past seven years. There are now more than 350 undergraduates majoring in international and area studies and a small but dynamic graduate program continues to develop.

OU is also home to more than 1800 international students from all over the world. The ISS helps these students process and meet all U.S. Government eligibility requirements for study in the United States.

Students at OU have ample opportunities to study abroad with reciprocal exchange agreements at 174 universities on six continents. Under the guidance of Dr. Millie Audas, education abroad and international students are thriving at OU.

IPC has sponsored conferences, lectures, books, scholarships, student organizations and hundreds of activities at OU that promote international understanding since its inception in 1996. IPC also runs the W.H. Howell Second Century Lecture Series that brings a distinguished leader in international affairs to campus every other year for three lectures and significant interaction with students. I am particularly proud of IPC’s role in the 2007 Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign. Along with students, faculty, staff and the community, IPC helped raised nearly $6000 and was named a UNICEF Emissary school.

IPC’s new web site is part of an overall reorganization that includes new administrators, faculty, and staff, a growing leadership role coordinating SIAS and EA/ISS, and eventual relocation in the renovated first floor of the Hester Hall International Center.

The International Program Center is thriving thanks to the generosity and spirit of globally minded people and an excellent Board of Visitors. With renewed support the Center will continue to act as a catalyst to engage our students and community in the important international debates of the 21st century.


Zach Messitte
University of Oklahoma
Vice Provost for International Programs
Associate Professor and William J. Crowe Chair in Geopolitics
Executive Director, International Programs Center