History of the International Programs Center

The International Programs Center (IPC) was founded in the fall of 1996 by the University of Oklahoma President David L. Boren, a former United States Senator and Governor of Oklahoma. Boren, who had been Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Intelligence and a Rhodes Scholar in Oxford, England, as he envisioned an international program at the University so that OU graduates would be prepared for the globalized world of the 21st century. The IPC was created by President Boren in August 1996 to:

* coordinate and promote international activities and programs,
* enhance the international content of the curriculum and degree programs,
* increase the University's outreach on international matters in state, national and international arenas, and
* provide Oklahoma and the region with a greater voice in our country's international relations.

The International Programs Center is the coordinating element for the Center for Middle East Studies, the School of International and Area Studies, and Education Abroad & International Student Services.

The University of Oklahoma Regents named U.S. Ambassador Edward J. Perkins as the first Executive Director of the International Programs Center and the William J. Crowe Chair Professor in Geopolitics. Perkins served as a U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, the Republic of South Africa, the United Nations, and Australia. He also held the distinguished post of Director General of the Foreign Service.

Ambassador Edwin G. Corr, who served as a U.S. Ambassador to Peru, Bolivia, and El Salvador, joined the International Programs Center as Associate Director. Ambassadors Perkins and Corr retired from the University in 2007.

In 2007, the University of Oklahoma was awarded the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization.

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.

The International Programs Center is a forum for coordinating research, seminars, conferences and publications on international and foreign policy issues.

Another important goal of the IPC is to enhance the University's outreach to business, civic, and educational leaders in Oklahoma and the region.