Gaylord Global

Since the early 2000s, Gaylord College had become synonymous with U.S. Department of State grants with countries in South Asia. When former dean, Joe Foote, relocated to the University of Oklahoma, he brought with him a grant that focused on management and leadership skills among media professionals in Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. The tradition of grantwork in South and Central Asia continued after that, with Gaylord’s presence expanding into India, Sri Lanka, Burma and Kazakhstan. From 2010 onward, students, small business owners and operators, media professionals and educators across the fields of media and small business/entrepreneurship came to the U.S. on a number of different grants. In collaboration with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education & Cultural Affairs and the Ronnie K. Irani Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth on the Norman campus, about 300 entrepreneurs and journalists participated in a variety of grant, which also sent about 60 American counterparts on reciprocal exchanges. In addition, the Studies of the U.S. Institutes brought over 60 undergraduate students to the U.S., many of whom had never traveled abroad before and many of whom have since successfully completed international graduate degrees and gone on to be trailblazers in their countries and abroad. Gaylord College and the University of Oklahoma has become an international brand in many countries of South Asia, and it is not a surprise to see people walking the streets in some of the most densely populated cities in the world wearing a Gaylord or OU T-shirt or sweater.  Gaylord College currently has two active grants.  One is for entrepreneurs from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, and the other is a program for journalists of Urdu media organizations in Pakistan.