Michigan State University's traditions, interests, and obligations in international education, research, and outreach are wide ranging. In this issue of MSU International, as in the past, we present a sample of contemporary MSU international activities in every major world region. These activities and programs are fundamentally interconnected and mutually supporting. For example, the university's national award-winning study abroad program would not have been possible without the hundreds of MSU faculty who are deeply experienced in research, teaching, and project work throughout the world. Faculty provide the intellectual driving force behind program designs and the means for connecting study abroad to the undergraduate experience and curriculum. Much of the faculty experience and faculty contacts around the world come from years of work in international development projects and other research abroad.

Just as we seek to broaden student experience abroad and to mainstream international content throughout the curriculum and in every major, we also seek to expand rapidly the proportion of faculty who are internationally experienced and who routinely incorporate international and comparative content into their teaching and research. In other words, we seek to mainstream internationalization throughout the campus through an ever-expanding array of programs, projects, and opportunities for both students and faculty.

We also are on a course to upgrade the university's historic land-grant mission, providing alumni, professionals, businesses, teachers, and ordinary citizens a wide array of internationally oriented information and opportunities through MSU Global Access.

None of these objectives can be undertaken successfully unless they are mutually reinforcing. So when you read the individual stories in this edition of MSU International, be aware that each one is a part of a large interrelated set of activities that comprise MSU's commitment to being an international institution of distinction.

—John K. Hudzik, Dean