Dear Friends,
In 2008, when I began my presidency, there were seven international students at Missouri Western State University. One of my immediate priorities was to better prepare our graduates for careers in a global marketplace by increasing the number of international students and faculty members on campus and increasing study away opportunities.
We have made tremendous strides as a University toward these efforts. We have increased from seven students to 87 in the spring of 2014, representing more than 25 countries. Opportunities to study abroad have sent Missouri Western students to Belize, India, Honduras, China and more. While we continue to focus on this area and pursue even further growth, we have made remarkable strides in just six years.
The growth in our international student population and in our study away opportunities has been the result of years of hard work and commitment from faculty and staff members across campus. Missouri Western has put in several pieces of infrastructure to make this happen, including creating an International Student Services Office and hiring a director, tightening Admissions processes for international students, allocating funds for international recruitment trips and establishing agreements with many international universities.
It is essential that our students have the opportunities to develop strong cross-cultural competencies and are familiar with others who are quite different from themselves. Creating an international student experience in St. Joseph allows our students to have a broader understanding of other cultures and improve their interpersonal communication abilities. These skills will serve them well in increasingly global business environments and in increasingly diverse communities.
The internationalization of our campus carries enormous benefits for our students, but also for our faculty, staff and our region. We can all be proud of the increasingly global footprint of Missouri Western State University.
Robert A. Vartabedian
President, Missouri Western State University