Linda Thomas-Greenfield is U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and a former colleague and friend of the late Ambassador Edward J. Perkins, the first executive director of the University of Oklahoma's International Programs Center, which became the College of International Studies. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield sent her congratulations and well-wishes via video message on the occasion of the David L. Boren College of International Studies 10th anniversary celebration in November 2022.
1996
The International Programs Center (IPC) was founded in fall 1996 by former University of Oklahoma President David L. Boren, a former United States Senator and Governor of Oklahoma. Boren, who had been Chairman of the US Senate Committee on Intelligence and a Rhodes Scholar in Oxford, England, envisioned an international program that would prepare OU graduates for the globalized world of the 21st century. The IPC was created by former President Boren in August 1996 to:
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 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.
2007
Ambassadors Perkins and Corr retired from the University.
Zach P. Messitte joined the International Programs Center in 2007 as the Executive Director and was the inaugural Dean of the College of International Studies.
The University of Oklahoma was awarded the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization.
2011–summer 2023
In January 2011, the OU Board of Regents approved a recommendation to establish a College of International Studies in response to growing student demand. At that time, former President David L. Boren announced a $2 million lead gift from Tulsans L. Francis and Kathleen Rooney to launch a $14 million campaign for the new College.
Suzette Grillot joined IPC in 2008 as Associate Director. She served as Dean from 2012 until 2019.
Jill Irvine was appointed Interim Dean of the David L. Boren College of International Studies in 2019, and she was succeeded by Mitchell P. Smith, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, who served as Interim Dean from 2019 to 2020. In July 2020, CIS welcomed Scott Fritzen, who served as Dean until summer 2023. Jonathan Stalling was appointed Interim Dean in the summer of 2023.
In fall 2021, the Center for English as a Second Language (CESL) moved to the College of International Studies. CESL was previously part of the OU Extended Campus College of Continuing and Professional Studies.
Fall 2023- present
In fall 2023, the Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President at the University of Oklahoma created the Office of Global Engagement, which now houses Education Abroad, International Student Services and International Student Programs, and the Center for English as a Second Language. Rebecca Cruise serves as Interim Associate Provost for Global Engagement in the Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President.
The College of International Studies remains the academic home of international studies at the University of Okahoma, housing the Department of International & Area Studies, our international research centers and institutes, and a range of other academic programs and services. Jonathan Stalling currently serves as Interim Dean of the College of International Studies.
Compass: International Profile is an annual publication featuring College updates and statistics as well as articles about students, alumni, donors and friends of the David L. Boren College of International Studies.
The Fall 2022 issue of the College of International Studies annual publication, Compass: International Profile is here! This year's edition is titled "Lead On, Globally," and explores the College's goals for the future as laid out in the strategic plan. Read the full issue below.
