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Celebrating IIE’s Centennial and 100 Years of International Education

A centennial letter from Allan Goodman, IIE President and CEO

Dear IIENetwork Community,

This February we are proud to celebrate IIE’s Centennial and 100 years of international education. IIE’s founders shared a common vision that the global exchange of scholars and students could createbetter understanding across cultures and nations. Today, we are honored to be joined in promoting global learning and international education by the more than 7,000 professionals at 1,300 higher education institutions and other nonprofit, corporate, and government organizations from around the world who comprise the IIENetwork community.

While student and scholar exchanges between universities in the United States and abroad took place prior to IIE’s founding 100 years ago, they were not as coordinated then as they are today. From the start, IIE helped create new networks and closer communication across institutions of higher education worldwide. Our work has been collaborative in nature from the very beginning. Colleges, universities, and partnering organizations and institutions have all been an essential part of moving the field forward, creating innovative opportunities for students, scholars, and leaders to connect and learn across borders.

International education and global learning are now integral parts of the higher education sector and the U.S. economy. We can see this in the tremendous growth of the field over the past 100 years. The United States hosted almost 1.1 million international students in 2017-18 and more than 330,000 U.S. students studied abroad for academic credit in 2016/17. Without institutions and organizations at the ready to help facilitate exchange, impart knowledge to new generations, and promote research, the field of international education would not be as strong as it is today.

IIE will celebrate its Centennial over the course of 2019, beginning with the IIE Summit: The Future of International Education, which is convening 500 professionals representing 27 countries and more than 300 organizations in education, government, business, philanthropy, and media at the Grand Hyatt New York from February 17-19. The Empire State Building will be illuminated with IIE’s signature colors on the evening of February 19th, from approximately 5:30pm EST until 2:00am EST, celebrating IIE’s 100-year legacy of promoting mutual understanding, cultural exchange, and diplomacy through international education. If you are attending the IIE Summit or in New York City, we invite you to share the moment with us: look up, take a photo, tag @IIEGlobal on social media, and tell us what the #powerofIE means to you!

We are also launching the Centennial Issue of our IIENetworker Magazine, The Next 100 Years in International Education, which explores new programs and initiatives that promise to transform the field. We invite you to join us in celebrating 100 years of international education over the course of 2019.

As we reflect on 100 years of international education, we want to extend a special thank you to the IIENetwork. Without you, our work would not be possible.

Allan E. Goodman
President & CEO, IIE

 

Compliments of IIE, a member of EACCNY