Our world, which once seemed unimaginably vast, has shrunk. Faster than ever before in our history, technology and policy have opened up communication, commerce, investment, travel and migration — essentially laying the globe "flat."

This is the world into which the University of Delaware's students graduate. These graduates must be globally aware and globally competent. They must understand how nations relate to one another — historically, culturally, politically, economically and ideologically. They must have the capacity and inclination to help solve the most persistent problems that plague us as a global community.

Educators often proclaim the need to prepare students for global competition. But perhaps even more important is preparing them for global collaboration — for working across borders and with diverse people, for contributing their knowledge and talent to issues of international significance. This is global citizenship, and this is our mission.

UD already enjoys a reputation as a leader in international scholarship and service. We rank third among U.S. public doctoral institutions in study-abroad participation, and our Institute for Global Studies is strengthening the University's substantial engagement efforts worldwide. In these pages, you'll read about UD programs that are internationalizing our campus and our outlook; partnerships that are expanding our global collaboration in education and research; and projects that honor and reaffirm our shared humanity.

As the world moves inevitably toward even more interconnectedness and interdependence, we will continue applying our ideas and our effort to improving the human condition and the world in which we live. As a Citizen University, we can promise no less.

UD has academic collaborations under way on every continent. A welcome banner greets President Harker during a recent visit to the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu, China.