ABSTRACT
Any reasonable list of challenges for American colleges and universities over the next several decades—some ambitious pundits even say for the 21st century, but centuries always turn out to be longer than early-years seers anticipate—includes the need to develop appropriate global orientations central to the core mission. Lists can vary a bit otherwise—some would note lifelong learning as another key challenge, others perhaps accessibility and diversity (related to global issues but, as we have seen, not by any means identical). For some, lists would still include educational technology; and I think we have to keep the difficult balance between teaching and research in the mix. But global is going to show up on the top-five priority list without much question. As we have seen, virtually every institution over the past 15 years has brought new urgency or range to its global agenda, with few places yet comfortable that they've achieved the desired level. An intriguing aspect of the field, as discussed before, is the significant involvement of so many different kinds of institutions, with leadership and innovation coming from many sectors—there are only a few top-down advantages in global education in terms of the standard institutional pecking order.
