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Mission and Purpose
The Daniel R. Grant Center for International Programs is named in honor of the 12th President of Ouachita Baptist University from 1970-1988. The program provides students and faculty to have international study opportunities, both on campus and abroad.
The purposes of the Daniel R. Grant Center for International Programs include:
1. To serve the Christian missions intentions of Ouachita, while promoting good will and the cause of world peace.
2. To be a catalyst for expanding global consciousness within the university's faculty and student body, by emphasizing the role of the church-related liberal arts university in addressing the challenge of global problems.
3. To integrate global awareness and concerns into the interdisciplinary-studies component of the curriculum, and to assist the departments of the university in meeting specific departmental interests and cross-cultural requirements of their majors, minors and pre-professionals.
4. To provide meaningful academically-oriented exchanges between peoples of other countries and the students, faculty, staff and constituent publics of the university while assisting sister institutions abroad to achieve their educational objectives.
5. To serve the regional community of Ouachita by providing specific expertise related to international concerns such as business, industry, agriculture, community development and education.
Global Goals for Ouachita
Ouachita Baptist University is committed to strengthening the Daniel R. Grant Center for International Programs while reflecting Ouachita's dedication to academic and Christian excellence. These "Top Ten Global Goals" are evidence to this commitment.
1. Quality study abroad, affordable for every Ouachita student who wants it, becoming the expected part of earning a Ouachita degree.
2. International study experience for most of the OBU faculty and staff
3. Sufficient enrollment of culturally diverse International students at Ouachita in order to enrich the learning experience of OBU students, and provide a valuable learning experience and appropriate support services for the international students.
4. Significant numbers of visiting international scholars and artists at OBU for a year, semester, or for two or three days, to strengthen international awareness.
5. A curriculum that appropriately reflects the increasingly international dimensions of all academic disciplines.
6. An extra-curricular program with strong international components providing significant support for Ouachita's curricular objectives for all students.
7. A strong program of sharing OBU's resources for international understanding with the schools, churches, businesses, media, etc., in the community and region.
8. A Ouachita commitment to the Great Commission that is strong in every respect: through student mission projects and internships; encouraging appropriate Christian witness for all exchange experiences "as they go into the uttermost parts of the world"; and keeping the Great Commission as the ultimate criterion in decisions on OBU's international development.
9. Build an administrative structure that encourages full-time leadership, vision, and responsibility for the International Studies Program, while assigning clearly appropriate work loads for those involved in the many tasks required for a successful program.
10. Develop a five-year plan for securing the required human, physical, and financial resources for accomplishing these long-term goals, with plans for meeting the most urgent needs in the first year or two.