The International Institute (II) and its 16 centers and programs are committed to spreading awareness and knowledge of international issues that cut across world regions and disciplines, as well as the languages, cultures, and peoples of different areas of the world. It is our mission to educate not only U-M students, but also teachers and instructors at K-12 and postsecondary institutions through a variety of outreach initiatives.
Many of these outreach activities are collaborative efforts among multiple centers within the II; departments in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA); and other units across campus.
The II is proud that several of its centers are designated National Resource Centers (NRCs):
- African Studies Center (ASC)
- Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LACS)
- Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies (CMENAS)
- Center for South Asian Studies (CSAS)
- Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS)
- East Asia National Resource Center (comprising the Center for Japanese Studies, Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, and Nam Center for Korean Studies)
These prestigious designations, earned in national peer-reviewed competitions, are awarded by the U.S. Department of Education Title VI program. This program funds, either entirely or in part, the following outreach initiatives.
K-14 Professional Development
East Asia National Resource Center
Global Migration Education Initiative (GMEI)
U-M/UPR Outreach Collaboration
Community College Educators
Midwest Institute for International / Intercultural Education (MIIIE)
Professional Development Archive
CMENAS–CSEAS Teacher Training Workshop
LACS Teacher Training Workshop
In addition to these programs, our centers individually participate in a variety of local, regional, and national outreach efforts such as visiting local schools and classrooms in Southeast Michigan, hosting K-12 schools on campus, providing professional development or conference funding to community college and MSI faculty, and collaborating with the U-M School of Education, the U-M Library, and the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) to create and disseminate free, open-access curriculum materials, and experiential teaching kits.
