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Global at Home

You can be globally engaged anywhere, even without leaving town. We celebrate and promote cultural awareness, intercultural dialogue, world languages, and global knowledge on campus and in the community through a variety of events and sponsored activities. Apply for a passport, watch foreign films, meet students from all around the world, discuss global challenges…How will you be globally engaged?

The Office of Global Engagement is always seeking partnership opportunities with campus and community organizations to promote global and international awareness. If you would like to explore joint programming with us, please contact Jennifer Evanuik, Executive Director, at evanu1j@cmich.edu.

Community opportunities

Passport Fair

  • The Office of Global Engagement partners regularly with the Isabella County Clerk's Office to host on-campus Passport Fairs for students, faculty, staff and community members. 

International Education Week

  • International Education Week (IEW) is an annual opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education is part of the U.S. government's efforts to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences. Held in November of each year, CMU offers a variety of programming and outreach in support of IEW.

Global Ambassadors

  • Global Ambassadors are highly diverse and motivated international students and scholars who are eager to share their culture with others. Ambassadors can be requested by community members both at CMU and beyond to present on various topics, facilitate multicultural discussions, or participate in cultural events and celebrations. The goals of the Global Ambassador Program are to foster global awareness, increase cross-cultural education, strengthen internationalization at CMU and beyond, enhance the international student and scholar experience at CMU, and support CMU's mission, vision, and core values. Campus and community members are encouraged to invite a Global Ambassador to speak at a class, program, or event.

Request a Global Ambassador

Opportunities through campus and community partners

International Cultural Expo

  • The International Cultural Expo is an annual event hosted by the International Student Organization. Each year, the event includes cultural performances, country displays, and international food tasting.

Office of Diversity Education Programming

  • The Office of Diversity Education offers culturally responsive educational opportunities through education, training, coaching, consulting, and community-building. Programming includes Cultural Competency Workshops for faculty and staff, the annual Diversity & Inclusion Symposium, the Conversations that Matter Series, and the Soup & Substance Series.

International Relations Council

  • The International Relations Council of the Mt. Pleasant Area is an organization of community volunteers dedicated to promoting cultural activities that enhance the greater Mt. Pleasant area as a positive environment for visitors and residents from other countries. The Council also supports exchanges with Mt. Pleasant's sister city of Okaya, Japan. CMU has representation on the Council and contributes to programming for the incoming sister city exchange students.

Clarke Historical Library - International Children's Books

  • Each year, the Clarke Historical Library hosts a six-hour cultural event where children's books from around the world are read in the language in which they were written. International students and scholars often get involved with this event!

Chippewa River District Library

  • The Chippewa River District Library hosts events such as World Language Storytime at Veterans Memorial Library. Last year, this event featured stories, movement, and rhymes in German, Romanian and Polish!

Central Michigan International Film Festival

  • The Central Michigan International Film Festival brings international films to Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. This event, sponsored by a variety of community partners, typically takes place in early February. In 2020, the film festival brought international film selections such as Parasite (2019), For Sama (2019), Rafiki (2018), The Farewell (2019), and Midnight Traveler (2019). Additionally, a number of international shorts from France, Israel, Palestine, Germany, India, Iran, Portugal, Argentina, China, and Bangladesh were featured.

College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences - Critical Engagements

  • The Critical Engagements series, hosted by CLASS, is a collaborative project that makes the academic mission of Central Michigan University concrete by highlighting how our college and university are tackling the world's most pressing and difficult questions.

Mary Ellen Brandell Volunteer Center

  • CMU's Mary Ellen Brandell Volunteer Center offers volunteer opportunities on campus, in the local community, and across the country. The center coordinates a variety of programs that bring service experiences to students.

Institute for Transformative Dialogue

  • The Institute for Transformative Dialogue is a cross-campus partnership to foster excellence in the ways our community engages across differences. The Institute supports curricula, programs, and trainings that nurture our abilities to learn and work effectively across social group dynamics, especially across groups with a history of conflict or unequal relations.