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The Office of Global Programs was created to help rationalize and coordinate the development of international academic programs, activities and study abroad at New York University. Reporting to the Provost, the university's chief academic officer, the unit was founded as the Office of Global Affairs in 1999, and renamed in 2002 with the installation of John Sexton as NYU President and David McLaughlin as Provost.

The transformation of NYU into a global university is a response, in part, to the demographic, political and economic trends reshaping commercial, academic and political institutions throughout the world: the communication and transportation revolutions, changing demographic and migration patterns, the growth of free enterprise, and the continuing integration of both world markets as well as the marketplace of ideas.

The society of the 21st century will be a global one, and higher education must provide the next generations with the knowledge, information, and intellectual tools necessary to successfully address and engage this global society. As an urban institution located within the leading international crossroads, and an educational organization with a cosmopolitan student body, faculty and staff, New York University is particularly well situated to capitalize on global trends and challenges, and it draws upon the vibrant stream of international scholars on campus and throughout the City of New York to foster a rich academic life at Washington Square.

The Office of Global Programs and its peers across NYU develop and manage a complex range of activities that form the foundation for this new global university, one with many distinct aspects and categories:

• an international faculty, including post-doctoral and visiting faculty programs;
• an international student body at the undergraduate and at the graduate levels;
• semester abroad programs for NYU undergraduates;
• exchange programs with universities throughout the world;
• short-term and summer programs in targeted areas of study throughout the world;
• research programs for NYU faculty and graduate students;
• branch campuses offering NYU degrees abroad in focused areas;
• potential branch campuses offering undergraduate and some graduate degrees.

Today, NYU sends more students abroad than any other American institution of higher education, it hosts one of the largest number of international students in the U.S., and it has an impressive number of international faculty engaged in teaching and research. The university has made striking advances in the quality and range of its academic programs over the past two decades - advances that have corresponded with the development and expansion of global institutes, centers and programs in every school, including federally funded Title VI programs in the Faculty of Arts and Science. As the century progresses, new challenges and opportunities will emerge. A university strongly rooted at home, but with an international outlook, vibrant global partnerships with leading institutions, and a diverse, engaged community of scholars will be well positioned to meet them and ensure success.