In the last two decades, one of two superpowers has collapsed, and the ability to cause mass destruction has expanded to a record number of countries and even groups of individuals. The list of countries with failing governments also is growing, and many observers feel that institutions such as the United Nations have reached the limits of their ability to provide order. Moreover, even effective governments struggle to manage the traffic of ideas, money, disease, and violence that now connects individuals. Each of these changes is important. Together, they pose unprecedented challenges and opportunities.

With change the only constant, institutions at all levels of society must reassess what they do and how they do it, and Stanford is no exception. The ideas that Stanford generates and the leaders we train influence international policies and organizations. But because of their complexity, today's problems do not conform to yesterday's academic categories. We believe that real progress now requires a new level of cooperation among faculty in the full range of disciplines represented on campus.

Making such collaboration the rule, rather than the exception, constitutes a historic shift in how universities pursue teaching and research. At Stanford, this shift has been under way for some time. Research and teaching on nuclear proliferation, state corruption, HIV/AIDS, and a host of other issues already connect scholars in Stanford's world-class schools of business, earth sciences, education, engineering, humanities and sciences, law, and medicine, and centers and institutes including the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. But as international problems become more interconnected, Stanford can and must do more by expanding this multidisciplinary approach dramatically.

In 2005, the university launched the International Initiative to promote collaboration throughout the campus on three themes:

• Pursuing peace and security
• Improving governance locally, nationally, and internationally
• Advancing human well-being

In each of these areas, the initiative funds new faculty research, new courses for students, and new outreach to policymakers and the public.

No university is better positioned to accelerate the teamwork today's problems demand. Stanford concentrates a rare breadth of strengths on one campus, within a unique culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. But this undertaking will require significant resources from those who share our commitment. As we tell our colleagues and students in every field of study, we cannot move forward unless we do so together. Please join us.

	Coit D. Blacker Director, Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute for   International Studies The Olivier Nomellini Family University   Fellow in Undergraduate Education
	Elisabeth Paté-Cornell The Burt and Deedee McMurtry   Professor in the School of Engineering Chair, Department of   Management Science and Engineering

Discover more about the International Initiative in action on the Stanford StoryBank.

Stanford on iTunes U offers a wide range of Stanford Challenge–related digital audio, including programs about The International Initiative. Requires iTunes. More >>