U-M, with its 7,484 international students, faculty and staff last fall, is launching Global Michigan, a Web portal to showcase its worldwide impact and resources. The site can be found at globalportal.umich.edu.

Sandra Wiley, who leads the Center for Global Opportunities in the School of Kinesiology, chaired a committee that planned the project. She said she is enthusiastic about the immediate impact on helping students find, apply and prepare for international experiences, including health and safety, the committee’s highest priority.

“This new site directly addresses one of the key recommendations of our accreditation working group: develop a single source of information about international opportunities across campus,’’ says Amy Conger, a committee member and director of International Programs in Engineering. “Having all of these programs in one place sends an impressive message about the university’s level of international engagement. Students — both prospective and current — will more easily be able to find activities that match their interests.”

The self study on internationalization that is part of the 2010 reaccreditation review helped to define the university’s goals and accelerated efforts in this area, says Ben van der Pluijm, senior counselor to the provost who is heading Accreditation 2010. “While recasting internationalization as global engagement off and on campus, the accreditation working groups acted as catalysts for organizational and academic actions, some of which are now fully underway, such as the Web portal,” he says.

Wiley says she already has received positive responses from students and staff across campus on the immediate usefulness of having these resources consolidated into one place. 

“More than any generation before them, students today must navigate a global world,’’ says Lee Doyle, chief of staff for the Office of the Vice President for Communications. “In every corner of the university, global work is happening. Global Michigan is the university’s newest way to access that global dimension.”

U-M, the top-ranked U.S. public university in the latest World University rankings with one of the largest numbers of students studying abroad, also has one of the largest international student populations. The site offers a front door for the university to engage with the global community.

“We developed this site with the Provost’s Council on Global Engagement to help students to better access the world of opportunities abroad, and for our international students to find their way here,” Doyle says.

 “We also include a magazine called Explore, which will tell the story of the rich global experiences enjoyed by students and faculty here and abroad. This story will grow in texture as we add student blogs, photographs and video clips to the site.”

The site includes sections on U-M’s work, research and study projects in other nations, U-M’s international offerings on campus, U-M international students and faculty, as well as globally focused news and other details about U-M’s global relationships.

The project was collaborative across several campus units including International Programs in Engineering, LSA Academic Advising, Library Global Initiatives, International Center, Global REACH, International Institute, Information and Technology Services, and the School of Kinesiology.