While new media and technologies have brought the world closer than ever to campus, students need a deeper understanding of international traditions, values and attitudes to succeed personally and professionally.

Through President Mary Sue Coleman's Challenge for The Student Global Experience, donors can help prepare students to thrive in the dynamic, global environment by maximizing their gifts for foreign study and learning.

"I want more of our students to see more of the world," said Coleman, who recently made a gift with her husband, Kenneth Coleman, to kick off the Challenge. "Whether you view the world as getting flatter or smaller, the fact is we are more interconnected than ever.

"We must find ways to make the international experience more flexible, creative and affordable. Our future and the future of our nation depend on it."

The Challenge helps fulfill Coleman's call to double U-M student participation in study abroad programs. More than 1,800 Michigan undergraduates and roughly 670 graduate students already study abroad each year.

Launched on January 1, the Challenge offers a $1 match for every $2 in endowment gifts. With $5 million in matching funds, it aims to leverage donors' generosity and generate $15 million for overseas study opportunities.

Here's how challenge works:

• Endowment gifts ranging from $25,000 to $500,000 will be matched;
  The first pledge payment must be made by Dec. 31, 2009 with the final payment received by Dec. 31 2013;
• The match opportunity expires when the $5 million in available matching funds has been exhausted or by Dec. 31, 2009, whichever comes first;
• The Challenge benefits U-M-Ann Arbor undergraduate and graduate students who want to attend a UM-Ann Arbor or affiliated foreign study program.

More Information
For further information about the President's Challenge for The Student Global Experience, call 734-647-6076 or email globalexperience@umich.edu