The international mission sets our small university apart. As stated by Jeff Billington in the Joplin Globe, "this little corner of Southwest Missouri needed something special, that the students at its college needed a broader understanding of the world and how to function in an increasingly global community, so it established a mission that would in turn create new globally focused courses and programs and introduce international aspects into existing ones. And it worked." (April 19, 2013). Save the International Mission!