The journey of 3,600 miles begins with a single idea.

One hundred years ago, a UD professor conceived of the nation’s first study abroad program, accompanying eight Blue Hens to Paris for a year-long, pioneering diplomatic experiment. 

“The whole nation will owe a debt of gratitude to the University of Delaware for having established such an admirable system,” U.S. Senator Irvin Lenroot of Wisconsin said at the time, according to The Philadelphia Record newspaper. 

A century later, the gratitude continues.The current issue of UD Magazine, online and in mailboxes, celebrates this milestone moment for the University and, indeed, for the hundreds of institutions across the globe who followed suit. 

The publication tells the story of how, exactly, UD changed the trajectory of international education around the world. It introduces faculty directors who have picked up the torch, spearheading a now robust lineup of overseas programming. And it spotlights many of the Blue Hens who have benefited — including one student turned military officer who helped thwart ISIS. The Magazine also includes a behind-the-scenes look at all that goes into planning a study abroad program, from earthquakes to political uprisings to passports lost in the Amazon. 

Indeed, for a University committed to internationalization, the mission of nurturing and engaging globally minded graduates goes well beyond study abroad. In this issue, readers will discover some of the innovative ways Blue Hens become worldly citizens, without ever leaving Delaware. 

Woven throughout the Magazine are answers to the million-dollar question: Why does any of this matter? In other words, what happens when students become fluent in a foreign language? What happens when students grow invested in lives and cultures beyond their own? 

Spoiler alert: The world gets better.