The Indiana Center for Cultural Exchange :: ICCE
Background
Indiana has been called "the heart of the heart of the nation." Its universities have long histories and rich traditions of international education and cooperation. Today, Indiana University has 4,500 international students from 123 countries, including over 500 students from predominately Muslim countries. Purdue University has the second largest number of international students of any university in the United States, namely 5,015 students, including 1888 from 28 predominately Muslim countries. The Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame both draw many students from predominately Muslim countries.
Given recent world events, academic and administrative leaders at Indiana University, Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame have decided to make the many resources of their great institutions available for building mutual understanding, appreciation and cooperation between the United States and the Muslim world. Delegations from the three universities, as well as from the Indiana-based Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), met on the Purdue University campus in the spring of 2003 to craft a partnership in order to pursue this goal together. This partnership was named the Indiana Center for Cultural Exchange (ICCE), and has expanded to include Georgetown University, the University of Chicago and Columbia University, as well as noted national and international organizations.
Vision
The Indiana Center for Cultural Exchange seeks to advance understanding, appreciation and cooperation between the United States and predominately Muslim countries through a unique and comprehensive partnership between Indiana University, Purdue University, and the University of Notre Dame, with the support of the Indiana-based Islamic Society of North America and other collaborating universities and organizations.
Mission
The mission of the Indiana Center for Cultural Exchange is to achieve its vision by utilizing its vast resources in ambitious initiatives of public diplomacy, sports diplomacy, cultural exchange, in-country projects, and international cooperation.