Too many Americans and their offspring in colleges are not seriously enough engaged in the study and analysis of global issues. America will gradually lose its relative economic, military, and political weight in the world, while it also becomes more economically integrated and exposed to external environmental factors that will be increasingly more difficult to control. Today, we are educating some of the most talented students attending any college in the United States, and in 25 to 30 years, they will be our politicians and government elites, and the heads of critical businesses and not-for-profit organizations, all involved with global issues. When they graduate from this College in 2000 and 2001, will they be prepared to assume global leadership in private and public spheres? Under the lens of critical self-evaluation, we likely will conclude that we are certainly making significant and intelligent efforts in this regard, but that we fall short of meeting the needs of our students and of our society for global leadership. Our seal contains a map of the world. Let us more profoundly incorporate that vision into our mission.

These comments apply even more today than when I first delivered them in my inaugural address on October 23, 1999. In these uncertain and challenging times, the Claremont McKenna mission to educate future leaders is more needed than ever. Issues, such as international security and terrorism, the HIV/ AIDS pandemic, international trade and economic prosperity, and the global environment, are so complex they are bringing together organizations, business, and institutions of higher education toward a sense of global civic responsibility.

This new call for a global civic identity will be answered by the leaders of tomorrow, some of whom spent this morning preparing for an exam in Professor Paul Kapur's class on Foreign Relations of the United States, or batting around ideas on Politics of Journalism with Professor Jack Pitney, or discussing the ethical and social implications of the Human Genome Project with Professor David Sadava.

Public opinion has become the newest superpower, bringing with it arsenal of complex and instant communications. In our new environment of embedded reporters and 24/7 media coverage, military leaders must be equally at home in the briefing room and the battlefield, and the challenges of soft diplomacy are made more complex through the navigation of image management.

I recently returned from a visit to Thailand, where I was able to spend time with Dr. Surin Pitsuwan '72, a seven-term member of his nation's parliament and former minister of foreign affairs. After graduation from CMC, he earned a master's degree and doctorate from Harvard University before returning to Thailand, where his diplomatic skills have been recognized far beyond his nation's borders. He is a talented young statesman from whom we will surely hear more in the coming years. Dr. Pitsuwan and his fellow Appleby Scholars, profiled in this issue, remind us of the reciprocal benefits from, and continued need for, a diverse and international community within the College walls.

You'll also hear from Edward Haley, the W.M. Keck Professor of International Strategic Studies, who begins his 35th year with CMC and whose clear and steady vision has helped train a whole new generation of diplomats and leaders. In our Endpaper, he reflects on the joys and challenges of teaching international relations at a time in which it has never mattered more.