b'From the DeanIn a statement* posted in June of 2020, I suggested that the world would judge the United States by how we handled the dual challenges of that most difficult of summers:the raging COVID-19 pandemic, and the collective national reckoning with our tragic racial history. As I write somewhat over a year later, the precise contours of what a post-pandemic world will look like are still unclear.Indeed, the judgement is still out on both of those fronts. But I think one thing is clear: education, and especially our universities, have central roles to play in defining and shaping our collective future in these arenas, as in many others. Looking across the campus, it is striking to note the depth and breadth of the University of Floridas engagement with these difficult issues. This year we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the UF International Center with pride in our long role in supporting the crucial global dimensions of the universitys mission to create a better world, and with a renewed commitment to this role in the current contexts. Not only has the entire UFIC team devoted extraordinary efforts this past year to discussing and planning about what we can do at home, but we have attempted to be constant advocates for thinking broadly about the benefitsindeed the necessityof a global perspective to address these challenges of our times.On 26 July 2021, the United States Departments of State and of Education issued a Joint Statement of Principles in Support of International Education.* Noting that the United States cannot afford to be absent from the world stage, the statement lays out a broad call for action for a renewed U.S. commitment to international education. It notes that resolving global challenges requires partnership and collaboration across borders, and it calls for a robust exchange of students, researchers, scholars, and educators, along with broader international education efforts between the United States and other countries. At the UF International Center, we wholeheartedly embrace this important call. We are ready to do our part in helping the University of Florida be a national leader in this collective effort at renewed global engagement. The future of the University of Florida, of the United States, and indeed of the entire world is at stake.Leonardo A. Villaln, Ph.D.* statements available at https://internationalcenter.ufl.edu2 |GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT REPORT 2021|Celebrating 30 Years!'