Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to Use

No usage restrictions.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Center for International Understanding of the University of North Carolina (System) Records #40356, University Archives, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Received from the Center for International Understanding, 2003-2009 (Records transfers 20030707.1, 20050210.1, 20071031.2, and 20090824.2).

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Center for International Understanding (University of North Carolina (System))
• Cultural relations.
• Educational exchanges--North Carolina.
• Exchange of persons programs, American.
• Globalization--North Carolina.
• Hunt, James B., 1937-
• International agencies--North Carolina.
• International cooperation.
• International education--North Carolina.
• North Carolina--Foreign relations.
• University of North Carolina (System)

The Center for International Understanding of the University of North Carolina (System) was founded in 1979 through the efforts of North Carolina Governor James B. Hunt and First Lady Carolyn Hunt. It was known initially as the North Carolina Center for International Understanding (NCCIU). After it became affiliated with the national non-profit organization Friendship Force International (FFI), it was known as the Friendship Force of North Carolina. That affiliation ended in 1988. Though headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., the center has been administratively a part of the University of North Carolina (System) since its inception. Its mission has been to educate North Carolina's business, policy, and education leaders about the world and to foster greater global engagement on the part of the state. Its programs have included numerous international exchanges and partnerships. Since 2002, much of the center's activity has focused on building cultural competency among the state's K-12 students.

In 1988, after its break with Friendship Force International, the center joined the national non-profit organization Youth for Understanding (YFU), through YFU's adult exchange program Citizens for Understanding (CFU). This relationship ended in 1991 when YFU discontinued the CFU program. In 1993, the Center for International Understanding created Citizens for International Understanding, Incorporated (CIU, Inc.), a non-profit 501(c)(2) organization that allowed the center's affiliated regional chapters to organize tax-exempt exchange programs. Over time, the board of directors of CIU, Inc., assumed greater control over the center's exchange activities and guided the parent organization's direction and activities.

Records of the Center for International Understanding, 1980-2007, consist of materials related to the administration and programs of the center. Most of the records date from 1988-2003.

Included are annual and statistical reports; meeting minutes and other materials documenting the activities of the North Carolina Center for International Understanding Advisory Committee, 1988-1993, and the Citizens for International Understanding Inc. Board of Directors, 1993-2001; correspondence between the center and General Administration of the University of North Carolina (System) and between the center and the Office of the Governor; legal documents related to the center's national affiliations, its regional affiliates, and the incorporation of Citizens for International Understanding; the center's legislative budget requests, 2002-2003; grant applications and reports; speeches given by the center's staff; strategic planning documents and mission statements; and materials related to organizational branding, marketing, and publicity, including the development of the center's newsletter and other publications.

There are also materials documenting specific programs, especially the Global Educational Exchange Initiative (GEEI), which organized international exchanges for elementary, middle school, and high school teachers; and the International School Partnerships Through Technology (ISPT), which organized online partnerships between international schools. These materials include correspondence, meeting agendas and minutes, notes, surveys, planning materials, publicity, and other items. Finally, there are materials related to the training of exchange leaders and to orientation workshops for exchange participants and hosts and general information on international travel, international engagement, and cultural differences.

• DCD-40356/1-3