John Christian ’87, president and chief executive officer of CAPA International Education and CAPA have pledged nearly $200,000 over three years to foster international education at SUNY Oswego.

“Through this extremely generous gift, John Christian and CAPA pass on to future students the transformative cultural experience he enjoyed through his education at Oswego. We are profoundly grateful,” said President Deborah F. Stanley.

Christian shared his own story including humble roots in Troy and a life-changing experience at Oswego.

“Study abroad doesn’t just have an impact, but can truly transform lives,” Christian said. His experiences both as a study abroad student and his work with Oswego’s International Education Program under Dr. José Ramon Pérez would inform his life’s work.

Christian praised

Oswego’s global engagement and dedication to making it a prominent part of the academic experience. “I’ve been in this field for 23 years and I’ve worked with a multitude of institutions that are looking to do similar things,” he said. “The global thinker is on all of our agendas, the global doer is the Oswego agenda.”

A gift of $100,000 over three years will support the Presidents’ International Initiatives, creating opportunities for Oswego students, faculty and staff to infuse a global dimension into the teaching, learning and service mission of the college.

A separate gift will fund the José Ramon Pérez International Scholarship, to provide full need-based scholarships for Oswego studentsto CAPA’s London Program and Beijing semester program for three years.