The Cal State San Bernardino Model United Nations program has a long history and global reputation of excellence, taking top awards annually at the National Model UN Conference in New York. Yet, it’s more than awards. It develops leadership skills of its student delegates who come from all academic disciplines, gives them a broader perspective of the world, and a high level of professionalism into their chosen careers. This year’s team, which will represent Mexico at the national conference in April, began preparations in late December. The National United Nations Conference in New York City is the oldest collegiate Model UN conference in the world, which has its roots in the intercollegiate Model League of Nations simulation that was held at Syracuse University in 1927.  The conference became NMUN in 1967 and CSUSB has been participating in the conference for 42 years this year (since its founding as first a club in 1977 by Professor Emeritus Brij Khare, CSUSB Department of Political Science, and later as an academic program by Professor Emeritus Ralph Salmi, CSUSB Department of Political Science).  “We are one of only eight programs globally who have been participating for as long as we have at NMUN Conferences,” said Kevin Grisham, the program adviser and chair of the CSUSB geography and environmental studies department. “We have won the top award of Outstanding Delegation for 25 years out of the past 28 years and many other awards (Distinguished Delegation and Honorable Mention awards) through the 42 years of the program’s history.  The conference in New York City annually has over 6,000 colleges students from six of the seven continents each year with every state in the U.S. represented and an average of 35 countries from around the globe every year.” Past participants in the Model United Nations program have said the simulations gave them real-life experiences in diplomacy and relationship building. Some program graduates have embarked on careers in diplomacy, while others have gone on to prestigious graduate programs, such as the Harvard School of Law. To learn more about the Model United Nations program, which is housed in the university’s Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, visit the NMUN website. To learn more about the CSUSB Model UN program, or to contribute, contact Kevin Grisham at kgrisham@csusb.edu or (909) 537-7569, and visit the CSUSB Model United Nations website.