The Intercultural Communication Institute (ICI) is a nonprofit charity with the mission of fostering an awareness and appreciation of cultural difference in both the international and domestic arenas. ICI was founded by Milton Bennett and Janet Bennett with an endowment from Milton’s father, Stanton D. Bennett, an international businessman whose life reflected a commitment to world peace, hospitality to foreign visitors, and generous support for education. Janet Bennett serves as the executive director, and the ICI board is composed of Janet Bennett, Milton Bennett, Sandra Fowler, Margaret Pusch, and Gordon Watanabe.

ICI is based on the belief that we share an ethical commitment to further intercultural work that has been shown to contribute to better understanding and reduced conflict among people of different cultures. In addition to sponsoring SIIC as part of this mission, ICI maintains an extensive research library available year-round for intercultural scholars and practitioners, conducts a graduate degree program and a certificate program, provides referrals and information on intercultural topics, and supports professional activities in the field.

ICI has academic relationships with the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, which co-sponsors the Master of Arts in Intercultural Relations program, and with Portland State University, which offers credit for SIIC courses. Portland State University and ICI also collaborate to offer an Intercultural Training Certificate. In addition, ICI has professional partnerships with the Kozai Group, Cultural Detective®, the Intercultural Resource Corporation, Executive Diversity Services, and Aperian Global.

Contact Information

The Intercultural Communication Institute
8835 SW Canyon Lane, Suite 238
Portland, OR 97225
Phone: 503-297-4622
Fax: 503-297-4695
Email: ici@intercultural.org