Royster announced the MOU during founding ceremonies for Endicott College in Daejeon on March 2, 2017. The ceremony marked the naming of Endicott in honor of Woosong University President John E. Endicott, professor emeritus in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs.

Endicott was among the founding faculty for the Nunn School in 1990. During his tenure here, he introduced the concept for a Limited Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone in Northeast Asia (LNWFX-NEA); he established the research arm of the School, the Center for International Strategy, Technology, and Policy (CISTP); and he co-founded the Sam Nunn Security Program for advanced pre-doctoral candidates in science and technology funded by the MacArthur Foundation.

Royster serves on the Endicott College Advisory Council. During the founding events, she participated in a roundtable discussion on “Industry 4.0: Impact and Opportunities for Asia.”

The Endicott College is scheduled to open in 2017 in a state-of-the-art building dedicated to “a new kind of academic environment with collaboration and education spaces such as a social center for individual and group study, a global center, concierge support, and a career center. Evolving from Woosong’s Sol International School, the Endicott College mission is to be “interdisciplinary, focused on international studies with business innovation in mind,” keying on collaborative opportunities in Korea and abroad. Daejeon is considered “Asia’s Silicon Valley” with 18 universities, 28 government-funded research institutions, 79 private research firms, and 900 high-tech firms. Endicott College will emphasize studies in global issues including governance, health, food, population, urbanization, energy, environment, and security. Experiential, English-based learning “will stress collaboration across traditional academic boundaries and with government and business to realize practical solutions” and “prepare graduates to be competitive in a global job market including internships study with global companies.”