Eight U.S. Colleges Receive Awards for Campus Internationalization Efforts

WASHINGTON, March 15, 2011 – NAFSA: Association of International Educators announced today the five winners of the Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization, as well as the three institutions being recognized with the Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award. Together these awards comprise the 2011 Senator Paul Simon Awards for Campus Internationalization.

The five winners of the Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization reflect the broad diversity of approaches present in campus internationalization today, both in terms of models and implementation. These include capitalizing on the geographic setting of the institution; making creative use of available institutional and community resources for both traditional and innovative initiatives; and building on long-standing commitments to international education or taking advantage of a more recent interest in the global community. The five institutions are: 

Internationalization efforts at Beloit College in Wisconsin are centered on its long-standing institutional commitment to international education and its urban setting, as the school’s programs reach out to cities in transition around the world.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) has capitalized on strong international exchange partnerships to create a campus-wide strategic partnership model. With a largely non-traditional student population, IUPUI has created a culture on its Indiana campus that allows the campus and wider community to engage the world. 

Kennesaw State University (KSU) in Georgia has built on its numerous internationally-focused centers, along with a focus on outcomes assessment and faculty, to create a globalized campus culture in which KSU’s academic, administrative and support units work collaboratively with each other and with community partners. 

With a long history of international activity, Macalester College in Minnesota has empowered faculty and campus leaders to advance curricular, co-curricular, and community-based initiatives, creating an environment where students and faculty think and act at local, national, and international levels. 

New York University (NYU) is creating a global network by expanding its campus beyond U.S. borders, establishing NYU campuses around the globe and promoting a new kind of mobility for students and faculty. 

Three additional schools are being recognized with the 2011 Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award for a specific international program or initiative that contributes toward comprehensive internationalization. The three institutions are:

Barnard College in New York, through its Visiting International Student Program (VISP), provides a model for the intentional engagement of international students. Barnard’s Global Symposium focuses on women in global dialogue. 

The University of Rhode Island is a leader in internationalizing its engineering curriculum and in creating a global environment for students through foreign-language learning and connections to companies that are globally oriented. 

Each year at the University of San Diego (USD), the Women Peace Makers Program selects several individuals leading human rights and peacemaking efforts to spend time at USD sharing their stories and engaging the university and local communities on these issues through planned activities and conversations.

Named for the late Senator Paul Simon, (D–Ill.), these awards recognize outstanding and innovative efforts in campus internationalization. Sen. Simon was well known as a strong supporter of international education and foreign language learning. His leadership in these areas was especially evident in his robust support for the creation of the National Security Education Program, which addresses critical national security deficiencies in language and cultural expertise, and in his vision of a national program to greatly expand U.S. citizens' knowledge of the world, which was the inspiration behind the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act.

The Simon Act is a congressional initiative to greatly expand study abroad opportunities for U.S. undergraduates. The bill has had strong bipartisan support in past sessions of Congress, and carries the endorsement of nearly fifty higher education and international education organizations. Read more about the Simon bill at www.nafsa.org/simon.

The institutions selected for internationalization awards this year will be featured in NAFSA's report Internationalizing the Campus: Profiles of Success at Colleges and Universities, to be published this fall. The awardees will also be recognized on June 3, 2011 at the International Plenary and Luncheon during NAFSA's 2011 Annual Conference & Expo in Vancouver.

The NAFSA selection jury for the 2011 awards included Gil Latz (jury chair; Portland State University), Peter Coclanis (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), André Colombat (Loyola University Maryland), Thomas D’Agostino (Hobart & William Smith Colleges), Sabine Klahr (Chatham University) and Paul McVeigh (Northern Virginia Community College).

For more information, visit www.nafsa.org/SimonAward.