NAFSA Presents Prestigious Awards at 2009 Annual Conference
WASHINGTON, June 9, 2009 – NAFSA: Association of International Educators recently presented several prestigious awards at its 61st Annual Conference in Los Angeles. This year's award recipients are Caroline Matano Yang for the Cassandra Pyle Award; Bruce Sillner for the Marita Houlihan Award; Patricia I. Jones for the Homer Higbee Award; and Dixon Johnson, Martin Limbird, and Margaret D. Pusch for NAFSA Life Membership Awards.
Cassandra Pyle Award
The Cassandra Pyle Award for Leadership and Collaboration in International Educational Exchange, awarded this year to Caroline Matano Yang, honors the contributions of a senior international educator to global international exchange. Yang, a second generation Japanese-American from Hawaii, served on the presidentially appointed J. William Fulbright Board of Foreign Scholarship for nine years, the last two as chair. Previously, she was executive director of the Fulbright Program in Japan for more than 20 years. During her tenure, the Fulbright Program in Japan became binationally funded, initiated new grants in international education and Pacific Basin studies, organized the alumni, and pioneered fundraising from the private sector. She currently serves on the Mike Mansfield Fellowships to Japan Selection Committee, the International Studies Advisory Council of Hawaii Pacific University, the University of Hawaii Colleges of Arts and Sciences Advisory Council, and the board of the Japan-American Society of Hawaii. Yang is a member of NAFSA's New Century Circle. She worked with Cassandra Pyle, for whom the award is named, to establish the Japan Special Interest Group, a NAFSA member group.
Marita Houlihan Award
The Marita Houlihan Award was established to recognize individuals who have displayed imaginative activity, outstanding personal enterprise, and creative contributions to the field of international education through research, writing, or program development. The 2009 recipient of the Marita Houlihan Award is Bruce Sillner. Sillner is currently dean of international programs and chief international officer at the State University of New York at New Paltz. Under his leadership, the university has more than doubled the number of overseas study opportunities available to its students. Prior to becoming dean, Sillner held a number of positions at New Paltz including director of the Center for International Programs; director of international education; director of second language education; and director of the Haggerty English Language Program. Sillner has served as chair of the steering committee of the SUNY Council of Directors of International Education since 1997. Sillner is recognized in the field for his important role in the creation of the Gilman Scholarship program, the first federally funded program that provides scholarships to U.S. students with limited financial means to study abroad in programs based outside Western Europe and Australia.
Homer Higbee Award
The Homer Higbee Award recognizes NAFSA members currently involved in association activities who have given at least 10 years of distinguished service and plan to continue service to NAFSA's leadership. Recipients have developed leadership by acting as professional mentors to colleagues in a number of NAFSA knowledge communities. This year's recipient of the Homer Higbee Award is Patricia (Patti) Jones. Jones has more than 30 years of experience in the field of international education. She has served NAFSA as a leader at both the national and regional levels for almost 20 years and has been published in Spotlight and the NAFSA Newsletter. Jones has served as state and regional chair, as chair of the National Taskforce for the NAFSA Academy Pilot Program, and as chair of the Training Coordination Subcommittee. Currently Jones is the chair of NAFSA's Leadership Development Committee and is a member of NAFSA's New Century Circle. NAFSA's Region V has recognized her involvement and achievements by establishing the Patti Jones Award for Young Professionals in the Field of International Education.
Life Membership
NAFSA Life Membership is awarded each year to senior NAFSA members to recognize their achievements in advancing the goals of the association and of international education and exchange. This year's recipients of the Lifetime Membership Award are Dixon C. Johnson, Martin Limbird, and Margaret Pusch. Dixon Johnson has worked in international education for more than 30 years. Between 1983 and 2007, he held leadership positions at the Office of International Services at the University of Southern California, serving as executive director and later as associate dean. Before joining USC, Johnson was director of international education services at the University of Tennessee. He has served as a consultant to U.S. higher education institutions and the U.S. Department of State and has worked directly with many countries in Asia, Europe, and Africa on international education issues. Since joining NAFSA, Johnson has served in a variety of leadership positions, including president of NAFSA from 1981 to 1982. He is one of the founders of NAFSA's New Century Circle.
Martin Limbird has served as director of international advancement at Ball State University since 1989, where he began his tenure as the director of international programs. Previously, Limbird was director of the Office of International Education Services at Iowa State University. He began his career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana in the mid-1960s. As a member of NAFSA for 38 years, he served as president and board member between 1990 and 1992. He has served as regional chair, as a member of the NAFSA/AID Committee and the CAFSS National Team, and as chair of the 1978 Annual Conference Local Arrangements Committee. Limbird is a member of NAFSA's New Century Circle.
Margaret D. Pusch has been the executive director of the Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research – USA since 2000. In addition, she has served as associate director of the Intercultural Communication Institute since 1994. Pusch was president of NAFSA from 1995 to 1996 and has served several times on NAFSA's board of directors. Pusch's other leadership roles in NAFSA include work with Trainer Corps, the Committee on Communication and Information Services, the COMSEC National Team, the Committee on Intercultural Communication, the advisory committee of the New Century Circle, and the Field Service Steering Committee. She has also been a member of the editorial advisory board for NAFSA's International Educator magazine.