NAFSA International Education Award for Leadership and Collaboration
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In Honor of Cassandra Pyle
Fernando Torres de la Torre
The NAFSA International Education Award for Leadership and Collaboration honors the contributions of an international educator to international exchange on a global scale. This award extends NAFSA's recognition of international exchange efforts beyond the organization and the profession in the United States to include exchange work around the world. The Awardee will have had a lengthy commitment to the field as demonstrated by leadership positions in, and significant contributions to, organizations that foster international exchange. NAFSA welcomes nominations from the United States and from the international education community worldwide. Only one Leadership & Collaboration Award can be bestowed each year.
This award is given in honor of Cassandra Pyle, a leader in the field of international education and exchange for more than 25 years. Pyle served in positions at the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, the American Council on Education, the Institute of International Education, and the University of Chicago. She served as president of NAFSA from 1978-79. Pyle also served on U.S. and international boards including the U.S. National Commission on UNESCO and the Council on Foreign Relations. She was well known worldwide as a champion of international relations and a leader in fostering better international understanding through collaboration.
Nominations for 2025 closed February 1, 2025. Nominations for 2026 will open in the Fall.
Fernando Torres de la Torre was born in Las Bocas, Mezquitic, Jalisco, Mexico. He was homeschooled from first to fourth grade at his paternal grandfather’s school. He later attended Colegio Villa de Guadalupe in Zacatecas, earning his elementary certificate with summa cum laude honors. He finished...
Sora Friedman has worked in the field of international education (IE) for over 30 years, focusing on the preparation of new professionals in the field, IE management training, exchange program management, public diplomacy, and international policy advocacy. She joined the SIT Graduate Institute...
Cynthia Green is the director of the Center for Global Engagement (CGE) at Florida State University (FSU). She initiated university-wide efforts to internationalize the campus and to create a globally rich learning environment where all students can increase their global awareness and interact with...
Hilary Landorf is the Assistant Vice President of Global Learning Initiatives at Florida International University (FIU). In this position, she oversees FIU’s university-wide initiative, Global Learning for Global Citizenship, recipient of NAFSA’s 2021 Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive...
U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
David Levin had served as a Senior Program Manager in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs since 1999, overseeing selected worldwide Fulbright Scholar Programs, and is the Fulbright Program alumni liaison. In addition, he leads the Bureau’s diversity and...
The primary nominator must be a current NAFSA member. Current members of the NAFSA Board of Directors and NAFSA staff are not eligible for consideration. Individuals may not self-nominate.
The nomination requires submission of the nominee’s résumé or c.v.
The nominee has at least 15 years of leadership in international education, an appreciable portion of which should be in policymaking positions in organizations or institutions with a recognized role in international educational exchange. The nominee does not need to be a NAFSA member.
The nominee has documented collaborative contributions in at least two of the following areas:
Fostering collaborative relationships among individuals and organizations within or outside the United States, leading to greater opportunities for educational exchange participants or practitioners
Conceptualizing, initiating, and managing international education programs of a significant scale
Helping practitioners with diverse ideas and approaches to reach agreement on new or improved international education programs
Mentoring of younger professionals, helping them advance in their careers in international education
Nominations must include two additional letters of support. Letters of support may be from NAFSA members or from non-members.
If the nominee is not awarded in the first year of submission, the nomination will carry over for one year for consideration as long as the nomination remains eligible for the award. The primary nominator must meet the award criteria on each deadline for the next year. NAFSA does not bestow posthumous awards.
Nominations that do not comply with the award criteria or nomination procedures will not be considered.
Listed below are the past recipients of the International Education Award for Leadership and Collaboration with their professional affiliations at the time of the award presentation.
Cynthia Green, Florida State University (2023)
Hilary Landorf, Florida International University (2022)
David Levin, U.S. Deportment of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (2019)
Shelby Lewis, Clark Atlanta University (2018)
Ally Calhoun Mack, Jackson State University (2016)
M. Peter McPherson, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) (2016)
Scott Stevens, University of Delaware (2015)
Mary Sue Coleman, University of New Mexico (2014)
Julia Chang Bloch, U.S.-China Education Trust (USCET) (2001)
Zuhair A.G. Humadi, Higher Committee for Education Development (HCED), Government of Iraq (2010)
Caroline Matano Yang, Fulbright Program (2009)
Ward Chamberlin, American Field Service (2008)
Christian Bode, German Academic Exchange Service (2007)- Read Bode's acceptance speech
Humphrey Tonkin, University of Hartford (2006)
Harriet Fulbright, Fulbright Program (2005)
Alice Stone Ilchman, Jeannette K. Watson Fellowships (2004)
Axel Markert, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (2004)
