Nominations are now open for the 2024 President’s Award for Distinguished Service in International Education. The deadline for nominations is February 9, 2024.
About the Award
The Office of the President welcomes nominations for the President’s Award for Distinguished Service in International Education. The purpose of this award is to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary efforts of our faculty and staff who advance international education for U-M students. Up to two recipients are selected each year.
The University of Michigan offers an unparalleled breadth of global learning opportunities for our students. Each year, thousands of U-M students gain international experience through study abroad programs, intensive language immersion, internships, interdisciplinary design projects and service learning. Equally important are the international students and scholars who bring cultural and intellectual diversity to our campus in Ann Arbor. They enrich the U-M community and its scholarship and expand the global network of leadership and service.
International education is a critical component of the U-M student experience – helping them gain real-world perspectives on the greatest social and scientific challenges and practice the critical inquiry and problem-solving that are necessary to addressing these challenges.
Global learning for U-M students would not be possible without the expertise and dedication of our faculty and staff members. The many U-M faculty and staff serving international education create and manage complex programs that cross national borders and educational systems. They facilitate U-M student development and exploration and demonstrate flexibility and resourcefulness in working across cultures, time zones and languages. The purpose of this award is to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary efforts of U-M faculty and staff who advance international education for U-M students.
Eligibility and selection criteria
Eligible for nomination are all active U-M faculty and staff members, on all three campuses, who meet the selection criteria below. Please note employees in the Office of the Vice Provost for Engaged Learning or the Office of the President are not eligible.
- Sustained commitment and dedication to international education for U-M students (e.g. education abroad, international student support, global learning programs on campus, institutional partnerships, intensive language programs, etc.).
- Specific accomplishments in U-M international education, e.g. successful program development, significant impact on U-M student participation, or curricular innovation for global learning.
- Leadership in the field of international education, either on campus or beyond.
Nomination
All active faculty, staff and students are eligible to submit nominations. Each nomination packet should include the following items:
- A nomination cover sheet, available here. The cover sheet should include a brief paragraph summarizing the length of service of the nominee at the University of Michigan, and the different roles the nominee has held throughout their years of U-M service.
- A nomination statement, between 500 and 600 words in length, describing how the nominee has demonstrated some or all of the traits outlined in the selection criteria.
- Three letters of support from colleagues, detailing the nominee’s achievements and/or service to the field of international education.
- A current curriculum vitae.
Nominators should note that U-M is interested in the nominee pool reflecting the diversity of its faculty and staff, with respect to such factors as gender, race/ethnicity, and unit affiliation.
Each submitted nomination will be considered for two consecutive selection years.
Completed nomination packets should be submitted by email to international-education-award@umich.edu by the deadline listed at the Office of the President’s website.
Selection
Individual award nominations will be reviewed by a faculty/staff screening committee. Committee members are selected from within the memberships of the Council on Global Engagement, the International Education Network and departments across campus.
Past recipients
2023 – Jody Lori and Kathleen Lopez
Jody Lori, the Sara H. and Robert B. Rothschild Endowed Professor of Global Nursing, professor of nursing and associate dean of global affairs at the School of Nursing, and Katie Lopez, director of the Office of Global Activities and adjunct clinical assistant professor at the School of Social Work are the 2023 recipients of the President’s Award for Distinguished Service in International Education.
Record: President’s award winners focus on global health, student travel
2022 – Timothy Johnson and Judith Pennywell
Timothy Johnson, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and professor of obstetrics and gynecology and women’s and gender studies, and Judith Pennywell, director of U-M’s International Center, have greatly advanced international education and outreach for Michigan students while strengthening the university’s global presence.
They are being honored for their achievements with the 2022 U-M’s President’s Award for Distinguished Service in International Education.
Record: President’s award winners strengthen U‑M’s global presence
2021 – John Godfrey
John Godfrey, assistant dean of the Rackham Graduate School, is working to ensure foreign students can navigate this ever-changing global landscape successfully.
His commitment and advocacy for international students started almost three decades ago. Now, he is being recognized for his efforts as the 2021 recipient of U-M’s President’s Award for Distinguished Service in International Education.
Record: President’s award winner John Godfrey advances international mission
2020 – Maureen Tippen
Maureen Tippen, a University of Michigan-Flint clinical associate professor emerita of nursing, is the 2020 recipient of the President’s Award for Distinguished Service in International Education.
For the past 25 years, Professor Emerita Tippen has taken more than 250 UM-Flint nursing students on service-learning journeys to Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Her work ranges from clinical trainings in orphanages and educating nurses and laypeople about CPR in Cambodia to developing a partnership with a safe house to serve women escaping life in the sex trade and giving instructions on how to prevent Zika virus in the Dominican Republic.
She has built international partnerships in Peru, India, Kenya, Laos and elsewhere.
Record: UM-Flint professor honored for 25 years of international nursing
2019: Sandra Wiley puts her stamp on international education
2018: Volker Sick receives president’s international education award
