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Elaine Guillot
Public Relations and Marketing Manager
Office of International Initiatives
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ATLANTA– Georgia State University was selected by NAFSA: Association of International Educators to receive a 2023 Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization.
Named after the late U.S. Senator Paul Simon of Illinois, the award celebrates outstanding innovation and accomplishment in campus internationalization, defined by NAFSA as a conscious effort to integrate and infuse international, intercultural and global dimensions into the ethos and outcomes of students’ education. The Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization distinguishes overall excellence in integrating international education throughout all facets of university and college campuses.
“For more than 20 years, the Senator Paul Simon Award has recognized the true standard-bearers in campus internationalization, and this year’s cohort is no exception,” said Daniel C. Stoll, Ph.D., NAFSA interim executive director and CEO. “Through faculty partnerships that bridge languages, cultures and continents; a commitment to serving Afghan refugee students; and dedication to equity and affordability in study abroad participation, these awardees demonstrate how relevant international education is to a rapidly changing world. As NASFA marks its 75th anniversary, we salute this year’s recipients for their creative approaches to making a globally enriched education accessible to all students.”
“I am so pleased that Georgia State has received this national distinction for excellence in campus internationalization,” said Dr. Wolfgang Schlör, Georgia State’s associate provost for International Initiatives. “With this honor, global engagement joins student success, commitment to undergraduate teaching and research excellence as an area where Georgia State stands as a national model. The Simon Award is a credit to all those individuals at the university who believe in the importance of accessible global experiences.”
Georgia State has deliberately and strategically generated momentum for advancing global initiatives. It expanded international programs which prioritized access, incentivized faculty through funding opportunities, financed global research and grew strategic partnerships.
Today, GSU receives national recognition for global programming, boasts a record number of international students and collects data that support great strides in student and faculty global engagement.
This is Georgia State’s second national award for global engagement within a year. In April 2022, Georgia State received the 2022 Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education for the Free Passport Program. Efforts such as this one and the International Education Fee, which aim at reducing barriers and increasing access, culminated in GSU sending more Black and African American students abroad than any other public higher education institution in the country, and supported Perimeter College’s study abroad participation rate that is three times the average of a two-year institution.
Other highlights of Georgia State’s global accomplishments include more than 1,300 students participating in a virtual exchange course (fall 2022), programming and support for more than 4,000 international students from 150 countries, and the promotion of new partnerships through seed grants, such as the annual Faculty International Partnership Engagement, which has awarded more than $200,000 for global projects and leveraged more than $900,000 in external funds.
Only three other institutions nationwide, Northwestern University, the University of Kentucky and East Carolina University, received the coveted award. Institutions selected for the Simon Awards will be featured in NAFSA's report, “Internationalizing the Campus: Profiles of Success at Colleges and Universities,” to be published this fall and honored during NAFSA’s 2023 Annual Conference & Expo this spring.
To learn more about NAFSA’s Senator Paul Simon Awards, visit www.nafsa.org/SimonAward.
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About the Office of International Initiatives:
The Office of International Initiatives builds interdisciplinary synergies and expands global opportunities where faculty, staff, students and our Atlanta-area colleagues can collaborate, innovate and form engaged partnerships with far-reaching impact. Explore collaborative opportunities with the Office of International Initiatives, click here.