Joanna Regulska, the vice provost and dean of Global Affairs at UC Davis, is among 23 international educators inducted this spring into the inaugural class of the National Academy for International Education, an honorary society and think tank charged with shaping the future of international education.
An international team that includes Newcastle University's Professor John Mathers with UC Davis Professors Francene Steinberg and Mark Cooper, is celebrating their successful application to the competitive Grants for Advancing Sustainable Development Goals.
Alumni engagement is one of the most powerful tools the field of international education has, but it is an often-overlooked piece of the education abroad experience. University of California-Davis (UC Davis) recently expanded the traditional returnee conference model and created the Global Learning Conference, which was open to all students interested in solving global issues—whether they had done a formal study abroad program or not. By actively bringing together study abroad participants, international students, first-generation college students, and students who have navigated intercultural spaces, the conference expanded each attendees’ network and knowledge in myriad ways. The conference launched in 2020 with more than 150 attendees, and participation is expected to double this year.
UC Davis in the US has launched a fund to support students to gain global learning experiences that advance LGBTQIA+ issues and address the needs and strengths of the community.
Among the many experiences lost as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has been studying abroad. Given the stay-at-home orders and health directives, the prospect of students traveling overseas became dangerous and study abroad programs have been canceled or moved online since March 2020. However, as vaccines begin to be distributed, hope for a travel-filled future lingers in the air and provides possibilities for students dreaming of a study abroad experience.
Another shift in momentum could be toward giving students global experiences closer to home. For some students, that could mean “studying away” rather than studying abroad, getting a cross-cultural educational experience within the United States by spending time in diaspora or refugee community, often close to campus. The University of California at Davis, for example, offers global learning programs with Spanish-speaking migrant workers and Nepalese immigrants.
The Institute of International Education (IIE) announces the National Academy for International Education, the first learned society dedicated to international education. The Academy is an honorary society and think tank made up of distinguished leaders actively engaged in shaping international education and generating knowledge to advance the field. A small group of international education leaders supported IIE in forming the initial framework for the Academy, including UC Davis Global Affairs Vice Provost and Dean Joanna Regulska.
A friendly global rivalry between undergraduate biochemistry students at UC Davis and at University College Dublin, Ireland, is being launched in memory of plant biochemist Eric Conn (1923-2017), a UC Davis professor emeritus of molecular and cellular biology and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Adjusting to online classes has been challenging for every student, but international students living outside of the country have faced a completely different set of challenges. Jennifer Li, a first-year undeclared student who has been living in Singapore throughout the pandemic, shares her experience in participating in an online school in a 16-hour time zone difference.
UC Davis Vice Provost and Dean of Global Affairs Joanna Regulska shares three areas of focus on what it means to be an international educator through the lens of resilience, change, and innovation with NAFSA's International Educator Magazine.
