University of Richmond Wins International Education Award
February 13, 2002
The Institute of International Education, a nonprofit higher education exchange organization, has honored the University of Richmond for innovation in international education. The university received an honorable mention in the "outstanding faculty program" category.
The award was one of several Andrew Heiskell Awards, a national competition to honor the most outstanding initiatives being conducted by IIE member campuses to increase international learning and global mobility on campus.
The university's award recognized the Faculty Seminars Abroad program, in which groups of up to 12 faculty members from various academic fields and schools study a selected country or region during the spring semester and then spend three weeks in the country, meeting with their academic counterparts, business and political leaders, journalists and others. Faculty use the experience to create and revise courses and develop new research projects. Thirty-six percent of the university's faculty have participated in the seminars, which have been offered for 13 years and held in 22 countries. Future seminars are planned in Vietnam and Thailand.
IIE is composed of 600 member colleges and universities. Through its 19 offices worldwide, it designs and implements study programs for students, educators and others; serves as a resource for educators; and operates a search engine for study abroad programs.