We are excited to share the news that KU’s Institute for International and Global Engagement and our five Area Studies Centers have realigned under KU International Affairs. In the coming months, a new associate vice provost will be hired to lead international and global engagement and the centers on a permanent basis.

We believe this reorganization will leverage the excellent work of the Area Studies programs to better integrate international scholarship and global engagement throughout the university. The realignment provides opportunities for greater collaboration among administrative units and supports the development of stronger international partnerships and collaborations.

We are also thrilled to announce International Affairs will host two provost fellow positions as part of the realignment:

Through this realignment, we believe that internationalization at KU can reach new heights, and we look forward to what's to come with new collaborations and partnerships. 

Warmly

Charles Bankart

Senior Internationalization Officer

This month Valerie Pierce left her role as director of the Applied English Center to accept the position of director of the English Language Center at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Pierce oversaw the Applied English Center for more than five years, leading the program through the tumultuous years of the pandemic.

“We’re deeply grateful to Valerie for her service to the division and to KU. Her caring spirit helped the AEC survive and adapt through COVID, surely the most difficult challenge the unit has faced in its long history, and we know she’s taking that same wonderful spirit to UNLV," said Joe Potts, associate vice provost for international innovation, development and strategic partnership. 

Mark Algren will return to the AEC to lead as interim director starting Aug. 5. From 1993 to 2014, Algren served the AEC as teacher, administrator and director. He was then the executive director for the Center for English Language Learning at the University of Missouri until 2020. He has also been president of TESOL, the professional association for teachers of English as a second language. 

"Mark’s broad knowledge of the field, KU and the AEC, along with his extensive network combine to make him amazingly well-qualified to help us identify opportunities, leverage our exceptional strengths, and make planning recommendations for moving forward," Potts said.

Plans are to begin a search for a permanent director this spring.

Ben Burnett

Laila Kakar

Katherine Liu

Mozhda Radmanish

Over the past few months, International Support Services has hired several staff members to support its student engagement and immigration advising and compliance work. The new employees bring a diverse set of international experiences to ISS.

Ben Burnett is a graduate assistant for Immigration Advising and Compliance. He graduated from KU with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies and a business minor. This fall he’ll begin the master’s degree program in higher education administration.

Laila Kakar is an international program coordinator with Student Engagement. Originally from Afghanistan, Kakar first came to KU as part of the Kansas Women's Leadership program in 2015. She returned to the U.S. in 2021 and graduated from KU in May with a master's degree in leadership in diversity and inclusion with a concentration in public health practice, policy and management. Kakar’s passion lies in supporting international students by providing essential resources that contribute to their academic success, health and wellbeing, and overall experience in the United States.

Katherine Liu is an international advisor with Immigration Advising and Compliance. She graduated from Vanderbilt University in May with a master’s degree in international education policy and management. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Originally from Beijing, Liu developed a passion for international education through her own experiences and perspectives as an international student and her interactions with peers from around the world.

Mozhda Radmanish has joined ISS as a graduate assistant for Student Engagement. Originally from Afghanistan, Radmanish is a 2016 alumna of the Study of the U.S. Institute for Students Leaders. She received a graduate certificate in studies in equity and social diversity at KU and is working on a master's degree in higher education administration and student affairs.

Oleksandra Wallo, associate professor of Slavic languages and literatures, was one of more than 30 U.S. scholars and sponsors of Ukrainian Studies programs recognized by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Wallo was recognized at the conference Stronger Together: U.S.-Ukraine Partnership in Education and Science, which was held at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences during the NATO Summit in Washington D.C. this summer. Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine, was one of the keynote speakers.

The conference also included talks and panel discussions focused on the importance of promoting Ukrainian studies worldwide. Speakers and participants included representatives of the U.S. and Ukrainian governments as well as members of the academic community.

At the conference, the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies was launched. KU has been invited to join the coalition, which is an initiative from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine that seeks to unite efforts in the promotion of Ukrainian Studies around the world.

The trumpet had already taken Stephen Leisring to 20 countries on five continents before the professor’s connections yielded an opportunity to play first trumpet on an Olympic fanfare recorded for Radio Television Española for coverage of Spain’s participation in the Paris Olympics.

“The kind of exchanges these relations make possible are very important,” Leisring said. “They change people’s lives, and so I want to try to do more of that for our students.”

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A partnership between KU faculty members in speech-language pathology and music therapy recently provided students with a clinical and experiential study abroad program, where they provided therapy at children's and elder care homes in rural Bulgaria. 

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Before touching down in Costa Rica last May, first-generation college student Mariana Gomez had only flown in an airplane once. Through a nine-day study abroad program offered through TRIO SES and STEM office, Gomez had the opportunity to explore a new country and her own personal and cultural identities. 

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There is still time to start an application for a Fulbright US Student Program award to conduct research, teach English, or pursue a graduate degree abroad in 2025-26. KU’s campus deadline is Sept. 4, 2024. Please share with students in your networks or programs.

Info Session: Fulbright – It’s Not Too Late!

Monday, August 5 from 4:00-5:00 PM

Zoom: Click to register

KU graduate and KUIA Advisory Board Member Jack Martin still remembers exactly when he got his first passport. In preparation for a trip to the British Isles, his grandparents took 10-year-old Martin to the Abilene, Kan., post office to mail off his passport application. The trip was a key moment in shifting how he, even at such a young age, perceived the world. 

“It changes your mindset to know that you can go just about anywhere in the world, thanks to that passport,” he said. “It changes how you see the world knowing that you can go and experience it.”

It is the chance to give other Jayhawks a similar life-changing experience that led Martin and his wife, Sarah Jackson Martin, to become loyal supporters of the programs provided by KU’s International Affairs office. This past spring, the couple offered a matching donation during One Day. One KU. 

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Save the date for Global Brunch, the annual Hawk Week event that introduces incoming students to the global opportunities available at KU. 

Global Brunch will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 25 at the Beren Center in Slawson Hall. New KU students will have the chance to enjoy foods from around the world while discovering opportunities to study a foreign language, engage with international student groups, and explore study abroad.  

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