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With more than 1,700 international students from 116 countries and over 1,000 students participating in experiences abroad, the University of Kansas has much to celebrate during International Education Week.

Beginning Monday and running through Friday, International Education Week is a joint initiative between the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education. KU joins higher education institutions across the country in recognizing the programs that prepare U.S. students for a global environment and bring students from around the world to the United States to study, learn and exchange cultural experiences.

According to the Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, which was released Monday by the Institute of International Education and is funded through the U.S. Department of State, Kansas had more than 8,685 international students who studied in Kansas last academic year and contributed $236 million to the state’s economy.

The Open Doors Report highlights KU as a state leader in international education. KU accounted for nearly 45 percent of those who studied abroad from Kansas higher education institutions during the 2022-23 academic year with 1,035 KU students going abroad for academic credit.

KU is one of 13 universities in the country to have four or more federally funded international area studies centers, cementing its reputation as a hub for international activity in the Midwest. 

“KU’s leadership in international education is truly extraordinary,” said Charles Bankart, senior internationalization officer.

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Students can hear about Fulbright experiences and learn how they can apply for the Fulbright U.S. Program at a panel discussion at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20 in Kansas Union's Alderson Auditorium. Rachel Sherman Johnson, director of internationalization and partnerships, will moderate the discussion. 

The Fulbright Program offers global opportunities to graduating college seniors, graduate students and young professionals from all backgrounds and disciplines. During their grants, Fulbrighters live with and learn from the people of their host country.

As part of the International Career Series, KU alumni will share their experiences and advice at 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 21 on Zoom. Three former students who work in international jobs will speak about their career paths and offer specific tips about what students can do to prepare for a global future.

>> Register to receive Zoom link 

The International Career Series is a collaborative project of 14 units at KU.

The Korean film "Concerning My Daughter" will be screened at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21 in the Kansas Union's Alderson Auditorium.

The film, which has a 105-minute run time and  English subtitles, is a translation of the best-selling novel of the same name. It is about the relentless journey of trying to reach out to others and connections that span generations from daughters to mothers and grandmothers. 

The Center for East Asian Studies and Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures are hosting the event. 

To celebrate International Education Week, Malaysian students will share their culture through food, activities and conversation as part of International Support Services Atlas Series.

The event will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21 in the Watson Library's 3 West Reading Room. All Jayhawks are invited. 

Melinda Lewis, winner of the 2024 International Affairs Advisory Board International Teaching Award, will give the presentation "Here, there, everywhere: Teaching and learning through relationships, across borders," from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22 at the Kansas Union's Big 12 Room.

Lewis, professor of the practice in the School of Social Welfare, will share how her social work career prepared her to lead the longstanding international alliance between the School of Social Welfare and the University of Costa Rica’s Social Work department.

She'll also discuss alignments between her domestic and international teaching, the critical importance of a global perspective in social work practice, and how innovations and continued investments in comprehensive internationalization can make a difference for students, faculty and community partners around the world.  

Please consider joining KUIA in person for this event, which will have light refreshments.

>> Zoom Registration for virtual attendance 

Each year, KU International Affairs celebrates international engagement at KU through its annual report. This year's report highlights faculty achievement, student success and the generosity of donors.

Read the full annual report on the KUIA website or view a copy of the printed version.

Ukraine’s United Nations Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya visited KU earlier this month, where he connected with KU leaders, faculty, students and members of the Ukrainian community.

During his visit, Kyslytsya gave a public presentation at the Dole Institute of Politics and spoke about his time at KU as an exchange student from 1992 to 1993. He also emphasized the importance of studying Ukraine and its language and the United States' continued support of Ukraine following Russia's full-scale invasion of the country almost three years ago.

Earlier in his visit, Kyslytsya attended KU's Veteran's Day Wreath-Laying Ceremony, toured the Jayhawk Welcome Center, viewed KU Libraries' Ukrainian Language Collections and met with members of the local media. 

Kyslytsya's public presentation can be viewed on YouTube. 

His visit was written about in the Kansas Reflector and Lawrence Journal-World.

International Short Programs, in collaboration with the School of Business Entrepreneurship team, will host the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Academic Fellows Program, focused on innovation, entrepreneurship and economic empowerment. 

The program is funded by a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Beginning in September 2025, KU will host 25 young leaders from Southeast Asia in Lawrence for the five-week intensive academic exchange.

The Academic Fellows Program is part of the wider Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, which is the U.S. government’s signature program to strengthen leadership development and networking in Southeast Asia. The YSEALI Academic Fellows Program provides skills training to youth, ages 18 to 25, from 11 countries in Southeast Asia: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. 

Some highlights of the KU program will include academic sessions with the KU Entrepreneurship and Leadership Studies teams, field trips and service activities in the Lawrence and Kansas City area, and networking opportunities with the KU and Lawrence communities. Specific networking opportunities will be announced closer to the program’s start date.

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This fall the University of Kansas welcomed 14 students as part of the Fulbright Foreign Student Program and an additional seven students as Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants.

Representing 18 countries and five continents, the Fulbright students and teaching assistants are joining programs in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and the schools of Architecture & Design, Business, Education & Human Sciences, Engineering, Music and Pharmacy.

“This academic year is a record year for KU in the number of Fulbright students and teaching assistants we have on campus,” said Rachel Sherman Johnson, director of internationalization and partnerships at KU International Affairs. “Our community is greatly enriched by their presence, both in and outside of the classroom. They bring the world to KU.”

The Fulbright Foreign Student Program enables graduate students, young professionals and artists from abroad to research and study in the United States for a year or more at American universities.

The Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program provides young teachers of English as a foreign language the chance to improve their teaching skills and learn more about American culture while teaching foreign languages at an American higher education institution. This year’s teaching assistants will teach languages in Arabic, Persian, Quechua, Tajik, Turkish, Ukrainian and Yoruba.

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Former International Support Services director Chuck Olcese received the Tom and Anne More Peace and Justice Award for his work with refugees in Lawrence. Olcese received the award in September during the Ecumenical Campus Ministries’ International Day of Peace Gala. Olcese was recognized for his international education work at KU as well as his help in starting the Lawrence Interfaith Refugee and Immigrant Ministry in 2017. The organization works to create a welcoming community for refugees and immigrants. 

Dinara Rakhmatullayeva, former visiting researcher from Kazakhstan, and Valery Dzustati, former visiting assistant professor of political science, published in the journal Central Asian Survey the collaborative article "Browsing and believing: divergent effects of internet use on government trust in Central Asia." Both the scholars were supported by a Title VI grant through the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies and Dzustati is a Great Plains Fellow with CREES.

Ekaterina Romanova, visiting assistant professor of communication studies and a CREES affiliate faculty member, received the 2024 Lynda Lee Kaid Outstanding Dissertation Award by the Political Communication Division of the National Communication Association for her dissertation “Media, Identity, and Politics: The Case of Russian Diasporas in the U.S.” The award will be presented at the Political Communication Division business meeting during NCA’s 110th annual convention in New Orleans on Nov. 23.

Lynne Vanahill, director of International Support Services, and Jack Zhang, assistant professor of political science and interim associate director of the Center for East Asian Studies, were two of 12 KU faculty and staff members named as IRISE fellows. The IRISE fellowship will develop and encourage a culture at KU that reflects the IRISE values of integrity, respect, innovation, stewardship and excellence.

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