Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia Office of International Education honored seven UGA faculty members at its annual International Education Awards Reception, held on April 3 at the Garden Club of Georgia.
The annual event honors individuals, faculty and staff who have made outstanding contributions to the university’s internationalization. It honors those who advance international education through instruction, research, service and through administrative and logistical support.
The honorees and their recognitions are listed below.
Noel Fallows received the Richard Reiff Internationalization Award. Fallows is an associate dean of International and Multidisciplinary Programs in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and the senior professor of Spanish in the department of Romance languages. He is also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. The award represents UGA’s top recognition for contributions to internationalization and is presented to a faculty member who has engaged in global activities throughout his/her career and who has made major contributions to the internationalization of the university. The award is given in honor of Richard F. Reiff, who served as the director and executive director of international education at UGA for 31 years.
Fallows manages and oversees 30 international education programs that are housed in Franklin College of Arts and Sciences with collective enrollments in excess of 1,000 students per year. He created and oversees the Franklin International Faculty Exchange, the Franklin International Scholars Program, the Franklin-Morris International Scholars Program, and the Franklin College-University of Liverpool Doctoral Student Short-Term International Research Fellowship.
Rodney Mauricio received the OIE Study Abroad Award, which honors a faculty or staff member who has made major contributions to advancement in UGA’s study abroad efforts.
Mauricio is a professor in the department of genetics in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. He has co-directed a research abroad program in science and Chinese language in China for the past seven years. This program, funded by the National Science Foundation’s Partnership for International Research and Education, has supported science projects by doctoral students. The program also provided 50 undergraduate students participation in intensive language and genetics training during the spring semester at UGA and the summer in China.
Yao-wen Huang, a professor in the department of food science and technology, received the International Diversity Award, which is jointly conferred by the OIE and the Office of Institutional Diversity. The International Diversity award recognizes a faculty or staff member who has shown dedication to promoting diversity as part of UGA’s internationalization. This includes recruiting students from underrepresented populations for study abroad; educating international students about U.S. cultural, ethnic, religious or other forms of diversity; increasing the inclusion of students with disabilities in a variety of international activities; and bringing attention to international and comparative aspects of courses or co-curricular activities devoted to diversity.
Huang serves as director for the Global Food and Trade in China, the first College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences study abroad program in China. The program, offered during May term, is designed around a series of lectures and field trips that give UGA students exposure to Chinese food, history, and culture in a variety of venues by studying in Shanghai, Tianjin and Beijing. Hung also has been active in professional societies including current Ambassador of the Global Harmony Initiative for USA and Council for the Conference for Food Protection.
Karen Braxley, coordinator for writing tutoring in the Division of Academic Enhancement and director of UGA’s Intensive English Program, received the Mary Ann Kelley Open Arms Award. This award honors UGA faculty or staff who have gone above and beyond their formal duties in facilitating the presence of international students and/or scholars at UGA. The award is presented in honor of Mary Ann Kelley, who played a leadership role in the International Student and Scholars and Immigration Services unit through the years and worked tirelessly on behalf of international students, scholars and faculty.
Braxley has taught grammar, writing and teaching skills to international students at UGA for 18 years.
Three additional awards were presented during the ceremony. William Kretzschmar, the Harry and Jane Willson Professor in Humanities, received the Friend of UGA at Oxford Award. R.G. Brown, a professor in the Lamar Dodd School of Art, was awarded the Dedicato a Cortona Award. Kris Irwin, a senior public service associate in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, received the Costa Rica Adelante Award.
About the Office of International Education
The Office of International Education supports the University of Georgia’s academic, research and outreach missions and strategic directions through the promotion of global learning experiences for students, the sponsorship and support of international students, scholars, faculty and staff, and the development of international research and instructional partnerships and collaborations. For more information, see http://international.uga.edu/.