Yana Cornish is the new director of education abroad for the Office of International Education.
Prior to joining UGA, Cornish was the director of study abroad programs at the University of Northern Iowa. During her more than 10 years at UNI, student participation in study abroad nearly quadrupled. The Institute for International Education’s Open Doors report now ranks UNI as one of the nation’s top 40 master’s institutions for study abroad participation.
She also helped to expand short-term faculty-led programs, add 50 new student exchange partnerships, spearhead the curricular integration of study abroad and develop an international travel registry for UNI.
Cornish has conducted research and co-authored publications on cross-cultural studies, teacher preparation and foreign language study.
As director of education abroad, Cornish is responsible for articulating a strategic vision of UGA’s education abroad efforts, developing and implementing effective education abroad policies and procedures, and working with academic units on curriculum integration and curriculum internationalization. The education abroad director will define strategies to increase student access to study abroad including scholarships.
“I am delighted that Yana Cornish has joined the senior team in the Office of International Education,” said Kavita Pandit, associate provost for international education. “International education at UGA is continuing to grow and expand in exciting ways, and Dr. Cornish has the experience and leadership to take our study abroad programming to the next level.”
