by Marnie Nelson | Education Abroad Office
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On August 22, the Education Abroad Office hosted a reception honoring faculty and staff who supported faculty-led programs in the 2018-19 academic year. 2019 marked the fourth year Education Abroad hosted the event.
During the reception, Education Abroad presented five awards to the following outstanding faculty leaders:
- Katie Kerr (Explore Center): “Rookie of the Year”
- LJ McElravy and Nathan Conner (College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources): “Most Innovative”
- Amy Burnett (College of Arts & Sciences): “Smooth Sailing Award”
- Dennis Perkey (College of Education and Human Sciences): “Student’s Choice Award”
- Larkin Powell (College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources): “Most Valuable Leader”
The reception also recognized the following highlights from the past year:
- Of the 914 credit-bearing international experiences supported last year, 58 percent (534 experiences) were through UNL faculty-led programs. This was an increase of 9 percent from the previous academic year.
- Of the 44 programs implemented in the 2018-19 academic year, 39 percent (17 programs) were either entirely new or were existing program models offered in new locations.
- Together with the support of a Capacity Building Grant from the U.S. Department of State, the Education Abroad Office, the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering designed and piloted the “Computer Science Across Cultures” program in Amman, Jordan. Computer science lecturer Ryan Patrick took the lead on teaching a pop-up course on dynamic programming, while Tareq Daher in the College of Engineering served as co-leader, building cultural connections with his home country.
- Education Abroad launched two new initiatives to help low-income students “bridge” the time gap between committing to a program and receiving their financial aid: the Commitment Deposit Payment Deferment Plan and Airfare Assistance Program. These two programs, used individually or together, defer the most significant upfront costs that can be a barrier to participation for some students. In summer 2019, 36 students used the Commitment Deposit Plan and 17 used the Airfare Assistance program.
For more information about events hosted by the office, including faculty certification workshops and student information sessions, visit their website at EducationAbroad.unl.edu.