Welcome Global Studies students to the campus for another exciting year! I am eagerly awaiting to meet all of you at various gatherings that Global Studies will host. We have had a great year (2017-18) with many students getting highly competitive scholarships and fellowships. For example, out of the 16 Fulbright scholarships awarded to UNL students, 8 students were from Global Studies, who were either majoring or minoring. Three students received the Critical Language Scholarship (out of 4 awarded to UNL) and studied a critical language abroad this Summer. The only one UNL student to be selected as a Cargill Global Scholar was from Global Studies! Besides we had a record number of students who received the Boren, Gilman and other prestigious scholarships and many received scholarships from the college to study abroad. These numbers demonstrate the commitment by the Global Studies staff (especially, Dr. Emira Ibrahimpasic) to students’ successes. She takes personal interest in every student in the program! Last year we saw a growth in staff and teaching positions: we promoted the Assistant Director, Dr. Ibrahimpasic to an Assistant Professor of Practice and hired a half-time professional Advisor, Timothy Turnquist. To meet the needs of the demands of the large number of students, we have hired a part-time lecturer, Dr. Jennifer Garza to teach some of the core courses.
In addition, to restructuring and redesigning the curriculum to suit the needs of the students, our program also plans, organizes and executes 12-15 events of interest to the students. These events or “Global Cafes” foster dialogues and discussions on many important global issues and bring students and staff across campuses together. Finally, the Global Studies program went through a very positive Academic Program Review in 2017-18, which highlighted the excellent potential of our program as we continue to grow. This is clearly reflected in the increase in the number of majors and minors, which has more than doubled in the last three years! With the new incoming freshmen into our program, I only envisage more intellectual curiosity and excitement building up in our program! Go Huskers!