As an Alumna of the Comparative and International Development Education Program at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, I am very proud of this forthcoming award for the University of Minnesota and their Internationalization efforts!

Five Colleges to Receive 2009 Senator Paul Simon Award for Exemplary Internationalization Efforts

Boston University, Connecticut College, Pacific Lutheran University, Portland State University, University of Minnesota–Twin Cities to be featured in NAFSA report

WASHINGTON, March 10, 2009 – NAFSA: Association of International Educators today announced this year’s recipients of the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization. Boston University, Connecticut College, Pacific Lutheran University, Portland State University, and the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities will be featured in the NAFSA report Internationalizing the Campus 2009: Profiles of Success at Colleges and Universities, to be published this fall. The awardees will also be recognized at the Annual International Plenary and Luncheon at the NAFSA annual conference on May 29 in Los Angeles.

Named for the late Senator Paul Simon, (D–Ill.), the award recognizes outstanding and innovative efforts in campus internationalization. Sen. Simon was a strong supporter of international education throughout his life, advocating for exchanges through his position on various Senate committees. His leadership in this area was especially evident in his robust support for the creation of the National Security Education Program, which addresses critical national security deficiencies in language and cultural expertise, and in his vision of a national program to greatly expand Americans’ knowledge of the world, which was the inspiration behind the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act.

The Simon Act, which was one step from passage when the 110th Congress ended in December, was reintroduced in the Senate by Senators Dick Durbin (D – Ill.) and Roger Wicker (R – Miss.) on February 25 and has garnered 26 co-sponsors.

NAFSA’s annual report recognizes institutions that are leaders in the growing effort across higher education to better prepare students for a global economy and an interconnected world. Three additional schools have been selected for specific program “spotlights” in this year’s report. They are Berklee College of Music, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and the University of California - Davis.

The NAFSA selection jury included Brian Whalen (jury chair; Dickinson College), Riall Nolan (Purdue University), Paul Primak (Oregon State University System), Ron Roberson (Howard Community College), and Priscilla Stone (Washington University).