From L to R: Fanta Aw, NAFSA Executive Director and CEO, Krista Miller, Assistant Director Global Experience Office, Mimi Sheller, Dean of the Global School, and LaNitra Berger, NAFSA President and Chair of the Board of Directors
Today in New Orleans, WPI formally accepted a distinguished award that honors the university for its efforts to expand access to global experiential learning through the Global Projects Program.
Since 2002, NAFSA, the world’s largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange, has presented the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization annually to American colleges and universities that demonstrate outstanding commitment to and accomplishment in campus internationalization. Named after the late Senator Paul Simon of Illinois, the Simon Spotlight Award recognizes an innovative program or initiative that contributes to internationalization on campus.
On hand to accept the award at the NAFSA Awards Banquet in New Orleans during the NAFSA 2024 Annual Conference & Expo were Dean of The Global School Mimi Sheller and Global Experience Office Assistant Director Krista Miller. A video message from President Grace J. Wang accepting the award was played during the awards luncheon.
“We are extremely proud for WPI to receive this prestigious award. It recognizes the opportunity we have created for every WPI undergraduate to participate in our Global Projects Program,” says Sheller. “The Global School embodies WPI’s commitment to internationalization.”
The Global Projects Program is a central pillar of WPI and The Global School, combining a STEM-centered education with the promotion of global learning at the intersection of science, technology, and society. The program gives every WPI student the opportunity to work in teams to address issues, challenges, and opportunities that connect not only to technical knowledge but to greater societal impact. Through the Global Projects Program, WPI students can complete required projects off-campus at more than 50 WPI project centers worldwide. The Global Projects Program is administered by The Global School’s Global Experience Office.
NAFSA selected WPI for the award in recognition of WPI’s supports for the Global Projects Program, including the Global Scholarship. Every full-time undergraduate student at WPI receives a one-time institutional scholarship of up to $5,000 to defray some of the costs of an off-campus project experience through the Global Projects Program.
More information about WPI’s Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award from NAFSA is available here.
Watch part of President Wang’s Simon Award acceptance video: