International Educator of the Year Awards 

The International Educator of the Year Awards honor the outstanding contributions of faculty and staff to the internationalization of the University of Florida and the impact of those contributions on students, international partners, and university stakeholders.

Nomination Process

Senior and Junior Faculty nominations

All UF colleges, area study centers, museums and libraries are eligible to nominate one faculty member for each award category; CALS, CLAS and the College of Medicine may nominate up to two faculty members for each award. Each college is free to develop its own internal review process for selecting nominees.

For the purposes of this award, junior faculty nominees should be no more than five years post-tenure or no more than ten years into their academic career (for non-tenure track faculty). Senior faculty nominees should be individuals who have held tenure for more than five years or who have been in their academic career for more than ten years (for non-tenure track faculty).

Staff nominations

All UF colleges as well as other relevant units (libraries, museums, centers) may make nominations for  the staff award; as with the faculty awards, CALS, CLAS and College of Medicine may nominate two staff members. Staff nominations must include an endorsement by the nominee’s supervisor and department chair, director, or dean.

Colleges or other units may re-nominate previous nominees who were not selected for the campus-wide award in previous years.

All nominations should include:

  1. Cover page with the full name, title, position, and college/unit of the nominee
  2. A 1-2 page personal statement by the nominee describing his/her international engagements and contributions to the internationalization of UF. Please limit this statement to two pages and do not include a CV, resume, or other extensive materials in the nomination packet.
  3. One letter of endorsement or nomination from the nominee’s chair, director, dean, or unit supervisor.
  4. Two letters of support, each no more than two pages, from supervisors, colleagues, and/or students.

Please also include a high-resolution photo of the nominee, preferably one representing the nominee’s work as an international educator (e.g. in the classroom or the field).

Please combine all materials and submit only one PDF file.

Full nomination packages should be sent via email by the appropriate college or unit administrator to the UFIC Office for Global Research Engagement at OGRE@ufic.ufl.edu. All nominations must be received by Friday, October 14th, 2022 at 4:00 PM

Criteria and Selection of Winners

Campus award winners will be selected by an interdisciplinary committee appointed by the UFIC dean. The award committee will consider nominations in light of the international educational contributions of the faculty or staff member and the impact of those contributions on students, as well as on international partners and the university community more broadly. We are particularly interested in accomplishments within the past five years which demonstrate a strong commitment to advancing international education at UF.

The awards committee will look for excellence in keeping with the nominee’s position and duties. This might include: the extent to which the nominee’s teaching has significantly contributed to student learning and engagement with international issues; the extent to which the nominee’s teaching has made a significant and recognized contribution to international education issues or has been carried out in collaboration with international partners; or the extent to which the nominee’s efforts have contributed substantially in support of UF’s global engagement.

Presentation of Awards

The awards will be presented on Monday, November 14, 2022 during International Education Week. All nominees will be recognized, and the campus winner in each category will receive a plaque and a $1,000 award.

For more information, contact Terrence Funke at tfunke@ufic.ufl.edu.