Gainesville, FL 11/8/2022 – November 14-18 will mark the celebration of International Education Week on the UF campus, and the International Center renews its commitment to global academic partnerships by recognizing the invaluable contributions of our 2022 international education leaders: students, faculty, administrators, supporters, and mentors.

Congratulations to all UF Global Awardees!

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International Educator of the Year Awards

The International Educator of the Year Awards honors 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.

The University of Florida International Center presents the 2022 International Educator of the Year Awards to:

CAMPUS WINNERS

Dr. Danling Fu- Senior Faculty 
Professor, School of Teaching and Learning, College of Education

Dr. Natalie Coers- Junior Faculty 
Lecturer, Agricultural Education and Communication Department, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

Michael Fitzgerald- Staff 
Coordinator of Global Engagement, Office of Academic and Student Affairs, Dean’s Office, College of Health and Human Performance

We also congratulate our staff and faculty nominees who are recognized this year as winners in their colleges and departments.

AWARDEES BY COLLEGE

Senior Faculty 
Dr. Andy Ogram - College of Agricultural and Life Sciences 
Dr. John Kraft - Warrington College of Business 
Dr. John K. Schueller - Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering 
Dr. Keith R. Willmott - Florida Museum of Natural History 
Dr. Peihua Qui - College of Public Health and Health Professions 
Dr. Ravi Shankar Srinivasan - College of Design, Construction, and Planning 
Dr. Victoria Emma Pagán - College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 
Dr. Will Kesling - College of the Arts

Junior Faculty 
Dr. Garrett Beatty - College of Health and Human Performance 
Dr. Irme Bartos - College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 
Dr. Jeremiah Blanchard - Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering 
Prof. Jeffery Pufahl - College of the Arts 
Dr. Laura Gonzales - College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 
Dr. Lucas C. Majur - Florida Museum of Natural History 
Dr. Luis Mejia-Puig - College of Design Construction and Planning 
Dr. Roxane Coche - College of Journalism and Communications 
Dr. Rebecca Hanson - Center for Latin American Studies 
Dr. Tara Mathien - College of Education

Staff

Joel Parker - Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering

For information on the International Educator Awards please visit UFIC's website.

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2023 Global Fellows Program Awards

The Global Fellows Program provides an opportunity for early-career UF faculty to kick-start an international research program. A series of workshops and training sessions, along with a seed grant of $5,000, provides fellows an opportunity to lay the groundwork for an international research project.

The 2023 Global Fellows are:

Tracie Baker, DVM, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Environmental and Global Health, Public Health and Health Professions. Research in Ethiopia. Mentor: Sarah McKune, Ph.D.

Ozgur Batuman*, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Plant Pathology, Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Research in Israel and/or Turkey. Mentor: Svetlana Y. Folimonova, Ph.D.

Victoria Gerson, M.A., Instructional Assistant Professor, Graphic Design, College of the Arts. Research in Brazil. Mentor: Dori Griffin, Ph.D.

Golmar Golmohammadi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Soil, Water and Ecosystem Environment, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Research in Canada and Lebanon. Mentor: Maria Silveira, Ph.D.

Grace John^, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Biology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Research in Colombia. Mentor: Jeremy Lichstein, Ph.D.

Yoosook Lee*, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Research in Zambia. Mentor: Chelsea Smartt, Ph.D.

Anton M. Matytsin, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, History, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Research in Western Europe. Mentor: Nina Caputo, Ph.D.

German V. Sandoya Miranda, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Horticultural Sciences, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Research in Brazil. Mentor: Steven Sargent, Ph.D.

Porchia Moore, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Art + Art History, College of the Arts. Research in the African Continent. Mentor: Fatima Tuggar, Ph.D.

Nia Morales*, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Research in Costa Rica and Chile. Mentor: Bette Loiselle, Ph.D.

Marcio F. R. Resende, Jr., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Horticultural Sciences, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Research with the International Potato Center, Peru. Mentor: Lincoln Zotarelli, Ph.D.

Eleonora Rossi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Linguistics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Research in Norway. Mentor: Eric Potsdam, Ph.D.

Olesya M. Savchenko*, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Food and Resource Economics, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Research in New Zealand. Mentor: Sherry Larkin, Ph.D.

Rachel Silveri, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Art + Art History, College of the Arts. Research in the United Kingdom. Mentor: Kaira M. Cabanas, Ph.D.

Heather Stark, MD, MPH, Clinical Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Public Health and Health Professions. Research in Ethiopia. Mentor: Sarah McKune, Ph.D.

Marcelo Osorio Wallau, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Agronomy, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Research in France. Mentor: Greg MacDonald, Ph.D.

*A fellowship supported by the Global Food Systems Institute, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

^A fellowship supported by the Florida Climate Institute

For information on the Global Fellows Program please visit UFIC’s website.

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Global Learning Institute Awardees 2022

The Global Learning Institute is a semester-long program where faculty learn about internationalization models, campus resources, and teaching methods to support global learning. The program reinforces professional development at UF by creating interdisciplinary learning communities and by expanding the teaching toolkit of our faculty.

Bahar Armaghani, Lecturer & Director 
Sustainability and the Built Environment Program 
College of Design, Construction, and Planning

Claudia Ganser, Research Assistant Scientist (Havelaar Lab) 
Dept. of Animal Sciences 
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

Ryan Good, Lecturer 
School of Natural Resources and Environment 
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Daniel Johnson, Assistant Professor 
School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences

Aj (Amy) Jung, Lecturer 
Dial Center for Written and Oral Communication 
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Azza Kamal, Instructional Assistant Professor 
Sustainability and the Built Environment Program 
Dept. of Urban & Regional Planning 
College of Design, Construction, and Planning

Stacey Liou, Assistant Professor 
Dept. of Political Science 
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Luis Mejia Puig, Assistant Professor 
Dept. of Interior Design 
College of Design, Construction, and Planning

Hania Abou Al-Shamat, Adjunct Lecturer 
International Studies, Bob Graham Center for Public Service 
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Marta L. Wayne, Professor 
Dept. of Biology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

For additional information on the Global Learning Institute please visit UFIC's website.

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Virtual Exchange Training Fall 2022 Awardees

Through this 5-week, fully online course, UF faculty work with international partners on developing virtual exchange projects to implement in their existing courses, thus giving their students the opportunity to connect with peers abroad to collaborate on assignments, acquire global perspectives on a given discipline, and develop intercultural competence skills.

Salah Algabli, Assistant Instructional Professor 
Languages, Literatures, and Cultures 
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Lisa Athearn, Instructional Professor 
Dial Center for Written and Oral Communication 
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Garrett Beatty, Instructional Associate Professor 
Applied Physiology and Kinesiology 
College of Health and Human Performance

Nathalie Ciesco, Assistant Instructional Professor 
Languages, Literatures, and Cultures 
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Sharon DiFino, Clinnical Assistant Professor 
Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences 
College of Public Health & Health Professions

Judith Donohue, Instructor 
UF CJC Online 
College of Journalism and Communications

Michael Leslie, Associate Professor 
Media Production, Management, and Technology 
College of Journalism and Communications

Fernando Merida, Instructional Assistant Professor 
Chemical Engineering 
Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering

Mariela Pajuelo, Assistant Scientist 
Florida Museum of Natural History 
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Amanda Subalusky, Assistant Professor 
Biology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

For additional information on the Virtual Exchange Training please visit UFIC's website.

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International Student Achievement Awards (ISAA) 2022

The awards were established to highlight and honor students who distinguish themselves not only by their exemplary academic achievements but also by a wide range of accomplishments and contributions to UF.

ALEC COURTELIS AWARDS

Riya Chakraborty, College of Education

Evgeniya Kozhevnikova, College of the Arts

Innocensia Owuor, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

OUTSTANDING MASTER AND PROFESSIONAL AWARDS

Antony Gitei Gathiru, Center for African Studies

Valentina Sierra Niño, College of the Arts

Hae Jin So, Warrington College of Business

*OUTSTANDING UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS

Maria Laura Anaclerio D’Ascoli, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

Kiara Lolo, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

James Zhao, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering

For details about awardees and their work please visit UFIC's website.

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Research Abroad for Doctoral Students (RAD) Awards 2022-2023

The RAD program provides funding for travel and travel-related expenses for doctoral students to go abroad to collect data or to access resources not available on campus at partner institutions.

Shreyanshu Agrawal, Department of Chemical Engineering, College: Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering 
Advisors: Dr. Ranga Narayanan & Dr. Kirk Ziegler 
France

Xiaoxing Bian, Interdisciplinary Ecology, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) 
Advisor: Dr. Vanessa Hall 
China

Amanda Brock, Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts and Science 
Advisor: Dr. Daniel Contreras 
Peru

Karen Coker, Public Health, College of Public Health, and Health Professions 
Advisor: Dr. Sara McKune 
Senegal

Kaitlin Gattoni, Nematology, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences 
Advisor: Dr. Dorota L. Porazinska 
Denmark

Alwin Hopf, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences 
Advisor: Dr. Gerrit Hoogenboom 
China

Megan LeBlanc, Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 
Advisor: Dr. Susan deFrance 
Peru

Abigail Lindo, Ethnomusicology, School of Music, College of Arts 
Advisor: Dr. Sarah Politz 
Portugal

James McQueen Parr, Nematology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences 
Advisor: Dr. Dorota Porazinska 
Denmark

Karah Mechlowitz, Public Health, College of Public Health and Health Professions 
Advisor: Dr. Sarah McKune 
Ethiopia

Megan Nakamura, Linguistics, College of Liberal Arts 
Advisor: Dr. Eleonora Rossi 
Norway

Savannah Troy, Interdisciplinary Ecology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. 
Advisor: Dr. Robert Fletcher 
Eswatini

For information on the RADs program please visit UFIC's website.

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Study Abroad Leadership Program Awardees 2022

The Study Abroad Leadership Program (SALP) award provides training, tools, and funding to develop new and innovative faculty-led study abroad programs. Faculty received an award of up to $3,500 to conduct a site visit to their proposed program location. These programs will help to diversify opportunities for students of underrepresented majors and in non-traditional locations.

Candice Adams-Mitchell 
Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences 
College of Public Health and Health Profession 
UF in Zambia - Global Communication Perspective

Helene Blondeau 
Department of French and Francophone, Studies and Linguistics 
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 
UF in Québec - Francophone Culture and Society in Context

Antonio Faciola 
Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences 
UF in Italy – Exploring Animal Sciences

Matthew Hallett 
Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences 
UF in Guyana - Participatory Research, Indigenous Knowledge, and Conservation

Matthew Jones 
University Writing Program, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 
UF in Wales - Writing and Working in International Studies and Law

Rosalie Koenig 
Department of Agronomy, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences 
UF in Costa Rica – Plants and People in the Anthropocene

Ashlee Ossiboff 
Department of Health Education and Behavior, College of Health and Human Performance 
UF in Scandinavia – International Health Communication and Policy

For information on the SALP program please visit UFIC's website.