2023-2024 Annual Report
Message from the Senior Internationalization Officer
"Our people, research, international development efforts and curriculum speak to an absolute commitment to international and global engagement and a world that is excited to work with KU."
It gives me great pleasure to provide you with the 2023-2024 Annual Report for International Affairs. I am writing with Chancellor Doug Girod’s announcement of our record-breaking enrollments fresh in my mind and palpable excitement and promise in the air. We have 116 nations represented among our 30,770 students, bringing the world to Kansans from every county and Americans from every state. That this population of students is also our most academically talented, the most likely to graduate in four years, and the most likely to complete a degree program is the clearest evidence yet of a university in positive transformation as it seeks to change the very world we are connected to.
That story of transformation is the story of International Affairs as well. We are both growing and more fully integrating as a division and in our work, and we are partnering across campus and the world in our efforts to bring that world into focus at KU and KU into focus abroad. Our people, research, international development efforts and curriculum speak to an absolute commitment to international and global engagement and a world that is excited to work with KU.
Faculty Achievement
Woodyard Award Winner: Mehrangiz Najafizadeh
Mehrangiz Najafizadeh, associate professor of sociology at the University of Kansas, is the recipient of the 2023 George and Eleanor Woodyard International Educator Award.
International Teaching Award: Jack Zhang
Recognized for innovation in incorporating international education in the classroom, Jack Zhang, assistant professor of political science, is the inaugural recipient of the KU International Affairs Advisory Board International Teaching Award.
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International Research Award: Rafe Brown
As a leader in equitable and collaborative international research and education, Rafe Brown, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology, is the inaugural recipient of the KU International Affairs Advisory Board International Research Award.
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Global and Area Studies Centers Realign with International Affairs
In July KU’s Institute for International and Global Engagement and five Area Studies Centers realigned under KU International Affairs.
The reorganization leverages the excellent work of the Area Studies programs to better integrate international scholarship and global engagement throughout the university. The five Area Studies Centers are a defining strength of KU, which is one of 13 schools in the country to have four or more federally funded National Resource Centers. The realignment provides opportunities for greater collaboration among administrative units and supports the development of stronger international partnerships and collaborations.
As part of the reorganization, a faculty member will be hired as an associate vice provost to lead international and global engagement and the centers permanently.
Student Success
Miki Shono
In 2017 Miki Shono was a Japanese student with the Kansai University program struggling to make connections with Americans in her first semester at KU. A graduate teaching assistant invited her to observe a Japanese language class, which turned out to be a pivotal moment for forming friendships with Americans and her career path.2023-2024 KU International Student
International Schoalrs
Natalie Miller
For Natalie Miller the seeds of her thesis began to germinate while standing in Berlin’s DDR Museum, which depicts life in former East Germany with displays of covert listening devices, clothing and recreated tower block apartments.2023-2024 Education Abroad
International Education
Fulbright paves way for career in foreign service
When Ross took the job of bus boy at Blue Koi, he had no idea it would place him on a path to pursue his dream job of working for the foreign service.2023-2024 Fulbright Numbers
KUIA Advisory Board
Many thanks for the KU International Affairs Advisory Board's support and advocacy for internationalization. Members include Chair Jean Hardy Robinson, Vice Chair James D. Harder, Anna R. Anderson, Carol Ann Brown, G. Wayne Burge, Lesley Elwell, Roger L. Hiatt, Nicole Horton, Jill Kleinberg, PhD, David F. Lambertson, Jack Martin, Patrick A. Mawhinney, Richard S. Paegelow, Thomas A. Rudkin, Leslie McElfresh Schweitzer and Jessica Townsend Teague