USD Earns Internationalization Award

Take a moment to look at a globe or global map and what do you see? An answer may come quickly to some, while others might examine it longer, wanting to share something more meaningful.

The reality of this exercise, though, is that there really isn’t one right, easy answer. There are multiple ways to describe the enormous impact of understanding the world.

A global vision is vital to — and forthrightly stated by — the University of San Diego, which is “a nationally preeminent Catholic university known for educating students who are globally competent, ethical leaders working and serving in our complex and changing world.”

Internationalization has been a successful component — and expectation — of a USD education:

• It’s an initiative for students’ experiential learning within a values-based, liberal arts education.
• For undergraduate students alone, there are 135 academic study abroad programs offered in 44 countries and 76 cities to learn about different cultures, languages and customs.
• Approximately 80-100 USD faculty teach abroad in undergraduate and graduate programs each year and there are 80 semester-long programs (undergrad and graduate) offered as well as during Intersession and summer.
• A Second-Year Experience Study Abroad Intersession trip is available to all USD sophomores.
• The USD campus is less than 25 miles north of the Mexico border, offering opportunities for nearby immersion and community engagement.
• USD has an inclusive campus community of international students and scholars who represent more than 70 different countries.
• In Fall 2014, the university opened its first permanent academic facility, the USD Madrid Center, in Spain.

“I think global experience is one of the most important experiences a student can have when they’re in college,” USD President James T. Harris III, DEd, said.

Seizing opportunities and learning about all resources available to all USD students enhances everyone’s college experience.

National recognition for USD’s dedication to campus internationalization is further proof of its importance. This fall, USD will be one of five college university recipients of the Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization, awarded by the National Association for Foreign Student Affairs (NAFSA): Association of International Educators.

“It’s a thrill to have USD selected for our achievements, across the university, toward comprehensive internationalization,” said Denise Dimon, USD’s associate provost for international affairs. “The Simon Award is considered the gold standard of internationalization and the universities selected by NAFSA have initiated very creative, meaningful and sustained activities toward this goal. Achievement in these varied activities clearly involves the entire [USD] campus community and moves us toward our ultimate goal of providing education to develop effective, thoughtful and caring globally citizens.”

— Ryan T. Blystone