International Innovative Education Program of the Year Award
This award recognizes a successful international partnership or collaboration at the highest level by an outside institute or organization with a university department or unit.
Awardees:
2023 Awardee: Konza Student Table, Food and Farm Council of Riley County
2022 Awardee: The Institute for American Universities (IAU)
2021 Awardee: The Institute for International Education (IIE)
Pre-pandemic Kansas State University hosted many IIE Fulbright programs at the University including the pre-Academic Fulbright programs, the Pakistan Fulbright program and the PDPI Brazil program. K-State has a long history of hosting IIE Fulbright students and scholars. In 2020-21, we were impressed by and thankful for the work IIE placement officers did as they worked to place Fulbright students at K-State. Though working from home, they worked to provide dossiers and applications for 27 Fulbright students. Placement officers gave helpful suggestions on how to make our cost-share contribution go farther. They answered many questions posed by our various departments. Thanks to the work of IIE, we were able to matriculate eight new Fulbright students.
Additionally, IIE emergency funds provided five Kansas State University international students funds totaling $13,000 from May 2020 through September 2021. These generous funds allowed students from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Haiti and Nigeria to continue their studies at Kansas State University. This period was the first time that Kansas State University international students received IIE emergency funds.
Finally, Kansas State appreciates IIE for the advocacy work on behalf of international students and international education during the pandemic. We are particularly proud of IIE’s advocacy concerning Afghan students and scholars since August 2021.
2020 Awardee: Saudia Airlines
Saudia Airline has entrusted K-State with its sponsored students in pursuit of English language, pilot and aviation training to obtain an aviation degree. The Saudia Airline program grows each year in enrollments and adds an international dimension to K-State's aviation program at Kansas State Polytechnic Campus in Salina. The first 11 Saudia Airlines students started in 2017. The program has grown to 38 students.
"The OIP team felt strongly that the Saudi Airlines sponsorship represents a steady and growing partnership between the airlines and the university serving Saudi students at our Polytechnic Campus in the aviation field," said Grant Chapman, associate provost of the Office of International Programs.
"We are thrilled to have Saudia Airlines recognized and rewarded," said Marcellus Caldas, Office of International Programs assistant provost.
2019 Awardee: Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders
K-State and the Staley School of Leadership Studies have had the honor of hosting 100 of Africa's best and brightest young leaders over the course of four Leadership in Civic Engagement Institutes through the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative, known as YALI. YALI was created in 2010 to support young African leaders as they spur growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across sub-Saharan Africa.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by IREX. K-State was a sub-grantee of IREX and implemented U.S.-based Leadership Institutes each summer from 2016-2019.
"The OIP team felt strongly that the YALI program is a great demonstration of global collaborative partnerships at the highest level," said Grant Chapman, associate provost of the Office of International Programs.
2018 Awardee: Australian - American Fulbright Commission and the Oz to Oz Program
John Leslie University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Director of the Oz to Oz Program, worked tirelessly to initiate this creative and collaborative partnership resulting in K-State hosting the only US Distinguished Fulbright Chair in the United States.
The Australian Fulbright Commission and the Oz to Oz program started in 2012 and this year was just extended for an additional five-year partnership. All of the senior level Australian recipients of a Fulbright scholarship visit our university to K-State to present seminars and meet meetings with K-State faculty and staff during their term as Fulbrighters in the U.S.The Australian Fulbright scholars on campus will accept the award on behalf of the Commission.
2017 Awardee: The City of Manhattan Kansas under the leadership of Usha Reddi
Kansas State is consistently ranked at the top in Princeton Review of U. S. university rankings as having top "Town-Gown" relationships. The OIP recognizes that this is due to the enthusiastic engagement efforts by the City of Manhattan and Usha Reddi. Her constant presence at so many OIP programming initiatives and activities, whether an International Coffee Hour, an International Alumni event, a lecture, a reception honoring an international delegation or visitor, it is a priority for her to make an appearance or stay for the entire event. Usha has done so much to elevate the level of international awareness in our community.
2016 Awardee: The Confucius Institute Headquarters
The 2016 Innovative Educator Program of the Year is awarded to The Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) for its dedication in promoting Chinese language and culture in the United States and abroad with the worldwide establishment of Confucius Institutes. In 2012, Office of International Programs determined there were significant outside institutes/organizations that were adding value to efforts to globalize the K-State student body. This award was created then.
K-State launched its Confucius Institute in April 2015 in partnership with China's Jilin University, which just celebrated its 70th anniversary. Max Lu, director of the KSU Confucius Institute and professor of geography, and Shijun Yan, associate director of Confucius Institute, accepted the award on behalf of the Hanban. They will present it to Hanban executives at the December Confucius Institute Conference.