A Buddhist mediation class in Chiang Mai, Thailand. A lesson in the artistry and skill of Mayan weaving in Punta Gorda, Belize. A community gathering for a rare viewing of the eclipse on the University of Iowa Pentacrest.
These moments were captured in photos taken by University of Iowa students—both students from the United States studying abroad and international students on the UI campus. They are among the winning images selected for the 2017 International Programs Annual Photo Contest as part of International Education Week—a way to inspire greater awareness of the many ways UI students can experience international education. To view a gallery of all semifinalists, visit the IEW 2017 Photo Contest Flickr album.
The UI will celebrate International Education Week Nov. 13–17. This joint initiative of the U.S. Departments of State and Education celebrates the ways international education and exchange opportunities prepare citizens for community building in both domestic and international settings, whether it's helping students develop global perspectives through study abroad or attracting a diverse and vibrant community of students from the around the globe.
This fall, more than 4,000 international students are studying or conducting postgraduate research at the UI from 118 foreign countries and territories. And students from 65 majors are studying abroad in 75 countries.
In recognition of its institution-wide efforts toward international education, the UI was one of only four schools in the U.S. to receive the prestigious 2017 Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization by NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
“It is a distinct honor to be recognized by NAFSA,” says Downing Thomas, associate provost and dean of International Programs at the UI. “The University of Iowa’s commitment to internationalization has never been more significant, nor more infused throughout the collegiate and departmental missions, than it is today.”
As part of International Education Week, UI President Bruce Harreld and Dean Thomas will travel to Washington, D.C., to accept the award and participate in the 2017 Senator Paul Simon Award Presidential Panel.
Another feature of International Education Week at the UI is the naming of the UI’s International Impact Award recipient. The International Impact Award recognizes distinguished alumni and other individuals with significant ties to the UI who have made important contributions internationally or, in the case of international alumni, abroad in their home countries.
The 2017 award goes to Janine di Giovanni, a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop who has been called “the finest foreign correspondent of our generation,” and is one of Europe's most respected and experienced journalists. Newsweek’s Middle East editor and the author of many books, di Giovanni has reported on the wars in Chechnya, Sierra Leone, East Timor, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, among others. For her work, she has received the National Magazine Award, the Amnesty International Award, the Hay Medal for Prose, and the Courage in Journalism Award. She is currently working at the Council on Foreign Relations.
