University to host State Department leadership institute

UNC Charlotte will host a U.S. Department of State EducationUSA Leadership Institute Friday, Feb. 13, through Wednesday, Feb. 25. It will bring 15 educators to Charlotte to explore opportunities for capacity-building and international collaboration in the area of institutional structures to support inbound and outbound student mobility.

“We are pleased that UNC Charlotte’s Office of International Programs will be used as a case study to highlight our breadth of international engagement initiatives both on campus and off,” said Joël Gallegos, assistant provost for international programs. “Participants will depart from this program with a solid framework to implement and/or improve upon their own campus internationalization plans and the resources for continued success.”

The Leadership Institutes are a component of the State Department’s EducationUSA network, which includes hundreds of advising centers around the world that provide prospective international students with accurate, current and comprehensive information about U.S. higher education while supporting American colleges’ and universities’ international student recruitment efforts.

Each Leadership Institute consists of pre-departure virtual training sessions; a three-day orientation in Washington, D.C.; an 11-day academic residency; and virtual trainings for two to four months after participants return to their home countries.

Three U.S. partner organizations received grants to develop professional development sessions on the focus topics: the Quality Assurance and Accreditation, Private-Industry Sector Linkages and Innovation and Campus Internationalization: Institutional Structures to Support Inbound and Outbound Student Mobility. UNC Charlotte was chosen to host the Campus Internationalization Institute after a selective competition administered by the Institute of International Education on behalf of the U.S. Department of State.