Eight Honored As Champions Of International Education At CU-Boulder | News Center

Eight Honored As Champions Of International Education At CU-Boulder
Nov. 12, 2007

A global climate researcher, a top admissions administrator, two professors, a graduate student adviser and three undergraduate students will receive awards today for their efforts to promote international education and intercultural understanding at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Each year, the CU-Boulder Office of International Education, or OIE, confers its Global Citizens Awards upon students, staff and professors who "enrich the campus with their presence and serve as role models," said Study Abroad Administrator Nathan Frank.

Honorees will receive their awards at a reception today, Nov. 12, at 5 p.m. in the British Studies Room at Norlin Library as part of International Education Week activities, which are taking place on campus through Nov. 16.

For the first time this year, international and study abroad students named two people as "Champions of International Education," or those who influenced the students' decisions to study abroad or made them feel welcome on campus.

Among other goodwill efforts, this year's winners are credited with helping international students adjust to life in the United States and encouraging U.S. students who sought academic opportunities in other countries.

"Tom is a firm believer in 'soft diplomacy,' realizing that prospective students' first impression of the United States is made in the Office of Admissions," wrote the person who nominated Thomas Naumann, assistant director of admissions, for one of two Global Citizens Awards.

The OIE also will recognize international and study abroad students who have established new programs on campus, lived as cultural ambassadors in other countries and shared their unique perspectives and experiences with others.

This year's winners include:

Campus Global Citizens of the Year: Laurel Rasplica Rodd, a professor of East Asian languages and civilizations and director of the CU-Boulder Center for Asian Studies, and Thomas Naumann, assistant director of admissions at CU-Boulder.

Scholar of the Year: Lixin Lu, of Beijing, China, a research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, or CIRES, and the department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences.

Study Abroad Student of the Year: Kaleigh Isaacs, a junior majoring in international affairs who recently studied in the Dominican Republic.

International Student of the Year: Muneeb Kamal, a mechanical engineering student who was born in Nigeria and raised in Pakistan, Michigan and Brunei.

SHIPster of the Year: Daniel Levinson, a Colorado native and studio arts major, is the Smith Hall International Program, or SHIP, student of the year.

Champions of International Education: Michael Palmer, a professor in the CU-Boulder Leeds School of Business, and Adam Sadoff, a graduate student adviser in the department of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

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