Mac recognized for internationalization efforts

St. Paul, Minn. – Macalester College has received the 2011 Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization.  The award, from NAFSA: Association of International Educators, recognizes campuses across the United States for its internationalization efforts.

“It’s an honor to receive this prestigious award and to be recognized for our long-standing commitment to internationalism,” said Macalester President Brian Rosenberg.  “Whether it’s our students, from 49 states and 94 countries, diverse curriculum, study abroad programs or our Institute for Global Citizenship, Macalester’s spirit of internationalism is part of who we are.”

Macalester, along with Beloit College, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Kennesaw State University and New York University received the 2011 Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization, which recognizes internationalism throughout the curriculum and campus life.

An international outlook has long been a distinctive feature of Macalester’s approach to the liberal arts and sciences, enriching not only academics, but also the day-to-day life of students. Students from around the world have been a part of Macalester’s student body since World War I. The college has flown the United Nations flag since 1950, and was the first college in the nation to do so. Macalester’s Institute for Global Citizenship, created in 2005, serves as a catalyst for strengthening programs by which students connect academic study with off-campus applications through internships and service-learning opportunities both in the United States and abroad, and programs by which students explore ways to engage some of the world’s most challenging issues through their chosen professions.

NAFSA recognized Macalester for, among other things, capitalizing on the geographic setting of the institution; making creative use of available institutional and community resources for both traditional and innovative initiatives; and building on long-standing commitments to international education or taking advantage of a more recent interest in the global community.

According to the award citation, Macalester College in Minnesota, which has “a long history of international activity, has empowered faculty and campus leaders to advance curricular, co-curricular, and community-based initiatives, creating an environment where students and faculty think and act at local, national, and international levels.”

Named for the late Senator Paul Simon, (D–Ill.), the award recognizes outstanding and innovative efforts in campus internationalization. Sen. Simon was well known as a strong supporter of international education and foreign language learning. His leadership in these areas was especially evident in his robust support for the creation of the National Security Education Program, which addresses critical national security deficiencies in language and cultural expertise, and in his vision of a national program to greatly expand U.S. citizens’ knowledge of the world, which was the inspiration behind the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act.

This year’s winners will be featured in NAFSA’s report Internationalizing the Campus: Profiles of Success at Colleges and Universities, to be published this fall and recognized on June 3, 2011 at NAFSA’s 2011 Annual Conference & Expo in Vancouver.

With nearly 10,000 members, NAFSA: Association of International Educators is the world’s largest nonprofit professional association dedicated to international education.

Macalester College, founded in 1874, is a national liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of 1,958 students. Macalester is nationally recognized for its long-standing commitment to academic excellence, internationalism, multiculturalism and civic engagement.  Learn more at macalester.edu

March 15 2011

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