Accolades This year, the Global Understanding Course and Global Partners in Education received two awards recognizing its innovation in international education and student success. In December 2014, the Global Understanding program received 3rd place in the “Presence Learning” category of the 2014 Wharton-QS Stars Reimagine Education Awards (http://reimagine-education.com/the- winners). The Reimagine Education Awards recognize innovative higher education programs that enhance student learning and employability. Twenty-one programs out of 427 submissions from top universities and enterprises around the world were selected to receive awards by an international panel of 25 expert judges. Dr. Jami Leibowitz, Interim Director of Global Academic Initiatives at East Carolina University, US, accepted the award on behalf of the program. The work of GPE was also recognized by the North Carolina Association for International Educators (NCAIE) as an innovative and exemplary international education program. ~ GPE VIII – 2015 ~ The Eighth Annual Conference of Global Partners in Education (GPE) was hosted this past May by Shaanxi Normal University (SNNU), in Xi’an, China. The conference was held on the SNNU campus from May 11-13, 2015 and then a cultural excursion including visits to the Terra Cotta Warriors, Famen Temple, and Xi’an City Tours from May 14-16, 2015. GPE members representing countries including The Netherlands, Poland, Japan, Turkey, USA, Brazil, Pakistan, Germany, Russia, France, Mexico and, of course, China gathered to discuss important administrative issues regarding GPE, ways to improve programming, and new areas for collaboration. One key issue discussed was the proposal of a GPE Membership Fee. Those in attendance recognized the necessity of a nominal fee and approved going forth with the proposal. Other issues discussed included creating universal course objectives and improving assessment of the Global Understanding course, the development of student clubs, and new technologies that may be explored including the incorporation of a Social Network System (SNS). For the first year, students also participated in the conference. Students from China, US, and Turkey were in attendance. Students presented papers and added a new perspective to the conversations, greatly contributing to the overall activity. In addition to discussing issues relevant to the GPE organization and Global Understanding classes, our host provided participants the opportunity to immerse themselves in Chinese culture. Demonstrations of traditional Chinese arts and crafts as well as visits to the university museum were enjoyed by all. We look forward to seeing more of our GPE colleagues at GPE IX to be hosted by Ural State Pedagogical University, in Ekaterinburg, Russia in May of 2016. Promoting Positive Educational Opportunities http://reimagine-education.com/the-winners http://reimagine-education.com/the-winners New Partners Currently GPE consists of 64 member institutions in 32 countries on 5 continents. This year, approximately 4500 students around the world participated in GPE programming. We would like to welcome those partners that joined GPE this past year: • Faculdade Jaguariuna, Brazil • Faculty of Industrial Engineering Novo mesto, FINI • Ivan Franko Lviv National University, Ukraine • Puññāsāstra University of Cambodia, Cambodia • Universidad Latina de America, Mexico • University of Talca, Chile Announcement GPE IX will be hosted by Ural State Pedagogical University, in Ekaterinburg, Russia in May of 2016. We hope to see you there. ~ Global Issues Virtual Student Research Conference ~ Spearheaded through collaboration between Christopher Brighton at Krosno State College and Heidi Luchsinger at East Carolina University, this year, GPE held the first Global Issues Student Virtual Research Conference from March 23 – 27, 2015. Thirty-five undergraduate and graduate students representing 11 partner institutions presented their scholarly work on topics including language and linguistics, health, film, gender, tourism, education, and business, among others. Faculty members from participating institutions served as moderators as students discussed their works with conference attendees and other members of their panel promoting a cross-cultural dialog on important topics of our time. Students who presented were then given the option to submit their papers for publication in a special issue of GPEJ devoted to the conference proceedings. ~ Honoring our Founders ~ This year marked the 10th year since East Carolina University founded and began offering the Global Understanding Program. Since that time, there has been much growth and many changes, all guided by our now retired founders, Dr. Rosina Chia and Dr. Elmer Poe of East Carolina University along with the contributions of Dr. Meng Fanxi at one of our founding partner institutions, China Agricultural University. GPE members helped to honor our founders by submitting messages and memories of the founders themselves and the program that they developed. These messages were then presented to the founders in commemorative boxes at a special ceremony during the GPE VIII conference. To ensure that their valuable contributions will always be remembered, the names of the Annual GPE Awards have been changed to: • The Elmer C. Poe Excellence in Technology Support Award • The Rosina C. Chia Excellence in Teaching Award • The Meng Fanxi Institution of Excellence Award Additionally we recognized China Agricultural University, Shaanxi Normal University, and University of The Gambia for being involved in the program for 10 years. Special recognition goes to Bu Lin and Zhang Guangwei from Shaanxi Normal University and Pa Sara Drammeh at the University of The Gambia for their personal commitment to the program for all those years. ~ GPE Awards ~ Congratulations to the 2015 Annual GPE Award recipients. After careful consideration the 2015 GPE Awards Committee selected the following to receive awards: The Elmer C. Poe Technical Support of Excellence Award Antoine Bordeau, François Rabelais University of Tours, France Giulliana Abanto, Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Peru The Rosina C. Chia Excellence in Teaching Award Adeela Rehman, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Pakistan The Meng Fanxi Institution of Excellence Award Krosno State College, Poland Although only 3 awards were given, all those who were nominated deserve recognition for their outstanding efforts. Nominees for the Elmer C. Poe Excellence in Technology Support Award • Andy Heath, East Carolina University, USA • Autumn Hopkins, East Carolina University, USA • Javaid Iqbal, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Pakistan • Adnan Kilinç, Istanbul University, Turkey • Amit Mahajan, University of Jammu, India • Siddharth Patel, East Carolina University, USA • The Technical Team of Istanbul University, Turkey (Adnan Kilinç and Berk Uzunoğlu) Nominees for the Rosina C. Chia Excellence in Teaching Award • Ricardo Ernesto Buitrago Rubiano, Universidad Rosario, Colombia • Heidi Luchsinger, East Carolina University, USA • Noreddine Mouhadjer, University Abou Bekr Belkaïd, Algeria • Luis Navarro, Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Peru • Irina Swain, East Carolina University, USA • The Teaching Team at Krosno State College, Poland (Christopher Brighton and Katarzyna Dziemian) • The Teaching Team at Modern University of Business and Science, Lebanon (Vanessa Chehade, Rebecca Keedi, and Diana Khalek) • The Teaching Team at Universidad Latina de América (Paloma Pardo and Luis Vargas) 2015 Award Committee Members: • Christopher Brighton, Krosno State College, Poland • Alabel Lavalle, Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Peru • Jami Leibowitz, East Carolina University, USA Please submit news about your institution or programs to gpeinfo@ecu.edu For more information visit our website http://thegpe.org