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Global Educator Award

The Global Educator Award honors exceptional educators at all levels who have made significant contributions to global education. Presented annually, the award recognizes individuals who create high-impact global learning experiences that engage students in meaningful, inclusive, and transformative ways.

Recipients demonstrate excellence in global teaching and learning that is caring, interculturally connected, appropriately challenging, and deeply impactful—both for students and the broader community. Their work enhances students’ global and intercultural engagement and reflects a strong commitment to advancing Virginia Tech’s global mission.

Award recipients will receive up to $2,500 of professional development funding to support continued global teaching and learning efforts including sharing perspective and expertise at conferences or pursuing publication.

Please note that professional development funds cannot be used for general office equipment or supplies. The professional development funding will be transferred as E&G funds to your department following notice of the award to be spent on the current fiscal-year cycle. All expenditures must be in accordance with Virginia Tech policies and procedures. You will be responsible for working with your departmental fiscal coordinator to ensure funding is spent within the fiscal year and in accordance with Virginia Tech policies and procedures.

The person selected will be asked to provide a photograph for publication and be recognized in a news release as well as an awards ceremony.

Nominees must meet the following criteria to be chosen for the award:

  1. Be an educator at Virginia Tech (employed full-time or part-time) 
    • Classified and University staff, T&R faculty, A/P faculty, Instructional faculty, Adjunct/Wage faculty
  2. Persons previously recognized in the program are eligible again five years after the year they received the recognition.

Anyone may submit a nomination for this award: student, parent, colleague, friend, etc. Self-nominations are permitted and encouraged.

The Selection Committee will assess applicants based on the extent to which they embody the traits of a global educator, as evidenced through their modeling of intercultural excellence and their global teaching and learning engagement. There should be clear evidence (e.g. excerpts from course syllabi, representative teaching materials – this might include sample assignment instructions, study guides, selected lecture slides, descriptions of in-class or community-based activities, screenshots from online course pages, sample course communications, etc.) of ongoing contributions and impact at the level of course design and delivery.

Nomination deadline: October 15th

All nominations will be submitted using an online submission form and must include the items listed below. The nomination and application packet must be uploaded as a single PDF file. If you have questions, please email vtabroad@vt.edu. 

  1. Statement of the nominee's global teaching and learning, engagement, and research (Max. 2 pages)
    The statement should address the nominee’s global and intercultural teaching-related achievements at the undergraduate and/or graduate level that address the selection criteria (noted above). The statement may include reference to the following areas: (I) Course and curriculum development, and (II) global teaching and learning initiatives that the nominee has engaged in or has developed (e.g., initiatives for first-year students, mentoring initiatives, new teaching approaches, research on global/intercultural fluency, presentations on global and intercultural learning, global virtual collaborations); (III) research and impact in terms of global engagement, global research, relevant scholarly productivity, and broader impact beyond the nominee’s classroom.
  1. Nominee’s Curriculum Vitae (Max. 4 pages)
  2. Support materials speaking to global teaching and learning as evidenced through either:
  3. Letter of recommendation from a current or former student that can speak to the educator’s impact (Max. 2 pages)
  4. Professional reference letter speaking to global teaching and learning (Max. 2 pages)  
  5. List of 5 – 10 relevant student comments from course evaluations. Other relevant qualitative evidence related to student feedback or support may also be provided.
  6. Lesson plans/teaching materials that incorporate global learning. These materials will be added to a publicly accessible Global Learning Curriculum Toolkit, in order to share best practices and innovative approaches with other global educators. (Max. 3 pages)
  7. (Optional) Supplemental artifacts such as photos, news articles, event programs, presentations, screen captures, etc. (Max. 5 pages)
  8. Professional photo (high resolution preferred)
Submit an Application or Nomination

Who is a global educator?

  • Aligns teaching and learning goals with global and intercultural awareness outcomes.
  • Cultivates students’ global and intercultural awareness and engagement, locally and globally.
  • Empowers and equips students with the skills and experiences to communicate effectively, appropriately, and authentically across cultures in both academic and informal settings.
  • Seeks innovative and effective approaches to global education, including Global Virtual Collaborations or Collaborative Online International Learning.
  • Inspires peers and others by modeling best practices in global education.
  • Fosters inclusion and belonging for all of Virginia Tech’s community of learners.
  • Focuses on transformational social change and societal impact.
  • Exercises ethics of community care, respect, and reciprocity in engaging with and within communities across the globe.
  • Promotes learning and engagement with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
  • Demonstrates alignment with the Forum on Education Abroad’s Standards of Good Practice.

Note: The Award is intended to recognize faculty who model the above criteria in classroom settings at Virginia Tech. As such, international travel is not required.