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As we begin 2020 and look forward to a productive semester, we have much to celebrate around recent advancements in global engagement at UT Austin:
- We were recognized with numerous top national and global academic rankings, earned the distinction of the third highest study abroad participation in the country, and were named among the top producers of Gilman scholars, Fulbright program participants, and Peace Corps Volunteers;
- We supported 8,000 international students, faculty members and scholars on campus from more than 140 countries;
- We coordinated and implemented 40 innovative global programs for students and professionals from around the world, in a wide variety of disciplines;
- We sent more than 4,400 students abroad on research, internship, service-learning and other academic programs; and
- We unveiled Texas Global, an identity that speaks to UT's rich and comprehensive institutional commitment to global engagement.
I invite you to read more about our recent successes and impact, below, and I look forward to sharing additional UT global engagement milestones in the coming months.
Best wishes,
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Sonia Feigenbaum, Ph.D.
Senior Vice Provost for Global Engagement and Chief International Officer
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The University of Texas at Austin is the top-ranked university in Texas in the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2019, released on July 17. UT Austin climbed five spots in the 2019 rankings, landing at No. 31 among all public and private universities in the world.
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According to the 2019 Open Doors Report released in November by the Institute of International Education, UT Austin ranks third in the nation among all U.S. universities for the number of students studying abroad and No. 34 among all U.S. universities enrolling international students.
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Year after year, students, faculty and staff on the Forty Acres strive for excellence — their Longhorn Pride would accept nothing less. 2019 was no exception. UT was recognized nationally and globally for its academic excellence, affordability and career impact.
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GLOBAL STORIES AND NEWS ———
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Twelve extraordinary photos taken by Longhorns around the world and recently featured in UT News highlight invaluable international experiences and represent UT’s vibrant global community.
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Research and Creative Activity
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A three-century-old architectural gem, Casa Herrera in Antigua, Guatemala, has become an invaluable center for students and faculty researching Mesoamerican cultures, pre-Columbian art and archaeology. Home to four education abroad programs focused on art and art history, education, public health, and language immersion, the historic research and learning center has helped connect students to the local community and offered them a unique space to learn and study in Guatemala.
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Author Laura Esquivel gave a lecture at the Blanton Museum of Art to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the publication of her bestselling novel, “Like Water for Chocolate,” which inspired the award-winning film. The lecture was hosted by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, with co-sponsorship from the Michener Center for Writers, LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections, Radio-Television-Film, Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, and the Senior Vice Provost for Global Engagement and Strategy.
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Thousands of digitized records reflecting major historical events of the 20th century related to PEN International, a global writers’ organization, were made available online beginning November 2019. The project, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and completed by the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin, has resulted in a new online finding aid for researchers, as well as access to teaching guides and nearly 5,000 digitized records.
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A team of UT students and researchers joined prominent environmentalist Robert Swan—the first explorer to walk both the North and South poles—on a 12-day expedition through the Arctic last summer to study the effects of climate change. The team, joined by groups from 25 other countries, was the only university group on the expedition.
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“Our cardiovascular e-tattoo sticker was invented to battle the No. 1 killer, which is cardiovascular disease,” says engineer Nanshu Lu. Lu and her research team at the Cockrell School of Engineering developed a new wireless e-tattoo that can be patched onto anyone’s chest to help doctors track heart health in a wire-free way.
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A summer exhibition at the Blanton Museum of Art, the first museum in the country to have a dedicated curator for Latin American art, featured a selection of maps, known as Mapas de las Relaciones Geográficas, created by Indigenous artists around 1580. UT has one of the earliest and largest collections of Mexican and Latin American art and documents in the world.
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Margaret Siu, a Plan II honors senior at The University of Texas at Austin, is the recipient of a 2020 British Marshall Scholarship, which will fund Siu’s graduate education at the University of Oxford, where she will pursue a Master of Science in Contemporary Chinese Studies during her first year and a Master of Science in Global Governance and Diplomacy during her second.
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Moises Velasco Lozano and Eduardo Maldonado Cruz both grew up in rural regions in the southern part of Mexico near the Pacific Ocean. With a deep passion for learning and a drive to succeed, Velasco and Maldonado were led to each pursue a doctoral degree in petroleum engineering in the Hildebrand Department as prestigious Fulbright-Garcia Robles Scholars.
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Of the more than 4,000 UT students who study abroad each year, dozens document the impact of their international education as part of the Global Ambassadors program. In 2019, 27 Global Ambassadors served as guest bloggers and social media contributors, highlighting their experiences interning, researching and studying in 18 countries. Computer science senior Avi Minocha and biology senior Ally Gunderson shared with us their most memorable moments.
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Short films telling the stories of underrepresented communities are the focus of a new Maymester program in London: Community Life Documented. Twenty-three students collaborated to create eight films in just four weeks, after spending the spring semester planning their films. UT journalism professor Kate Dawson, who led the course, said the program offers a rare opportunity to students interested in film to produce their own documentary.
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Texas Global is pleased to announce the Global Virtual Exchange initiative, which provides funding to faculty to develop virtual exchange courses with partners abroad and makes international experiences meaningful, sustainable and accessible for all students at UT. Global Virtual Exchange fosters a globally engaged campus, enhancing international opportunities for our world-class faculty and diverse student body.
Another new initiative spearheaded by Texas Global, Global Career Launch broadens opportunities for UT students to gain invaluable hands-on experience interning abroad while assisting UT faculty in deepening their collaborations with universities and industry partners around the world through faculty-driven internships and research.
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Academics representing universities across Mexico and the U.S. came together to strengthen educational partnerships and expand opportunities between the two countries at the 2019 U.S. Mexico Bilateral Forum on Higher Education, Innovation, and Research Colloquium in Mexico City (FOBESII). UT Austin was represented at the forum by Dr. Michael Smith, director of the English Language Center.
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UT held its biggest celebration to date honoring the transformative impact and value of international education with more than 70 events across campus during International Education Week, a joint U.S. Department of State and Education initiative and annual event marked by universities across the country. Featured events included an international open mic night, Fulbright networking event, and a Global Leadership League event for international education professionals in Texas.
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Teams of students and faculty members that will create biodegradable embellishments for clothes in Denmark, research gaps in diabetes care in Mexico, and leverage technology to deliver improved LGBTQ+ health care in India are among the five winners of the 2019-20 President’s Award for Global Learning.
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Global Professional Training East and Southeast Asia is one of the only internationally focused conferences on campus available to all students. It includes discussions around regional political issues, cross-cultural training, career opportunities and networking, and cultural activities. Journalism professor Tracy Dahlby was the keynote speaker at the 2019 conference.
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Alumni from universities around the U.S. gathered at UT Austin to attend the U.S. Future Leaders Entrepreneurship and Innovation Seminar, specifically hosted for select recipients of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship and the Critical Language Scholarship, programs sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
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International student Marifer Saldaña Gonzalez reflects on her experience at UT, the support that made it possible and her plans to change the world.
Texas Exes International Chapters Host Service Events
The Texas Exes Panama Chapter is hosting a service project benefitting a local elementary school in Tonosi, Los Santos, on Feb. 15 as part of Texas Exes' month-long service initiative, Project Worldwide. Contact the chapter for more information.
The Japan Chapter is also hosting a Project Worldwide service activity on Feb. 15. Volunteers will clean up a local soup kitchen and serve meals to homeless community members. Contact the chapter to participate.
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February 1–July 19
February 13
February 16–May 17
March 13
Experience SXSW as a Longhorn. Join us for a live broadcast music experience, student pitch competition, engaging panels with Texas innovators and researchers, and a Texas-sized evening celebration.
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March 23
March 26–28
The University of Texas at Austin will host the 25th annual Brazilian Studies Association Conference—BRASA XV. LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections and the LLILAS Benson Brazil Center are key organizers of the conference
March 30–31
40 Hours for the Forty Acres, UT Austin’s annual day of giving. Sign up today to be a Texas Global Ambassador and help us share why it’s important to support international education. Ambassadors will receive exclusive free UT swag.
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@gregfenves “Welcomed parents from around the world at international Family Orientation yesterday. This year we have 1,500+ new international students from 140+ counties attending UT #WhatStartsHere
@Maurie_McInnis “So proud of the work our students are doing in Ghana studying colorism as part of the President’s Award for Global Learning. We caught up with them this morning. Check out their website at http://www.thecolorcomplex.com”
@jchartzell “Thrilled & honored to announce creation of the C Courtland Huber Endowed Faculty Excellence Fund, started by Shanghai-based @UTexasBBA alum, Michael Fang. Prof. Huber made a difference to Michael in a @TexasCBHP class & this will help us attract & retain more difference-makers!”
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