Arizona Global Announces 2019 Global Excellence Award Winners
Awards Reception Friday, November 22 in the Stevie Eller Dance Building
Each year, the University of Arizona Center for English as a Second Language and Arizona Global invite members of the greater Southern Arizona community to nominate individuals for the Global Excellence Awards. These awards were created to recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves locally, regionally or nationally as being committed to global education and engagement. It is a tradition to announce the winners of the Global Excellence Awards during International Education Week in November.
The winners of the 2019 Global Excellence Awards will be recognized on Friday, November 22, at a Global Excellence Reception, from 4:30 - 6:30 PM in the Stevie Eller Dance Building. Awards will be presented by Brent White, Dean of Global Campuses and Vice Provost for Global Affairs, and Sumayya Granger, Associate Director of the Center for English as a Second Language.
This year’s winners are three individuals who friends and colleagues have nominated because they embody the spirit of service and commitment to international education. Receiving the Award for Excellence in Global Education is Robert Côté, Ph.D., Director, UA Writing Skills Improvement Program (WSIP), and Acting Director, National Center for Interpretation. The Award for Excellence in Global Service is being awarded to Melissa Fitch, Ph.D., University Distinguished Professor of Latin American Cultural Studies in the College of Humanities. University of Arizona senior, Lily Chavez, will receive the Student Award for Global Excellence.
The Award for Excellence in Global Education
The Award for Excellence in Global Education recognizes faculty, staff, or administrators who have furthered the cause of international education in a significant way through outstanding commitment and contributions to international education. The individual will have significantly fostered, encouraged and enhanced international education and exchange through long-term efforts and will have substantially assisted, taught or otherwise worked with international students to enrich their experience.
The 2019 recipient of the Award for Excellence in Global Education is Robert Côté, Ph.D. Côté began his career 25 years ago teaching ESL with Literacy Volunteers of America and since then he has worked as an administrator, teacher trainer, and classroom instructor in universities, community colleges, and high schools around the globe. In his career as a teacher, writing and language specialist over the past 25 years, Côté has helped international students in classrooms around the globe develop academic skills that help them succeed personally, professionally, and academically.
Côté is currently an English Language Specialist for the State Department, and he has served as a book-review editor for LINGUIST List and associate editor of Arab World English Journal. His research interests include teaching academic writing, peer review, CALL, intercultural competence, and working with at-risk students.
The Award for Excellence in Global Service
To be nominated for the Award for Excellence in Global Service, an individual must be a substantial positive force in the international exchange of culture, knowledge, and ideas. They will have created or provided an outstanding service internationally with significant economic, social or cultural benefits. This individual demonstrates significant bridge-building between cultures and facilitated international understanding through international activity in a notable way, producing a significant positive effect on international understanding through presentations, cultural activities or exchange programs.
This year’s recipient of the Award for Excellence in Global Service is Melissa Fitch, Ph.D. Professor Fitch was nominated for her sustained contributions to consistent educational excellence in global research and teaching. She has demonstrated outstanding commitment to global service. Fitch has been awarded several of the major teaching awards available at the University of Arizona, including the Leicester and Sherrill Creative Teaching Award, the Distinguished Humanities Fellow for the Honors College, the UA Five-Star Faculty Award, and the Amie Amiot Memorial Fellowship.
Fitch's world-class teaching and internationally recognized expertise in globally-focused research projects has resulted in her receiving three Fulbright Awards from 2010 to 2016. She was recently invited to return to the Chinese University of Hong Kong for six weeks as a Fulbright specialist in 2020.
The Student Award for Global Excellence
This award is for UArizona students or student groups who have furthered the cause of international education in a significant way through outstanding commitment and contributions to international education. Nominees have personally made an impact that has helped to internationalize the University of Arizona Campus or represented the University in a commendable or outstanding way by providing noteworthy service internationally while enrolled at Arizona. In addition, nominees will have demonstrated significant bridge-building between cultures, greatly facilitated international understanding through international activity in a highly significant way and/or produced a significant positive effect on international understanding through presentations, cultural activities or exchange programs.
The recipient of the 2019 Student Award for Global Excellence is Lily Chavez. Chavez is making a huge impact in the international community in Tucson through her work with the Iskashitaa Refugee Network and the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Nominations submitting Chavez for this award mention that no matter where she goes in life, she makes an effort to build cross-cultural relationships.
Chavez uses her voice to support others through her leadership roles in the Arizona Global Ambassador program, the UA Refugee Project, Arizona Model UN, and the Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity.
Please join us as we recognize and celebrate these individuals at the Global Excellence Awards Reception on Friday, November 22, from 4:30 - 6:30 pm in the Stevie Eller Dance Building.
Immediately following this reception, join us for the Global Wildcats Got Talent show beginning at 7 pm in the Stevie Eller Dance Theatre. Tickets are $5 and only available on Eventbrite.
Read more about International Education Week 2019.
See the accomplished faculty, researchers and students who have received Past Global Excellence Awards.