Northwestern was named one of three winners of the 2013 Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award by NAFSA: Association of International Educators for its rapidly developing Global Health Studies program, according to a University release published Friday.
“The Global Health Studies program embodies the interdisciplinary spirit of the most successful programs at Northwestern and is training the next generation of global health leaders in every area of health policy and healthcare,” Devora Grynspan, director of International Program Development, said in the release.
About 300 undergraduates across the University are currently enrolled in the minor, which gives them the opportunity to think deeply about health challenges facing the world, according to the release. IPD, which houses the Minor in Global Health and facilitates collaboration among the University’s different schools, currently offers study abroad programs in China, France, Cuba, South Africa and Chile, the release said.
IPD has also helped facilitate the establishment of various global health-related centers around the University, including the Feinberg School of Medicine’s Center for Global Health, the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Center for Innovation in Global Health Technologies, and the Kellogg Global Health Initiative. In addition, the program has helped NU forge program partnerships with various schools abroad, including Sciences Po in Paris and Peking University in Beijing, the release said.
“The thematic and interdisciplinary approach to internationalization that Global Health has pioneered has increased Northwestern’s global engagement by creating an infrastructure and an international mindset among faculty, students and administrators,” Grynspan said in the release.
The award is named for the late Paul Simon, a U.S. senator from Illinois who voiced support for the establishment of the National Security Education Program. NU’s accomplishments will be highlighted along with those of the other two winners, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Fairfield University, in a 2013 report by NAFSA: the Association of International Educators and recognized at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. in November during Education Week, according to the release.
— Jillian Sandler
