UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Global has announced the 2024-25 recipients of its annual awards that recognize the outstanding contributions of individuals and academic programs at Penn State who have contributed to advancing the University’s global engagement goals.
"It is such a delight to recognize the extraordinary global impact of faculty, staff, and students at Penn State and celebrate awardees who represent multiple colleges and campuses," said Sabine Klahr, interim vice provost for Global. "In Penn State Global, we are deeply grateful for the inspiring work of our global champions who are at the core of what makes Penn State a leading global university.”
Recipients were honored at an awards ceremony in Robb Hall in the Hintz Alumni Center on April 3.
Please note that the recipient of the W. LaMarr Kopp International Faculty Award was also honored at the luncheon, but this winner will be announced publicly with the overall University faculty and staff awards at a later date.
'Advancing a Global Penn State' awards
The purpose of the Advancing a Global Penn State Awards program is to recognize the outstanding contributions of individuals and academic units across the University, including at the Commonwealth Campuses, who have demonstrated success toward contributing to Penn State’s global mission.
The awards and recipients are as follows:
The Outstanding International Research Award recognizes innovative research projects and initiatives that can be shown to be advancing progress toward one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
- This year’s winner is Erika Ganda, assistant professor of food animal microbiomes, College of Agricultural Sciences.
The Outstanding Program Award recognizes an innovative program at the University that has advanced the vision of a Global Penn State. This award recognizes a Penn State program that is agile and adaptable, and yet robust enough to be innovative and forward thinking.
- This year’s award was given to the Global Health Exchange Program (GHEP) within the College of Medicine.
The Unsung Hero Staff Award recognizes an exemplary member of staff or an outstanding team of staff that consistently provide excellent support and leadership for global success at Penn State. These nominees will have conducted their work with excellence over an extended period of time and are known for "doing whatever it takes" to support academic and/or research success for students, staff or faculty.
- This year’s winner is Ilona Ballreich, program director of the Sustainable Communities Collaborative and associate director of experiential learning in Penn State Sustainability.
The Global Learning Instructor Award recognizes innovative teaching pedagogies used by outstanding faculty at the teaching/instructor rank when teaching global/international content with excellence.
- This year’s winner is Kathleen Sexsmith, assistant professor of rural sociology, College of Agricultural Sciences.
The Early Career Faculty Award recognizes innovative international research projects, excellence in global scholarship, or curricular and experiential leadership surrounding global learning for a tenure-earning faculty member at Penn State.
- This year’s winner is Tamy Guimarães, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, College of Engineering.
The Vice Provost Staff Excellence Award recognizes exemplary performance by a full-time employee in Penn State Global. Successful recipients will have consistently performed at the highest levels of excellence in all aspects of their work, including their interactions with others across Penn State Global.
- This year's winner is Dagmara Karnowski, International Student Advising Manager.
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an individual who has consistently demonstrated exceptional achievement towards furthering the global vision of Penn State across their career at the University.
- This year’s winner is Janelle Larson, professor of agricultural economics and division head of engineering, business and computing at Penn State Berks.
Ardeth and Norman Frisbey International Student Awards
These awards honor and recognize outstanding contributions to international understanding by graduate/undergraduate international students (holding non-immigrant status) enrolled in full-time resident instruction or its equivalent. Winners are chosen in four categories, two of which are announced at the Penn State Global Awards and two of which will be announced at the University-wide undergraduate and graduate awards ceremonies, respectively.
The categories and winners for this year for the awards handled by Penn State Global are:
- Graduate Student — Saiber Shaikh, College of Education
- Graduate Leadership — Edward Amoah, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences
- Undergraduate Student — Muhammad Nazaruddin bin Mohd Salleh, College of the Liberal Arts
- Undergraduate Leadership — Fawaz Al Sabahi, Smeal College of Business