Global award honors GGC’s innovation in international education

Georgia Gwinnett is one of only eight colleges selected by the Institute of International Education (IIE) to be honored through its annual Andrew Heiskell Awards for Innovation in International Education.

“These are highly competitive, worldwide awards, and this is GGC’s first international recognition,” said Dr. Stas Preczewski, president. “Everyone associated with the college should be proud of this remarkable achievement.”

IIE’s Heiskell Awards showcase today’s most innovative and successful models for internationalizing the campus, study abroad and international partnership programs, with an emphasis on initiatives that remove institutional barriers and broaden the base of participation in study abroad and promote international teaching and learning on campus.

The awards honor the most outstanding initiatives in international higher education among the IIE’s membership association of more than 1,300 institutions. This year’s awards recognize five campuses with the Heiskell Award and three with honorable mentions, representing six U.S. states as well as the nations of Australia, Morocco and the United Kingdom.

GGC won an honorable mention in the Internationalizing the Campus award category for its “Internationalization of the

“I believe it is crucial for my generation to become informed global citizens, and we must be able to put aside our personal biases in order to study topics through cultural lenses which may differ from our own.”

Curriculum: Engaging the World to Develop Global Citizens” Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). The QEP enhances student learning and the student learning environment by creating internationalized courses throughout the core curriculum, majors and electives, as well as an optional Global Studies Certification including foreign languages, study abroad and a Global Studies Capstone course.

Students earning the certification include political science major Christina “Hope” Deraney, ’17, shown at right. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in international affairs and an international career in human rights and gender equality. “The Global Studies Certification has helped me consolidate my knowledge and have salient, informed opinions about the current state of international affairs,” said Deraney. She highly recommends the program to students of all majors for gaining interdisciplinary understanding of their fields of study.

GGC initiated the QEP in 2014 as a required component for reaffirmation by its regional accreditor, the Southern Association of College and Schools Commission on Colleges. GGC recei ved its initial accreditation in 2009 and its next reaffirmation will take place in 2024.

“QEP-related internationalized courses created by our faculty enrich our students’ educational experience and their intercultural and global competency,” said Dr. T.J. Arant, senior vice president for Academic and Student Affairs and provost. “This helps graduates be better prepared to live and work in the expanding global economy.”

The QEP strengthens and supports GGC’s other affordable, interdisciplinary, faculty-led, study abroad programs and intercultural campus activities.