International Education Week

International Education Week – 2023

This is International Education Week.? It is time to celebrate Internationalization on our campuses.? At The University of Memphis we are grateful for all the international students who have decided to call the university their home.? They all had many options and we are thankful they chose to study at Memphis.

It takes a Village

Internationalization of a campus as large as the University of Memphis is not possible without the vision and support of a number of different individuals on campus.? The senior leadership led by Raaj Kurapati , Tom Nenon , Sandra Richardson , Robin Poston, Deborah Tollefsen , Abby Parrill , Hsiang-te Kung, Rebecca Laumann , ?Ben Kedia among others have paved the way in the past for the successes we have today.

Our Internationalization Journey

As a R1 institution, we recognize that we need to host the best talent the world has to offer.? Towards this President Bill Hardgrave and Provost David Russomanno are committed to increasing the global footprint of our university.? This is reflected in their message welcoming our international students.

Over the last 3 years our international student enrollment has grown by 167%. This is significantly greater than the growth in international student enrollment in US universities in the same time period.? As a point of reference, the Open Doors survey indicates that there has been a 2% growth in 2023-24 while it was 14% in 2022-23.? It is a credit to the faculty and staff at the university of Memphis that significantly more international students are flocking to the University of Memphis.

Recently we have observed a significant interest in the health programs thanks to the efforts of Deans Ashish Joshi, PhD,MBBS,MPH and Rick Bloomer .

We are thankful to our partners, Naveen Yathapu , pardhasaradhi k , Manisha Zaveri and Abhijit Zaveri , Nalini Agrawal ,? sekhar bhupathi , Nirupama Das , Sujal Kale ,? Gaurav Batra , Rajesh Dasari and many others for this phenomenal growth.

We realize that this is just the beginning and hope to sustain and grow our international student population at the university of Memphis.?? This is a significant part of the internationalization of the university.

Student Support

Recruiting students to our university is the beginning of the journey.? We have world class faculty who are committed to ensuring that the students have a rewarding time upskilling their talents in the field of their choice.

Besides the academic journey it is important that we have a very good support system for students to have a sense of purpose and belonging at the university.? We have many colleagues such as George Ninan, CPA , Darla Keel , Nick Pappas, Brian W. Meredith , Dionne Ballinger, Bridgette Decent , Karen Weddle-West , Melinda Carlson and Dr. Justin Lawhead who help in supporting our international students.

International Education Week Activities

As a part of International Education Week we have a number of events that have been planned.

1.?????? In leading up to IEW we had an International Professional Development Program on Friday, 10th November.? It was great to partner with Cortez Washington M.S., CDF, WDCP and the Office of Career Services on this project.? We had successful international alums such as Vijay Kalaga , Venki Mandapati and Santhosh Chandra Konduru share their journey and words of wisdom with current students.

2.?????? Tuesday, 14th November is going to feature an International students Thanksgiving lunch that is being organized by the Center for International Education Services (CIES).? It is a very popular event with great attendance.

3.?????? International Tiger Chat is scheduled on 14th November by the Undergraduate Admissions team.? This will help prospective undergraduate International students to learn more about our university.? This is the first in a series of International Tiger Chats that is being launched this semester.

4.?????? Wednesday, 15th November is Diwali Night organized by the Indian Student Association (ISA).? Given the population of Indian students on campus it is expected to be a fun filled and joyous celebration. The President of ISA, Preet Shah , knows how to throw a party!!

5.?????? On 17th November, the International Student Services (ISS) is conducting a i20 workshop to ensure that all international student facing positions are well versed with requirements with, rules and regulations governing i20 and F1 students.

6.?????? The Office of International Affairs in collaboration with the Faculty Senate will hold a International Faculty Appreciation luncheon on 17th November.? The objective is to say Thanks to all the faculty involved in the internationalization of the university of Memphis campus. ?Faculty at our university are involved in research collaborations with researchers in other countries, are teaching international students at Memphis, are leading Study Abroad programs for our students and involved with centers with an global footprint.