The UF International Center is proud to announce that Dr. Marta L. Wayne, Dean of the International Center and Associate Provost, has been selected by the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA) as a 2024-2025 Presidential Fellow, along with four international education leaders at other higher education institutions.
This prestigious year-long program will offer mentorships with an experienced Senior International Officer. It will provide opportunities to observe how they operate within their institutional context, address international education challenges, and solve problems. Holly Hudson of Texas A&M University; Kristin Johnson of the University of Rhode Island; Cindy Schaarschmidt of Pierce College District; Marta Wayne of the University of Florida; and Jamie Weaver of Juniata College were selected by a committee of their peers as this year’s fellowship recipients.
The AIEA Presidential Fellow selection procedure involves a peer-reviewed process by a selection committee, which carefully examines and ranks all applications. This year’s selection process was quite competitive given the high quality of applicants. The AIEA Presidential Fellows program is a highly competitive mentoring initiative for senior international officers serving in the first three years of their current positions.
Awarded by the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA) Professional Development and Engagement Committee, this program offers Fellows a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the day-to-day activities of their host institutions, shadow their mentors and other administrators and faculty via a one-week, in-person visit to their institution, and maximize learning opportunities by hosting the mentor at the Fellow’s institution as well. The mentor is assigned consultatively between the Fellow and the AIEA Secretariat, and typically is a senior professional in International Education. “The Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA) is the only association dedicated exclusively to senior leaders in the field of international education. AIEA members serve as leaders of higher education institutions and of organizations that support international higher education.”, said Mel Simmons, Assistant Director at AIEA.
Dean Wayne is active in AIEA and is passionate about international education, particularly student mobility and science diplomacy. An evolutionary geneticist, Wayne is also an AAAS lifetime fellow. She is the past chair of the UF Department of Biology (2014-2021) and holds affiliate faculty status in both the UF Center for Latin American Studies and the UF Center for Gender, Sexualities, & Women’s Studies.
Bringing extensive knowledge and experience to their roles as 2024-2025 Presidential Mentors are Jill Blondin of Virginia Commonwealth University; Harvey Charles of the University of Minnesota; Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Robert Summers of Middle Tennessee State University; and Anthony Pinder of Emerson College.
Dean Wayne’s assigned mentor is Dr. Jill E. Blondin, Associate Vice Provost for Global Initiatives at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Dr. Blondin served as the inaugural director of VCU Globe, a global education living-learning program devoted to building cultural agility. Dr. Blondin, a 2021-2022 AIEA Presidential Fellow, serves as Chair of AIEA's Member Outreach and Awards Committee and as a member of NAFSA's International Education Leadership Knowledge Community. Under her leadership, VCU received the NAFSA Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award and the IIE Andrew Heiskell Award. Blondin served as a Fulbright Specialist to Brazil, as a speaker with the U.S. Department of State Study Abroad Engagement Grant Program and Fulbright Portugal, and as an Expert Speaker with the U.S. Embassy Guyana.
In 2023, Dr. Blondin was named one of the PIE 50 Top Voices in North America, and IIE honored her as the Senior International Officer of the Year. Her areas of expertise include strategic budgeting and internationalization, global learning, and art history.
Dean Wayne expressed her excitement about the fellowship: “I am honored to be selected as an AIEA Presidential Fellow and look forward to the invaluable learning opportunities this mentorship will provide. Collaborating with someone as celebrated in the field as Dr. Blondin and experiencing firsthand the successful strategies at VCU will undoubtedly enhance our efforts at UFIC to further internationalize our campus and foster global learning.”
Dean Wayne plans to apply the insights gained from this fellowship to continue to develop innovative international education programs at UF and strengthen UFIC’s global partnerships.
Congratulations to all 2024-2025 Presidential Fellows, especially Dean Marta L. Wayne!
For more information on the AIEA Presidential Fellow program and to meet the other awardees, please visit the AIEA website.