Global Programs

Penn State Global announces 2022-23 faculty, staff, student awards

The winners of the Penn State Global awards are, left to right: Alexandra Persiko (Penn State Global), Mark Brennan (College of Agricultural Sciences), Deanna Behring (College of Agricultural Sciences), Karen Saunders (College of Medicine), Noel Habashy (College of Agricultural Sciences), Ram Neupane (College of Agricultural Sciences), Jasna Kovacs (College of Agricultural Sciences), Camila Arango (College of Agricultural Sciences), Madhura Patil (College of Engineering), Smit Patel (Penn State Abington), and James Marden (Eberly College of Science, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences). Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Global has announced the 2022-23 recipients of its annual awards that recognize the outstanding contributions of individuals and academic programs at Penn State who have helped to advance the University’s global engagement goals.

"It is an absolute pleasure to take a moment each year to stop and recognize the extraordinary global work ongoing at Penn State and celebrate faculty, staff and students who represent multiple colleges and multiple campuses," said Roger Brindley, vice provost for Global. "Our winners were identified through a highly competitive selection process and they represent excellence across the whole institution. Here in Penn State Global, we are grateful for all the inspiring work of all our global champions at this global engaged and world class Land-grant university."

Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Kathy Bieschke spoke at the event on behalf of the administration, telling award winners, “The fact that you are being awarded for going above and beyond what I already think is a base level of excellence makes me feel grateful to be here among you. What you do really matters — it changes lives.”

Recipients were honored at an awards ceremony in Robb Hall in the Hintz Alumni Center on April 4.

'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 achieving the goals of a Global Penn State.

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 was Mark Brennan, UNESCO Chair for Community, Leadership and Youth Development and professor of leadership and community development, for his work with youth and community development and his contribution to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

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 BIOL 499A course, “Tropical Field Ecology,” led by James Marden. The program has been running annually for over 30 years and was a trailblazing program of its time, which has set the standard for other faculty-led programs that have come since.

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 Karen Saunders, human resources specialist in the College of Medicine, for her outstanding work in supporting J-1 scholars at the university.

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 Noel Habashy, College of Agricultural Sciences, who coordinates the college’s highly successful International Agriculture Minor program.

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 Jasna Kovac, College of Agricultural Sciences.

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 Deanna Behring, assistant dean and director of Ag Sciences Global.

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, four of which are announced at the Penn State Global Awards and two of which will be announced at the University-wide awards ceremony in April. The categories and winners for this year are:

  • Graduate Student - Ram Neupane (College of Ag Sciences, PhD student studying Plant Pathology and International Agriculture and Development)
  • Graduate Leadership — Camila Gonzales Arango (College of Ag Sciences, PhD student studying Agricultural and Biological Engineering)
  • Undergraduate Student - Smit Patel (Penn State Abington)
  • Undergraduate Leadership — Madhura Patil (College of Engineering)

The ceremony also recognized the winner of the W. Lamar Kopp International Faculty Award, who will be announced publicly at a University-wide awards event later in the month. 

Last Updated April 10, 2023