Virginia Commonwealth University’s Jill Blondin selected as Fellow for
U.S.-ASEAN University Connections Initiative
Contact: Nicol Tinsley
VCU Global Education Office
(804) 828-6463
nctinsley@vcu.edu
Richmond, VA (January 11, 2023) — Virginia Commonwealth University’s Jill Blondin, Ph.D., associate vice provost for global initiatives, has been selected to participate as a Fellow in the U.S.-ASEAN University Connections Initiative (UCI), a White House initiative announced during the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in May 2022.
"I am honored to have been selected to participate in the U.S.-ASEAN University Connections Initiative (UCI), as this will allow VCU to expand its global footprint in an intentional and sustainable way that benefits students, faculty and staff," said Blondin.
The initiative is administered through the U.S. Department of State’s Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students (IDEAS) Program, which builds U.S. colleges and universities’ capacity to engage in global partnerships and study abroad programming aligned with U.S. foreign policy goals. It will bring together 50 leaders from diverse colleges and universities in the United States and eight ASEAN member countries—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam—for a series of virtual and in-person trainings designed to foster sustainable international academic partnerships and the two-way exchange of students, scholars, and researchers between U.S. and Southeast Asian higher education institutions.
“The U.S. Department of State is committed to fostering partnerships between U.S. and Southeast Asian colleges and universities and increase academic collaboration to find solutions on topics of global importance, such as combatting climate change and promoting economic development,” said Ethan Rosenzweig, the State Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Academic Programs.
The next two virtual trainings under the initiative will take place in early 2023 and explore academic partnership models. These events are open to the public, and registration is open on the IDEAS Program website.
The IDEAS Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by World Learning. The University Connections Initiative is being implemented in partnership with the Association of International Education Administrators. For more information about the initiative and the IDEAS Program, please visit the IDEAS Program website at www.studyabroadcapacitybuilding. org or contact IDEAS@worldlearning.org. For information about other study abroad resources and other exchange programs offered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, please contact ECA-Press@state.gov and visit https://studyabroad.state.gov/. For more details on the Association for International Education Administrators, visit www.aieaworld.org.