Global Impact Awards

2025-26 Global Impact Awards recipients announced

Contact: Nicol Tinsley
VCU Global Education Office
(804) 828-6463
nctinsley@vcu.edu

Richmond, VA (July 31, 2025)  The Global Education Office is pleased to announce the Virginia Commonwealth University faculty, staff and administrators who are recipients of the 2025-26 Global Impact Awards. The awards will fund 24 projects issued through two distinct tracks, the Global Learning Program Development Awards and the Global Impact Partnership Awards. All awarded projects will be completed by June 2026.

Both sets of awards will support the strategic goals of the Global Education Office to increase VCU’s internationalization, its collaboration with other universities around the world and to assist with the development of programs that offer innovative global engagement opportunities for students.

Jill Blondin, Ph.D., vice provost of global initiatives, remarks about the importance of the awards for the university. "These awards are designed to create more global opportunities for faculty and students, and to increase the internationalization of VCU in a strategic way," she said.

The Global Learning Program Development Awards will fund 16 awards of up to $5,000 for projects related to developing new global learning programs including education abroad, domestic study away with a global focus, or virtual exchange.

 “This year's Global Learning Program Development Awards reflect the innovation and vision of our faculty across eight VCU schools and colleges, creating opportunities for student global engagement on four continents,” said Stephanie Tignor, executive director of global learning. "The various projects demonstrate that global learning can be woven into any discipline and is accessible to all VCU students.”

Below are the 2025-26 Global Learning Program Development Award project leads and their respective focus areas:

The Global Partnership Impact Awards focus on projects related to developing, strengthening, and broadening international partnership collaboration. Awards up to $5,000 each are granted to diversify VCU’s global partnerships with specific priority areas and were established to encourage collaboration in areas of strategic interest.

Marci Fradkin, executive director of international recruitment and outreach, hopes these grants “will help build bridges around the world for Virginia Commonwealth University through new partnerships and collaborations.” 

Below are the 2025-26 Global Partnership Impact Award project leads and their respective focus areas: