Strategic Planning Process
Over the last several years, Virginia Commonwealth University has seen a great number of successes in international education. From growth in study abroad enrollment to a fully-enrolled and award-winning VCU Globe living-learning program, to diversified offerings in the English Language Program, together, we have accomplished so much.
As we move forward with Quest 2025: Together We Transform, VCU’s strategic plan, it is important for the Global Education Office to develop a path forward that considers the present, but embraces the future. We must take stock of our assets, and determine how we best use them to advance international education at VCU.
To support this goal, in September 2020, GEO began developing a strategic plan that will guide international education at VCU over the next five years.
Through this process, we seek to build on our success and to reimagine the ways that GEO serves VCU into the future. We seek to leverage current and discover new opportunities to integrate international dimensions across campus, explore connections around the world for faculty, staff, and students, and develop global solutions for challenges in an environment of discovery.
Steering Committee
| Name | Department/Role | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Jessica Abernathy | Global Education Office | Executive assistant/HR coordinator |
| Jill Blondin, Ph.D. | Global Education Office - Chair | Executive director |
| Sarah Carrier | Global Education Office - Facilitator | Academic advising coordinator |
| Moe Greene, Ph.D. | Global Education Office - Facilitator | Associate director, English Language Program |
| Elizabeth Hiett | Global Education Office - Facilitator | Special programs coordinator |
| Renee Russell | Global Education Office - Facilitator | Director of communications and marketing |
Workgroups
The Global Education Office at VCU must be nimble and align with the needs of the institution. To that end, the campus-wide GEO Strategic Planning Committee is divided into four workgroups that determine how GEO can develop internationalization tactics that support VCU’s strategic goals and objectives.
Global engagement and student success
This workgroup will identify global engagement and student success initiatives such as study abroad, aligning with VCU R.E.A.L., experiential learning, the Peace Corps Prep program, "glocal" volunteering and reimagining the ways that we provide global opportunities to all students.
| Name | Department/Role | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Leigh Ann Brekenridge, DNP, FNP-BC, MSN, RN | School of Nursing | Clinical assistant professor, Department of Family and Community Health Nursing |
| Denise Burnette, Ph.D. | School of Social Work | Samuel S. Wurtzel Endowed Faculty Chair in Social Work and professor |
| Sarah Carrier | Global Education Office - Facilitator | Academic advising coordinator |
| Caroline Comey | Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success | Student-athlete tutoring coordinator |
| Megan Hodge, Ph.D. | VCU Libraries | Head of teaching and learning, Assistant Professor Research and Learning, Teaching and Learning |
| Erin Webster-Garrett, Ph.D. | Academic Affairs/REAL | Assistant vice provost for REAL |
| Jeff Wing, J.D. | Honors College | Assistant dean and director, National Scholarship Office |
International collaborations and partnership services
This workgroup will examine international collaborations and partnerships at VCU and the ways that they can better support faculty and students. This will include developing strategy for international partnerships and agreements, sponsored programs, research, grants, and professional development opportunities for faculty such as the Fulbright Scholar Program.
| Name | Department/Role | Title |
|---|---|---|
| John Accordino, Ph.D. | L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs | Professor |
| Elissa Armstrong | School of the Arts | Assistant professor |
| Angela Duncan, Ph.D. | College of Allied Health Professions | Assistant dean for diversity, inclusion, and equity |
| Elizabeth Hiett | Global Education Office - Facilitator | Special programs coordinator |
| David Holdford, Ph.D. | School of Pharmacy | Professor, Department of Pharmacotherapy & Outcomes Science |
| Anne Sorenson | Audit and Compliance Services | Deputy director, University Audit and Management Services |
| James Vonesh, Ph.D. | VCU Life Sciences | Associate professor, Population and community ecology, conservation biology, aquatic ecology, Center for Environmental Studies |
International student recruitment
This workgroup will identify ways that GEO can effectively collaborate with Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success, as well as with academic units to increase international student enrollment at VCU. This includes clarifying target markets where VCU should focus its international recruitment efforts and identifying benchmarks, goals and measures of success.
| Name | Department/Role | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Bass | Office of Development and Alumni Relations | Assistant vice president for alumni relations |
| Mariah Crilley, Ph.D. | University College | Instructor, Department of Focused Inquiry |
| Mary Lee Magee | School of Medicine | Assistant clinical professor and director, International / Inner City / Rural Preceptorship Program |
| Mas Mastriyana | Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success | Assistant director, International Admissions |
| Renee Russell | Global Education Office - Facilitator | Director of communications and marketing |
| Yaoying Xu, Ph.D. | School of Education | Professor, Counseling and Special Education |
| Wenheng Zhang, Ph.D. | College of Humanities and Sciences | Assistant professor, Biology |
International student support
This workgroup will focus on supporting and engaging international students in innovative ways, the role of the English Language Program as it relates to helping English language learners succeed at VCU, and immigration services.
| Name | Department/Role | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Romana Bucur | School of Business | Director, ICP & Dean's Special Projects, School of Business |
| Daniel Bullard, Ph.D. | Graduate College | Dean, VCU Graduate School |
| Moe Greene, Ph.D. | Global Education Office - Facilitator | Associate director, English Language Program |
| Michael Healy, D.D.S., M.Ed. | School of Dentistry | Senior associate dean for student services and assistant professor, School of Dentistry |
| Yiyun Jie, Ph.D. | Division of Student Affairs | Director of assessment and planning, Division of Student Affairs |
| Vamsi Yadavalli, Ph.D. | College of Engineering | Associate professor, Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering |