The World Affairs Council of Washington, D.C., will honor Marymount University with its Educator of the Year Award at the annual Global Education HONORS: Gala on March 29, 2017. The award, which recognizes the university’s commitment to global education, will be accepted by Marymount President Matthew D. Shank.
“It is a tremendous honor for, and testament to, our dedicated faculty, staff and students who strive daily to achieve the values of our vision that include intellectual curiosity, service to others and global perspective,” Dr. Shank said.
Marymount has students from 76 countries. International students make up 13 percent of its student body. Another way Marymount helps its students develop a global perspective – one of the three Common Ground tenets mentioned by Dr. Shank – is by offering a wide variety of study abroad opportunities. The school’s popular Center for Global Education reports that during the 2014-15 academic year, MU students studied, volunteered and interned abroad in 38 countries. In addition, it offered 22 short-term faculty-led programs to 18 countries.
In addition, U.S. News & World Report ranked Marymount second for ethnic diversity among Regional Universities in the South for 2017, a list that identifies colleges where students are most likely to encounter undergraduates from racial or ethnic groups different from their own.
The gala’s keynote address will be delivered by Dr. Jane Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, a global nonprofit focused on inspiring individual action to improve the understanding, welfare and conservation of great apes and to safeguard the planet. She will receive the 2017 Global Ambassador Award.
In April 2015, the famed English primatologist and humanitarian gave a talk at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington that was organized by Marymount University called, “Sowing the Seeds of Hope.” Proceeds from the event helped establish a new Marymount fund to promote volunteerism and community engagement through student and faculty-initiated programs.
Three other honorees will be recognized with awards that exemplify the council’s mission to empower educators and students to effectively compete, communicate and lead in our multicultural nation and worldwide. They include: Blackboard Inc., Global Education Award; The Republic of Columbia, Distinguished Diplomatic Service Award; and The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Global Communications Award.
“The council, founded in 1980, is a non-partisan, educational organization dedicated to informing and educating Americans about the international events and issues that impact the United States and its relations with the world,” said Pat Gross, co-founder and former chairman of the World Affairs Council-Washington, D.C.
To learn more about the World Affairs Council-Washington, D.C., visit www.worldaffairsdc.org.
