Faculty Proposals Receive 2022-2023 President’s Award for Global Learning

Two outstanding proposals from faculty at The University of Texas at Austin have been selected to receive the 2022-2023 President’s Award for Global Learning, the flagship initiative of the university’s International Board of Advisors.  

Created with the objective of invigorating international engagement between UT Austin and the world, the President’s Award program combines interdisciplinary faculty collaboration, transnational institutional partnerships, and cross-cultural work and research opportunities for students. 

One newly selected proposal seeks to enhance methods of wound care, an especially pressing need at its host institution, a national teaching hospital in Kenya. The other proposal aims to reverse language loss and introduce context-based literacy efforts in the Peruvian Amazon.  

For the President’s Award selection process, teams of 2-3 faculty members from separate disciplines devise research or service projects that address identified challenges in a specific area of the world. Each program incorporates collaboration with an international partner in its designated region and supports the participation of up to 12 students.  

Once faculty proposals are accepted, students from various disciplines form teams and propose projects that fit within the corresponding themes. Students whose projects are selected then enroll in courses taught by the faculty teams and international partners, also embarking on trips abroad to complete in-country work during the program.  

Selected faculty receive $5,000 per program to support student projects and class activities, in addition to a $9,000 honorarium for each faculty member. The award also includes fully funded travel for both faculty and students.  Students interested in the President’s Award must submit an application to presidentsaward@austin.utexas.edu in PDF format by 5 p.m. on Nov. 1.

Please join us in congratulating the faculty recipients of the 2022-2023 President’s Award for Global Learning on their winning proposals: 

Kenya 

Using Local Resources to Treat and Prevent Wounds in Eldoret, Kenya  

At Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, three types of wounds—burns, surgical wounds and pressure ulcers—often result in high rates of amputation, disability and death. Chronic wounds also can negatively impact the duration of hospital stays, health care costs, quality of life, income and productivity. The proposed program investigates wound care and prevention as part of a larger effort by the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) consortium to improve outcomes for patients with wounds.  

Faculty team members:  
Julie Zuniga, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Associate Professor, School of Nursing 
Janet Ellzey, Ph.D., Professor, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering 

International partners: 
The Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) is a collaboration between Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya, the Kenyan Ministry of Health and 10 North American universities. The AMPATH model is built on the concept of comprehensive, integrated, and community-based care.  

Peru 

Enhancing Global Education Initiatives in Literacy Development Through an Understanding of Context   

In South America, inhabitants of the Peruvian Amazon speak 43 of the 47 languages existing in the country, with several of those currently at risk of extinction. Built on the premise that an understanding of context can enhance educational efforts in literacy, this proposal intends to reverse language loss and promote literacy development in the region while working to address issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion in historically marginalized communities. 

Faculty team members:  
Desirée Pallais-Downing, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education  
Patience Epps, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Linguistics, College of Liberal Arts  

International partners:  
The Universidad Cayetano Heredia, a private nonprofit university located in Lima, Peru, will be the partner institution. Partner educators include: Raquel Villaseca, head of research in the Education Department; Danilo de la Cruz, vice president of the Peruvian Association for Reading; and Virgilio Holguín Reyes, research professor and publication expert in the Education Department.