University of Texas at Austin

Leadership & Projects

The President’s Award for Global Learning is the inaugural program of the International Board of Advisors and is administered through the collaborative efforts of the President’s Office, the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, and Texas Global.

2022-2023 Program Profiles

School students smile while holding papers at a school in Peru

Literacy Development in Peru

Faculty team members:

  • Desirée Pallais-Downing, PhD, Assistant Professor of Instruction, Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education
  • Patience Epps, PhD, Professor, Linguistics, College of Liberal Arts

International partner:

  • Cayetano Heredia University, Lima, Peru

Student team members:

  • Antonella Anderson – Plan II, Psychology, Madelyn Hajovsky – Linguistics, Caden Martin – English, History, Jenna Pipkin – Bilingual Education
  • Paola Gon – Psychology, Meera Hatangadi – Plan II, Corporate Communication, Frances Parra – International Business, Karla Rojas – Bilingual Education
  • Sabrina Chuan – Marketing, Saneeva George – Nutrition, Zaina Ghaffar – Speech-Language Pathology, Nutrition, Hanna Kang – International Relations and Global Studies
  • Zofia Graham – Linguistics, Plan II, Gloriel Kazadi – Psychology, Youth and Community Studies, Nioni Ledzma – Religious Studies

Woman donates her blood in a street point in Kampala, Uganda.

Wound Care in Kenya

Faculty team members:

  • Julie Zuniga, PhD, RN, Associate Professor, School of Nursing
  • Janet Ellzey, PhD, Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering

International partner:

  • Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

Student team members:

  • Megha Bhatia – Plan II, Health and Society, Shawn Fan –  Nursing, Austin Kayanan –  Mechanical Engineering, Carolina Ponce – Mechanical Engineering
  • Sweccha Guntamukkala – Neuroscience, Isabel Richards – Mechanical Engineering, Arielle Warren -Nursing
  • Daniel Guerra – Architecture, Lauren Guerra-Flores – Plan II, Architecture, Mackenzie Noell – Plan II, Computational Biology, Meron Teferi – Public Health
  • Reha Kakkar – Plan II, Neuroscience, Divine Kalu – Public Health, Britney Tran – International Relations and Global Studies, Government

2021-2022 Program Profiles

A beautifully expansive view of the Galapagos islands on a gorgeous day with blue skies, puffy clouds, and the colorful ocean waters that surround them

Do-No-Harm, Do-More-Good: Building for Sustainability in the Galápagos

Faculty team members:

  • David Heymann, M.Arch., Professor, School of Architecture
  • Gregory Brooks, M.Arch., Professor, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
  • Fernanda Leite, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering

Student team members:

  • Sarah Bryant – Architecture, Juan David Ledesma – Architecture, Claudia Katrina Fierro – Architectural Engineering, Olivia Parker – Electrical Engineering/ Plan II
  • Lynna Benhamou – Biological Environmental Science, Mariana Mercado – Architectural Engineering, Eduardo Terrazas – Urban Studies/Architecture, Justin Zhang – Finance/Business Honors
  • Bianca Busogi – Biochemistry/Plan II, Katherine Ospina – International Relations and Global Studies/Sociology, Carmen Whitten – Architecture, Sarah Wildenstein – Civil Engineering

International partners:

  • University of San Francisco-Quito, Quito, Ecuador
  • Buro Happold, Bath, United Kingdom
A shot of building dome from the detailed architecture that can be seen in Oxford England

Addressing an Era of Transatlantic Racial Reckoning: Imagining Anti-Racist Academic Worlds in the United Kingdom and the United States of America

Faculty team members:

  • Richard Reddick, Ed.D., Professor, Department of Educational Leadership, College of Education
  • Peniel Joseph, Ph.D., Professor, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs

Student team members:

  • Jayelon Evans – Applied Movement Science, Hailey Leal – Neuroscience
  • Ayotoluwafunmi Osunsade – Public Health/African and African Diaspora Studies, Pritika Paramasivam – Neuroscience/Health and Society, Sruthi Ramaswamy – Chemical Engineering/Plan II
  • Eddie Bankston – Psychology/Philosophy, William Cotton Hearne – Plan II/Government, Joshua Russell – Plan II/Rhetoric and Writing
  • Sai Annem – Biology, Breigh Plat – Sociology/Plan II, Zia Kinzy – Economics/Plan II

International partners:

  • Dr. Mike Mimirinis – University of West London, United Kingdom
  • Dr. Peter Claus – Pembroke College, Oxford University, United Kingdom
  • Dr. Kehinde Andrews – Birmingham City University, United Kingdom
  • Dr. Ali Meghji – Magdalene College, Cambridge University, United Kingdom
India city street contrasted with Swedish city view

Cotton Threads: Fabricating Ethical Production and Consumption in the Garment Industry

Faculty team members:

  • Shiv Ganesh, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Moody College of Communication
  • Sharmila Rudrappa, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Sociology, College of Liberal Arts

Student team members:

  • Neha Donthineni – Biology/Plan II, Yves Mendoza – International Relations and Global Studies/French Studies, Elyssa Sefiane – Middle Eastern Studies/Religious Studies, Abigail Walker – Economics/Plan II
  • Patrick Davis, Religious Studies
  • Ria Goyal – Plan II/Biochemistry, Janani Gopal – Neuroscience, Nivedha Loganathan – Plan II/Public Health

International partners:

  • Nudie Jeans – Gothenburg, Sweden
  • International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore – Bangalore, India
View Past Projects »

Faculty Committees

Committees and working groups contribute to the structure and oversight of the program. These groups are appointed by the Offices of the President and Executive Vice President and Provost.

Task Force

In late 2020, a task force was convened to review the President’s Award and recommend adjustments as necessary, based on the assessment data of previous cohorts and new considerations related to the pandemic. The re-envisioning of the program increases student access and faculty involvement, while continuing the foundational principle of being student-driven and interdisciplinary with strong faculty mentorship.
  • Dr. Sonia Feigenbaum, Senior Vice Provost for Global Engagement – Task Force Chair
  • Dr. Marilyn Felkner, Clinical Assistant Professor, Public Health, College of Natural Sciences
  • Dr. Carma Gorman, Associate Professor, School of Design and Creative Technologies, College of Fine Arts
  • Dr. Steven Hoelscher, Associate Dean, Professor, American Studies, College of Liberal Arts
  • Dr. Christine Julien, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
  • Dr. Deirdre Mendez, Associate Director, Center for Global Business, Red McCombs School of Business
  • Dr. David Springer, Interim Dean, Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs
  • Dr. Luis Urrieta, Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, School of Education
  • Jenn Wang, Senior Director of International Advancement and Principal Gifts
  • Laurie Young, Director of Special Initiatives, Texas Global
  • Dr. Luis Zayas, Dean, Steve Hicks School of Social Work

Program Administration

Dr. Sonia Feigenbaum headshot.

Sonia Feigenbaum, Ph.D.

Senior Vice Provost for Global Engagement and Chief International Officer

Laura Caloudas

Sr. Program Coordinator,
Texas Global

Margaret Rieley

Administrative Associate,
Texas Global