The Office of International Affairs takes pride in our connections and collaborations across our campuses and the important role we play in helping develop, support and advance Ohio State’s international initiatives. 2024 demonstrated how our Buckeye community made their mark and elevated Ohio State's reach across the globe. Take a peak at some of our top stories and events from the past year as we look forward to all that will inspire us in 2025.
Taste of OSU 2024 served up international fare, music and dancing
Where else can you find musakhan rolls, mango kulfi and zereshk polo ba morgh all on the same menu but at Taste of OSU, one of Ohio State's signature events and long-time traditions. More than 40 international student organizations showcased their culinary talent and put their performance skills to the test at this year's event that drew some 2,000 students to the Ohio Union on Feb. 16.
“Taste of OSU is such a wonderful opportunity for the campus community to get to know our international students and learn about different regions of the world,” said Kaya Şahin, vice provost for global strategies and international affairs. “Our students are fully engaged in sharing their culture and traditions in creative ways to capture the essence of the many countries represented at Ohio State.”
Ohio State ranked a top producer of Fulbright U.S. students
For the fifth consecutive year, The Ohio State University has been named a top producer of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program and is tied for 13th in the nation, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs announced today.
Fifteen students – nine undergraduate and six graduate – were awarded the prestigious Fulbright grant for the 2023-24 academic year. Ohio State also had five Fulbright U.S. scholar and six Fulbright specialist recipients during the award cycle. In the last five years, Ohio State has produced 51 faculty and 75 student Fulbright awardees.
Service-learning students share #BuckeyeLove around the world
No matter where they go, Buckeyes spread kindness. For hundreds of students each year, that kindness is shared on a global scale.
During semester breaks and each summer, undergraduate, graduate and professional students alike depart for more than 20 different service-learning programs in locations such as Guatemala, Indonesia and Malawi. The goal? To work hand in hand with communities, support sustainable international development and to prepare for careers as citizen leaders abroad and at home.
“This program made me realize the significance of community and team cooperation,” said a student on the Sustainability and Social Justice in Ecuador program. “I learned to view different cultures and people without a judgmental lens. We are all human beings. There are differences, that’s true, but we have similarities, and that’s the basis for us to work together and understand each other.”
Smith and Yusko honored with Distinguished Staff Awards
Janet Smith, assistant director of outreach for the East Asian Studies Center and Amanda Yusko, program manager for the international student team in the Office of International Affairs, are recipients of the 2024 Distinguished Staff Award, the highest honor bestowed upon staff at Ohio State. The annual award recognizes 12 individuals in recognition of their outstanding achievements, service, leadership and dedication to the university.
GOHi-affiliated pediatrician Traci Bouchard trains healthcare workers worldwide
Across institutions and borders, experts from many disciplines are working together to envision a healthier world through the Global One Health initiative (GOHi). Their work is based on One Health principles, which the World Health Organization describes as an “integrated, unifying approach to balance and optimize the health of people, animals and the environment.”
Along with colleagues, GOHi executive committee member Traci Bouchard is helping further the One Health philosophy through her international work in Uganda and her teaching and facilitation at the GOHi Summer Institute. A working pediatrician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital with three decades of experience, Bouchard shared that she has “been doing global health tangentially for 20 years on short-term medical missions. I started incorporating that into a teaching format since 2010 where I would teach residents in resource-limited areas, which is often what global health practice means.”
Roger Williams builds connections between Ohio State, Chinese universities
Roger Williams is a connector. As the academic director of the China Gateway, he works to foster collaboration among faculty and staff at Ohio State and partners in China. An associate professor of forest ecosystem analysis & management in the School of Environment and Natural Resources, Williams has been working internationally on forestry issues in China since 1992.
When he’s not managing prairie and forest lands throughout Ohio and worldwide, teaching, serving as a STEP mentor or advising visiting Chinese scholars, he’s thinking about what’s next for the university’s global partnerships.
New Buckeyes Network Abroad program connects students and international alumni
“I felt a strong connection and sense of pride in being a Buckeye,” said Debora Ghebrehiwot, a biology pre-med student who traveled to London over spring break on the new Buckeyes Network Abroad program. Ghebrehiwot and her cohort toured London, taking traditional afternoon tea at Great Scotland Yard Hotel, getting an inside look at Westminster Abbey and meeting Ohio State alumni who are living and working in London.
“The Buckeyes Network Abroad program was a pilot program in which 15 arts and sciences students took a spring course focused on career development and then traveled to London over spring break to network with alumni, do career exploration related activities and get all the cultural, personal and educational benefits of a typical study abroad trip,” explained Lindsey Chamberlain, one of the program leaders and assistant dean of academic enrichment for the College of Arts and Sciences. The college supported the students financially, so there was no cost to them.
For one Ohio State medical resident, international healthcare feels like home
Saron Checkole, a second-year emergency medicine resident, recently traveled to Ethiopia to complete a month-long rotation at one of the biggest community and clinical training hospitals in the nation. The Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH) research hospital has been a hotbed of activity in recent years, serving as one of the main partner sites for Ohio State’s Global One Health initiative.
Born and raised in Ethiopia, Checkole was initially accepted to medical school in her home country but instead opted to complete her training at Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. “I speak Amharic which is one of the official languages of Ethiopia. I thought, why don’t I go back to Ethiopia and work there for a month? It was an eye-opening experience for me.”
Area Studies Centers award $1.15 million in FLAS fellowships
The East Asian Studies Center, Center for Latin American Studies and Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies have awarded $1.150 million in student support this year in the form of 50 Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship grants to Ohio State students spanning 16 graduate programs and 22 undergraduate majors. Funding for FLAS Fellowships comes from the U.S. Department of Education under Title VI of the Higher Education Act and is subsidized by generous matching funding from The Ohio State University Graduate School.
Global Perspectives: Weber Pimenta
Over the past 14 years, Visagio, a global consulting business with offices in Perth, Sydney São Paulo, Recife and Rio de Janeiro, has offered summer internships to Ohio State MBA students, hosted several cohorts of MBA Global Applied Project teams and has sent two employees every year to take a seven-week MBA module at the Fisher College of Business.
Weber Pimenta, managing partner of Visagio, understands how successful partnerships across the globe can generate value to companies, students and even Ohio State.
His initial connection to Ohio State occurred in January 2005 when he and three others from the Federal University of Rio came to Ohio State to work on an oil and gas industry project as part of a student exchange program.
Huang and Stefano awarded Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad grant
Twelve Ohio State students and K-12 educators in Ohio will have an opportunity next summer to teach English in a public school in Taiwan and learn about multilingual and multicultural education through a comparative lens. Travel and in-country expenses will be fully funded for participants thanks to a U.S. Department of Education Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad grant awarded to Professor Becky Huang, and Ivan Stefano, director of Intercultural English Language Programs, in the College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE).
“We designed the study abroad program for pre-service and in-service teachers with intercultural competence and language learning as major components,” Stefano said. “By immersing themselves in a different culture in Taiwan while teaching English and learning Mandarin, the participants will not only broaden their own perspectives but also enhance their teaching and linguistic abilities.”
China Gateway Director Phoebe You honored with 2024 Alumni Award
Buckeyes lead with purpose, advance excellence and inspire others to act. Each year, the accomplishments of a select group of alumni are recognized through the Ohio State Alumni Awards.
This year, the Office of International Affairs is pleased to announce that China Gateway Director Phoebe You ‘09 is one of nine distinguished alumni award winners. She will be presented with the Dan L. Heinlen award, a recognition for Ohio State alumni who have realized outstanding achievements in advancing the university by advocating for its interests with one or more of its important audiences.
As the director of China Gateway since 2009, You recruits students to Ohio State, meets with Chinese leaders and keeps Buckeyes connected through six alumni clubs.
Ohio State and Brazil: A 60-year partnership
2024 marked three important milestones between Ohio State and Brazil: 200 years of diplomatic relations between Brazil and the United States, 60 years of partnership with the University of São Paulo (USP) and 10 years since the opening of the Brazil Gateway in São Paulo. These momentous occasions led a delegation of Ohio State faculty and staff from the Office of International Affairs, Fisher College of Business and Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences to São Paulo and Brasília.
“Visiting key areas of the world is important to sustain engagement with our international partners, identify new academic and research innovations as well as reconnect with alumni,” said Kaya Şahin, vice provost for global strategies and international affairs. “We are always seeking new ways to collaborate on a global scale, and Brazil as the eighth largest economy in the world – and the home of our Brazil Gateway – provides us with many possibilities to expand our research capacity and enhance learning opportunities for students.”
Punjab Agricultural University reenergizes relationship with Ohio State
A delegation from Punjab Agricultural University in India visited Ohio State to reenergize a longstanding relationship between the universities. The discussion resulted in a plan to develop a trilateral collaboration between India, United States and Brazil. By building on Ohio State’s strong presence and history in Brazil, the universities will share knowledge and mobilize students from Brazil to India. Two areas of research focus were also identified: sustainable agriculture and artificial intelligence.
2024 International Photography Exhibition winners announced
The 2024 International Photography Exhibition features 40 original photographs taken overseas in 22 different countries by 34 Ohio State students, staff, faculty and alumni. Over 425 members of the campus community submitted more than 800 photographs across three categories: People, Places and Arts & Culture. The exhibition includes a diverse selection of images captured in Australia, Bangladesh, China, Cuba, Czechia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Malawi, Morocco, Nepal, Peru, Portugal, Singapore, Spain and Turkiye.
State Representative Ismail Mohamed inspires campus with Global Leadership address
“We don’t necessarily see a separation between global and local. Global is something that starts right here, right now,” said Kaya Şahin, vice provost for global strategies and international affairs, in his remarks welcoming Ohio House Representative Ismail Mohamed to campus on November 20.
Mohamed is one of the first two Somali representatives in Ohio and the only Somali-born lawyer currently practicing in the state. A graduate of Northland High School, he attended The Ohio State University and earned a bachelor’s in political science and a juris doctorate from the Moritz College of Law.
Chinese alumni celebrate a lifetime of friendship
Buckeyes are Buckeyes for life! For four Chinese alumni, being a Buckeye has meant maintaining lifelong bonds across continents. Qiuyuan Pan, Yuanfang Zheng, Shanxiao Xie and Lian Wei were part of the first cohorts from mainland China to study at Ohio State in 1979 and 1980. The friends are now in their 70s and 80s and have had successful careers in engineering, robotics, soil mechanics and publishing, all while staying in touch throughout their lives.
Diplomacy Labs empower Ohio State students to tackle real-world issues
“Having the Diplomacy Lab available on the Ohio State campus gives students a taste of real-world problems that helps them build skills and understand how government (and sometimes non-governmental) organizations tackle projects through teamwork, planning and communication,” said Angela Brintlinger, chair of the Department of Slavic and East European languages and cultures and Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies director.
Becoming a host site has put Ohio State students front and center in an international effort to lead applied research that addresses important foreign policy challenges such as sustainable development, global health, energy security, women’s empowerment, countering extremism and human rights.
Alumni profile: Jayanthi Sampathkumar
A director of engineering at Google in Redmond, Washington, Jayanthi Sampathkumar ’97 MS ’99 MS developed personal resilience and explored her academic passions as an international graduate student from India.
“I am eternally thankful for the opportunity to study at Ohio State. My four-year experience was life changing and taught me so much. I developed resilience to withstand the cold weather, I learned how to make friends in a new place, and I followed my passions in and out the classroom,” reflects Sampathkumar.