UA Global is the merging of International Education and the Office of Global Initiatives into one unit. Through strategic planning and with the help of 70 stakeholders across campus, the process came to fruition in the fall. 

Brent White is the new dean of Global Campuses and interim vice provost for Global Affairs and was previously the vice provost for International Education. He said he was pleased to be awarded the position. 

According to a UA Global announcement provided by the University, White will lead the process of combining the offices of International Education and Global Initiatives into the singular unit. 

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“Through this newly-formed unit we will redefine global education in the digital age, setting a new standard for global engagement,” White said. “We will do so by embracing technology, building a global network of educational partnerships, scaling global research and expanding access to global experiences for UA students.”

UA Global consists of several units including UA Study Abroad, International Student Services, International Education, International Partnerships, International Faculty and Scholars and International Admissions.  

“Essentially, if it’s global, it’s here,” White said. 

UA Global is excited to continue to grow its global micro-campus network, enrich student abroad opportunities, recruit and support international students and help to improve the planet by tackling and solving grand global challenges, according to White.

“At UA Global, we are committed to expanding access to study abroad opportunities for students. We offer programs at varying durations, even during spring and winter breaks. Many semester abroad programs cost less than a semester in Tucson … we’re sending more Wildcats abroad than ever before, and we are constantly seeking out new pathways,” White said.

There will be four new UA micro-campuses opening this fall and White said that “the goal is 20 or more locations by 2025, setting the UA apart as one of the most global universities in the world.”

Through White’s background of attending universities such as Duke and New York University as well as study abroad experiences he said he has become passionate about the study abroad experience.

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Suzanne Panferov Reese, associate vice president for global engagement at UA Global, said studying abroad provides diversity for students.

“Studying abroad is important because it exposes students to new places and often new languages and cultures.  We need to be able to work with and understand diverse points of view and studying abroad changes the lens we see the world through,” Panferov Reese said. “Even a short experience abroad can help a student learn about another world and that will help the student down the road in job placement and even further studies.” 

Study abroad options are available to all students, including incoming freshman, that can participate in the Global Bridge Program, a program that allows them to earn six credits over the summer in places like Orvieto, Italy.

“We can’t do any of this work alone. We will continue to work with and engage people across campus, Tucson, Arizona and beyond,” White said.

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