NAFSA Presents Prestigious Awards at 2008 Annual Conference

WASHINGTON, June 17, 2008 – NAFSA: Association of International Educators recently presented several prestigious awards at its 60th Annual Conference in Washington, DC. This year’s award recipients include: Ward B. Chamberlin, for the Cassandra Pyle Award; Ellen E. Mashiko for the Marita Houlihan Award; Peter Briggs for the Homer Higbee Award; and Dixon Johnson, David Larsen, and Jerry Wilcox for NAFSA Life Membership Awards.

Cassandra Pyle Award

The Cassandra Pyle Award for Leadership and Collaboration in International Educational Exchange, awarded this year to Ward B. Chamberlin, honors the contributions of a senior international educator to global international exchange. During World War II, Chamberlin served with the American Field Service in Africa, Italy and India. He was among the members of AFS that decided to transform the organization of ambulance drivers into what today is AFS Intercultural Programs, an organization that seeks to promote peace and understanding through international youth education exchanges. For more than 60 years, as a former chairperson and currently a life trustee of the board, Chamberlin has been dedicated to AFS’ mission. Chamberlin was also a founding pioneer of public broadcasting, playing a key role in the establishment of both the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR).

 

Marita Houlihan Award

The 2008 recipient of the Marita Houlihan Award is Ellen E. Mashiko. This award recognizes individuals who have displayed imaginative activity, outstanding personal enterprise, and creative contributions to the field through research, writing, or program development. During Mashiko’s 36-year-long career in international education, she has worked to strengthen exchange between Japan and the United States. She began her career concurrently serving as educational information officer of the Japan-United States Education Commission (Fulbright Program) and Japan Program development officer for the East-West Center (Honolulu, Hawaii) in Tokyo, Japan. Later, Mashiko served as deputy executive director of the International Center and administrator of the Overseas Projects Development Office, Academic Affairs Division at Waseda University. She then became executive director of the Tokyo Foundation’s Scholarship Division with responsibility for developing programs worldwide.

Homer Higbee Award

Peter Briggs, director of the Office for International Students and Scholars (OISS) at Michigan State University, is the 2008 recipient of the Homer Higbee Award. The Homer Higbee award is presented to NAFSAns currently involved in associational activities who have donated at least 10 years of distinguished service and plan to continue service to NAFSA's leadership. Recipients have developed leadership by acting as professional mentors to colleagues in a number of NAFSA Knowledge Communities. Briggs has held a number of leadership positions within NAFSA, including serving on the Board of Directors (2005-2007), vice president for Regional Affairs, chair of the Management Advisory Committee, chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee, chair of the Awards Committee, chair of Region I, and program chair for the national conference.

NAFSA Life Membership Awards

NAFSA Life Membership is awarded each year to senior NAFSA members to recognize their achievements in advancing the goals of the association and of international education and exchange. This year this award went to Dixon Johnson, David Larsen, and Jerry Wilcox.

Dixon Johnson served as the executive director of the Office of International Services at the University of Southern California for over 20 years. He has consulted on international education issues on numerous U.S. campuses and for the State Department, and he has worked directly with foreign governments in Asia, Europe, and Africa. Johnson was president of NAFSA from 1981 to 1982, prior to which he was chair of CAFSS (Council of Advisers to Foreign Students and Scholars) in 1977-78. Johnson also served on the Region VII team as the CAFSS representative.

David Larsen was the executive director of the Center for Education Abroad at Arcadia University for over 20 years. During his tenure, Arcadia’s Center for Education Abroad has grown into one of the country’s largest and most respected campus-based providers of study abroad programs. Larsen served as a member of the NAFSA Board of Directors (2005-2007), where he chaired the Development Committee. He served on the Inter-Associational Task Force on Health and Safety in Study Abroad, and was chair of the Health and Safety Committee of the Section on U.S. Students Abroad (SECUSSA) for several years. Larsen has contributed to countless workshops, sessions, and publications to NAFSA over the years.

Jerry Wilcox has worked in the field of international educational exchange for over 37 years: at Cornell University from 1971-1998 and from 1998-2008 as director of the international office at the University of Texas at Austin. Since joining NAFSA in 1971, Wilcox has served in several volunteer leadership positions, including president of NAFSA from 1994 to 1995, chair of CAFSS, chair of the Professional Development Committee, chair of the former Government Regulations Advisory Committee, and chair of the NAFSA CEO selection committee, among many others.