The University of Maryland's Office of International Affairs (OIA) recently honored Stacy Kosko, program director of International Studies (IS), as the inaugural recipient of the Outstanding Global Classrooms Faculty Award.
A decade ago, Kosko launched UMD’s first global classroom on human rights with Tel Aviv University. Her commitment to, and success in this pilot served as the inspiration for scores of UMD faculty to participate in the Global Classroom Initiative (GCI). Today, UMD can boast more than 70 global classrooms involving universities around the world. Global classrooms have now become embedded in the curricular fabric of the university is now offered by every school and college on our campus.
In 2014, she also helped OIA form the first Community of Practice, where teachers of global classrooms shared best practices to address the difficult challenges related to partnership development, technology, and student engagement across time zones and cultures. Since that time, Kosko has also served as both a mentor to as well as a collaborator with your peers.
Thanks to her efforts, more than 1,000 Maryland students and an equal number of students across the world, have benefited personally; their global classroom experiences have better prepared them to help take on the grand challenges of our time and to bring out the best of humanity at a time when that is sorely needed.