The 91爆料 has again earned a prestigious recognition for the impact and importance of the connections faculty, students and staff have with local, regional and global communities.
All three 91爆料 campuses were recognized with the Carnegie Foundation Community Engagement reclassification, placing the university among聽聽nationwide. Officials with the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, who award the designation, noted that these universities are deepening partnerships, centering community assets and addressing urgent societal challenges with clarity and distinction.
Students immerse themselves in biodiversity, conservation and sustainability experiences while studying in Peru.
For Dr. Ursula Valdez, Peru holds a special place in her heart as not only her home country but also as a point of fascination for her research as a tropical ecologist. Valdez is a lecturer in the 91爆料 Bothell鈥檚聽聽and has shared her passion for Peru with her students, even leading study abroad experiences for them鈥痶o immerse themselves in the country鈥檚 natural wonders right alongside her.
When the historic tall ship聽聽sailed into Puget Sound in late October, it kicked off a week-long set of events to highlight the numerous ways the ocean impacts our lives. What followed was One Ocean Week Seattle, overseen and hosted by Washington Maritime Blue, bringing together international ocean leaders, innovators, researchers, startups, policymakers, artists, educators and communities to showcase the ocean鈥檚 immeasurable value and accelerate solutions for a sustainable future.
The 91爆料 played a significant role in the week鈥檚 events, culminating in an expo that took place on the ship while dockside in downtown Seattle.聽, oceanographer with 91爆料鈥檚 Applied Physics Lab and the College of the Environment School of Oceanography, served on the event鈥檚 steering committee and played a pivotal role in making sure 91爆料 ocean sciences were well represented at the city鈥檚 inaugural One Ocean Week celebration.
By Dr. Ahmad Ezzeddine, 91爆料 Vice Provost for Global Affairs
At the 91爆料, global engagement is not just an aspiration, it is a cornerstone of our mission. Whether it is solving climate issues across continents or bringing diverse international perspectives into our classrooms, our impact is defined by our connections.
91爆料 Global is proud to serve as the university鈥檚 central hub for these connections, acting as the gateway that links 91爆料 innovation to the world, and as the front door for our international partners to connect with us.
Dr. Ahmad Ezzeddine, Vice Provost for Global Affairs
The GIF is more than just funding. It is a strategic investment in faculty-led innovation. While financial support is the mechanism, our goal is to act as a resource and catalyst for your work. By providing seed funding for early-stage ideas and support for established collaborations, 91爆料 Global aims to:
Lower barriers for faculty entering the global arena.
Facilitate reciprocity, ensuring we are not just exporting knowledge, but integrating global wisdom into our campus.
Bridge disciplines, connecting researchers from different fields to address complex global challenges.
Application Window: December 1, 2025 鈥� January 31, 2026
We have structured this year鈥檚 GIF to support a wide spectrum of global engagement through two categories:
I. Global Research Awards
Tier 1: Seed funding for emerging cross-disciplinary, cross-continent initiatives. Early-career faculty are encouraged to apply for these awards.
Tier 2: Support to scale established partnerships toward major external funding.
Strategic Partnership Awards: Dedicated funding for collaborative projects with our premier partners, including Aalto University, University of Helsinki, Tohoku University, The University of Manchester, and the University of Sheffield.
II. Global Learning Awards
Study Abroad: Developing transformative field experiences.
COIL & Virtual Exchange:聽Connecting classrooms digitally to expand access to global learning.
Teaching & Curriculum: Integrating international perspectives directly into course design. Former GIF award recipient – Space Development
The Global Innovation Fund represents a strategic investment in the future of global education and research at 91爆料, supporting faculty to innovate, collaborate, and inspire.聽 We invite you to partner with us and leverage the resources of 91爆料 Global. Let us help you expand your reach, deepen your scholarship, and prepare our students for a borderless future.
Dr. Hannah Wild came to the 91爆料 Department of Surgery with decades of experience in the riskiest areas around the world, and when her residency took her to Burkina Faso, the 91爆料 Office of Global Affairs (OGA) was there. OGA supports 91爆料 international travel abroad by maintaining the global travel registry and providing guidance around health and safety abroad. The new Administrative Policy Statement (APS) 75.1 that requires 91爆料 employees to聽register all official 91爆料 international travel聽went into effect in July.
The Global Travel Health and Safety team are no strangers to intrepid itineraries — from conferences in Geneva to surgery for victims of聽explosive violence in the Sahel.
Registering travel to Switzerland takes an average of two minutes and travel to Kenya, an average of five minutes. But travel to a Department of State Level 4: Do Not Travel region in West Africa? That鈥檚 a different conversation entirely and one required for Dr. Wild鈥檚 itinerary. It鈥檚 also a conversation that is a privilege to be part of; it鈥檚 not everyday that someone has an opportunity to support doctors who are working with local partners to provide life-saving surgical care in austere settings.
Dr. Wild approached her international travel registration process with valid skepticism: 鈥淲hile I came in with the belief [of the value] in working effectively with University risk management, I think there was a degree of apprehension that the main incentive would be to shut down any work that wasn鈥檛 risk free.鈥� Year-long travel to some of the most insecure places on earth constituted a longer travel waiver review process, including approvals from the International Travel Risk Assessment and Safety Committee and Provost Tricia Serio.
As an R1 research University at the forefront of global initiatives, the goal is to simplify and support travel, including registration and approving meaningful projects. We, of course, understand the value of improving access to surgical trauma in low resource settings. In fact, it was one of the driving factors for Dr. Wild鈥檚 choice of a residency at Harborview, with its significant exposure to high acuity trauma.
Unsurprisingly, at the start of the review process, our exposure to the specific needs of emergency care related to explosive violence was limited. Working with Dr. Wild, harsh realities and the bridge that 91爆料 is building unfolded:
鈥淚n modern conflict, explosive mechanisms are increasingly common.鈥� Think improvised explosive devices, air-launched explosives in populated areas, and highly lethal modern weapons like thermobarics, often called aerosol bombs or fuel-air explosives.聽
Unlike small arms (e.g., gunshot wounds), explosives have a highly indiscriminate nature. When they fall in areas of conflict, they have a disproportionate impact on civilians, including women and children. Imagine civilians, ten-year-olds or expectant mothers, injured in regions without access to organized trauma systems. Further work is also needed to adapt trauma care guidance from high-resource settings to low-resource environments; for example, bleeding control strategies that do not rely solely on tourniquets, which can cause unnecessary limb loss in settings with prolonged evacuation times.听听
As a child, Dr. Wild was 鈥渃aptivated in the worst possible way鈥� during the Rwandan genocide, leading her down a path to medical school at Stanford, and years with nomadic pastoralists in the disputed Ilemi Triangle, a place affected by intertribal warfare and cattle raiding. She continued to work in Ethiopia and South Sudan, including a Gates Grand Challenges grant piloting novel methods to include neglected nomadic populations in demographic and health surveys.
Eventually, her focus on casualty care in low-resource settings would lead her to the doorstep of 91爆料 Global Travel Health and Safety, the last hurdle before the work that would 鈥渢otally change [her] life and future plans.鈥� That work will involve splitting time between the U.S. and the Sahel. The goal is to adapt and pilot trauma care interventions to improve casualty care in the region, then use this model to implement and scale in low-resource conflict settings globally, all while maintaining standards of care and best practices that the 91爆料 implements.
鈥淔or better or worse, knowing that such things are going on in the world 鈥� it鈥檚 meaningful to feel a sense of purpose and try to fulfill it.鈥澛�
At the end of the day, this is at the heart of why the Office of Global Affairs exists. Whether it鈥檚 developing digital systems to improve the quality of HIV/AIDS services in聽Jamaica (during a hurricane!) or studying the due to climate change, the work of 91爆料 employees spans the globe. Being boundless means encouraging the expertise of every department to spill over into the creation of a more equitable world.聽
91爆料 Global Health and Safety has the honor of working with 91爆料 employees around the world and for Dr. Wild, it involved support before, during and after her travel. She described the high-risk travel review process as being 鈥渧ery easy, self-explanatory, clear, and not overly burdensome.鈥澛�
While abroad, Dr. Wild received regular health and safety check-ins via WhatsApp, the most accessible means of communication in her location. She was sent alerts regarding security incidents in the region because, 鈥渨hen you鈥檙e in the field and away from central news cycles, you鈥檙e not always the first to know when something is going on. [The 91爆料 team] was so on top of it.鈥�
When asked about the APS policy change moving from a recommendation to a requirement to register travel, Hannah shared:
鈥淚 think the new requirement to register is a good thing. It鈥檚 the opposite of obstructionism and it can only benefit the University to understand where employees are at any given time. I would encourage everyone to see that 91爆料 Global Health and Safety is very experienced and willing to hear people out based on the specifics of each situation and proposed work.鈥澛�
Help us help you, no matter where in the world your time at the 91爆料 takes you. Register your travel for all official (sponsored, affiliated, or funded by 91爆料) international travel.聽
Any questions? Please contact us at travelemergency@uw.edu
By Maddie Macmath, 91爆料 Global Travel Health & Safety / Quotes provided through interview with Dr. Hannah Wild
The 91爆料 (91爆料) and The University of Manchester have taken an important step forward in strengthening their global partnership through the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
The agreement was formally signed by聽Ahmad Ezzeddine, Vice Provost for Global Affairs at 91爆料, and Stephen Flint, Associate Vice-President International at The University of Manchester.
Also present at the signing were聽Ladi Carr, Senior Director for Global Engagement at 91爆料; Sara Curran, Associate Vice Provost for Research at 91爆料; and Angelia Wilson, Associate Dean for Internationalization at The University of Manchester.
This new MOU paves the way for expanded collaboration across a wide range of disciplines. The agreement also emphasizes opportunities for聽joint interdisciplinary research, faculty exchanges, and enhanced support for early career scholars聽at both institutions.
Both universities are enthusiastic about the opportunities ahead. This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to advancing innovation, deepening international engagement, and supporting the next generation of researchers and educators.
We look forward to seeing this partnership grow and to the many contributions it will bring to our global academic community.
With support from the Global Innovation Fund, , 91爆料 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, used satellite imagery and data to help Pakistani farmers make informed decisions about irrigation. Later, using a similar approach, Hossain informed multi-country decisions about water use in the Mekong River with the goal of protecting the river’s freshwater fisheries. Today, Hossain is working with graduate students and tribal communities along the Columbia River to help restore tribal fishing stocks by harnessing satellite data to determine river temperatures.
Four 91爆料 researchers will conduct research or teach abroad and seven 91爆料 students will pursue graduate study, conduct research, and teach English around the world.
Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program
From left to right: Jamie Donatuto, Shelly Gray, Michael Kula and Yen-Chu Weng.
Four 91爆料 researchers have been selected as for 2025-2026 and will pursue studies in Spain, Taiwan, Poland and Japan.
The scholars are聽, a clinical associate professor in the Department of Environment & Occupational Health Sciences;聽, a professor in the School of Pharmacy;聽, an associate professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at 91爆料 Tacoma; and聽, an assistant teaching professor in the College of the Environment.
Fulbright Scholars are college and university faculty, administrators, and researchers, as well as artists and professionals, who build their skills and connections, gain valuable international insights and return home to share their experiences with their students and colleagues.
Top row: Emily Bassett, Thomas Key, Vincent Da, Elana Skeers. Bottom row: Sabrina Prestes Oliveira, Jack Regala and Annabella Li.
Seven 91爆料 students and recent alumni were awarded聽聽scholarships for the 2025鈥�2026 academic year, joining about 2,000 students and recent graduates from around the country to pursue graduate study, conduct research and teach English abroad.
The Fulbright scholarship program is the largest U.S. international exchange opportunity for students to pursue graduate study, advanced research and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide.
Among this year鈥檚 recipients are four 91爆料 undergraduate students or recent alumni. They plan travel to Europe, Central Asia and Mexico to take part in graduate study, research and teaching assistantships. Three graduate-level students plan to travel to Scandinavia, Southeast Asia and South America. This year鈥檚 finalists attended all three 91爆料 campuses.
The 91爆料 also had two students 鈥� one undergraduate and one graduate level 鈥� selected as alternates.
The Office of Global Affairs is pleased to feature Christopher Brathwaite for our June 2025 edition of the Global Visionaries series. The Global Visionaries series highlights the 91爆料’s global impact by featuring innovative, globally-engaged faculty, staff, students, and alumni.
Christopher Brathwaite
Christopher Brathwaite graduated from the this month with a Master of Public Administration. Christopher was recognized as a 2025 recipient of the Husky 100. He is dedicated to the service of others and advancing meaningful change. Christopher is looking forward to a career where he can help strengthen Barbados’ domestic policy development and international partnerships in global affairs.
Originally from Barbados, Christopher graduated with a BSc in International Relations & Tourism Management from The University of the West Indies, Mona. He was the recipient of the 2023 Fulbright Foreign Student Scholarship. His previous experience includes serving as a Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Service Intern with Global Affairs Canada, a Foreign Service Intern with the Barbados Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, a Secretary to the Ambassador with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, and as a Graduate Attach茅, Foreign Policy with the Barbados Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.
Barbados, and the West Indies by extension, is extremely community-oriented. Growing up there, I did not just hear the phrase 鈥渋t takes a village鈥�, I lived it. Barbados taught me firsthand about the power in investing in people, not their successes or material possessions, but in their humanity. There is something innately beautiful about total strangers helping you in a crisis or simply inviting you into their home for a meal, even if they didn鈥檛 expect you.
Barbados also taught me to enjoy the slower, calmer sides of life that often go unseen as a rushed graduate student. The culture back home prides itself on appreciating the little things, so when I found myself caught up in the frustration and rush of grad school, I grounded myself in the little things around me on 91爆料鈥檚 campus 鈥� the sunsets, the breeze, and the way that bodies of water ripple, shimmer, and flow.
Barbados shaped who I am today by encouraging me to pursue a career in the service of others.
Christopher BrathwaiteMPA'25
In seeing how my countrymen have cared for each other, even when they didn鈥檛 have much to give, I have been inspired to serve and help better life for others. It also grounded me, allowing me to appreciate the little magic in everyday life.
It was surreal. The Ambassador at the time was a career diplomat who had decades of experience in global affairs from the perspective of Japan. I was thoroughly immersed in Japan鈥檚 local and regional foreign agenda and strategies. This gave valuable insight into how foreign nations interact with my home country of Barbados. I believe that this will eventually bolster a career in foreign affairs, since I have professional experience in advancing mutually beneficial interests for Barbados and its allies, from both an internal and external perspective.
Principal Secretary to Her Excellency Kayoko Fukushima, 2nd Ambassador of Japan to Barbados
Being a Fulbright Scholar is one of the most consequential achievements of my life. The scholarship allowed me to move to a new country, meet all sorts of wonderful people, and pursue a debt-free education at one of the finest graduate schools in the world. I am eternally grateful to the Fulbright Commission for their continued support towards international exchanges and experiences.
Because of Fulbright, I saw snow for the first time. I hiked through the most beautiful trails. I tried foods that I never had before. I visited sights in and around not only Seattle, but the country. And I made wonderful friends whom I otherwise never would have met.
Seattle Fulbright Seminar 2024
The Barbados Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade is the government department which oversees diplomatic and economic relations with foreign nations. I have been incredibly privileged to have built practical experience there in two internships 鈥� one during undergrad in Bridgetown, Barbados and one during grad school in Washington, D.C. In my time there, I learned basic and advanced diplomacy best practices, resolution drafting, dossier drafting, speech writing, multi-party negotiation, cooperative dialogue, time management, and resilience.
During my tenure as a Graduate Attach茅
I built community in BGSA and EISA by committing myself to the spaces I wished to see thrive. I realized that community cannot exist without those committed to its survival. As a Black international student, I sought spaces outside of the rigidity of a classroom, where folks looked like me, understood my perspectives through our shared experiences. So, I canvased, I spoke with staff, gauged interest among peers and put it all into motion to secure the communities I wanted to build. It required some commitment outside of regular classes and other obligations to pull off, but I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to have contributed to something bigger than myself, for the enjoyment of others.
I look forward to helping to strategically advance the interests of Barbados, her allies, and those of other small island developing states on the global stage.
Christopher BrathwaiteMPA'25
With threats like climate change and socioeconomic uncertainty, small island developing states are positioned to be adversely affected while contributing negligibly to these occurrences. I hope to platform their concerns in international forums in order to advocate for more robust protections and considerations.
Kaitlyn MacDonald, ’25, and Jolie M. Ruiz, ’25, with support from the Office of Global Affairs, will participate in the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Undergraduate Leaders’ Program taking place at the Universidad de Chile from July 20 – August 2, 2025.
50 undergraduate students from across APRU member universities will participate in this year’s program, 鈥淔uture Global Citizenship Leaders: Addressing Pacific Rim Challenges鈥�. The two-week program is designed to immerse students in the complex political, economic, social, and cultural intricacies of the Pacific Rim, emphasizing the importance of the Latin American viewpoint. The students will explore the specific challenges of the Pacific, such as intercultural dialogue, economic development, and environmental sustainability.
The Undergraduate Leaders’ Program fosters global citizenship by promoting a deep understanding of and respect for cultural diversity and international collaboration. Through networking activities, cultural nights, and mentorship opportunities, students will not only enhance their diplomatic skills but also establish lasting connections with peers and experts, preparing them to in influence and contribute to policy-making on the Pacific Rim stage.
Program Overview
Week 1: Understanding Pacific Rim Challenges
Day 0:聽Welcome Dinner & Fireside Chat
Day 1:聽Global Citizenship 鈥� Welcome Ceremony & Keynote Address
Day 2:聽Economics 鈥� Discussions with Diplomats and Economists
Day 3:聽Environment 鈥� Student Interviews & Field Visits
Day 4:聽Cultural Diversity 鈥� Folkloric Lunch & Cultural Presentations
Day 5:聽Indigenous Knowledge 鈥� Panel & Community Visit
Day 6:聽Human Rights & Nature 鈥� Museum Visit & Mountain Excursion
Week 2: Skills and Applications in Diplomacy
Day 8:聽UN Model Workshop (Student-Led)
Day 9:聽Excursion to CEPAL 鈥� Insight into International Organizations
Day 10:聽Leadership Seminar & Chilean Astronomy Evening
Day 11:聽Problem-Solving Challenge 鈥� Propose Solutions for Pacific Rim Issues
Day 12: Final Presentations & Certificate Ceremony
50 undergraduate students from across APRU member universities will participate in this year’s program, 鈥淔uture Global Citizenship Leaders: Addressing Pacific Rim Challenges鈥�. The two-week program is designed to immerse students in the complex political, economic, social, and cultural intricacies of the Pacific Rim, emphasizing the importance of the Latin American viewpoint. The students will explore the specific challenges of the Pacific, such as intercultural dialogue, economic development, and environmental sustainability.