Global Awareness Ambassadors

The Global Awareness Ambassadors program is a unique training and advocacy opportunity for faculty members interested in serving as international student academic success champions within their units across campus.

The group functions as a professional learning community, in which participants explore the literature on teaching multilingual and cross-cultural learners, grow their intercultural understanding of the shift that students undergo as they adjust to studying in a different academic culture and of their own intercultural sensitivity, and engage collaboratively in ideas to provide tailored support to their units’ colleagues and students. Over the span of the academic year, faculty members accepted to participate in this cohort-based training model work independently, meet asynchronously on Zoom, and gather in person twice in the CTL.

The Global Awareness Ambassadors program is a spin-off of the CTL’s Global Awareness workshop series, which supports faculty and advisors as they promote international student academic success across campus and seek to grow as intercultural liaisons. Melissa Hawkins, PhD, a veteran international educator with over 25 years of experience in the field, facilitates this program.

Applications for the upcoming academic year’s cohort are accepted during each summer semester. For more information on the Global Awareness Ambassadors program, contact Hawkins at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For information on who currently serves as a Global Awareness Ambassador in your unit, please see the list of current Ambassadors below.

Global Awareness Ambassadors across UAB