Bradley University Establishes Office of Global Studies and Initiatives

Bradley University is establishing the Office of Global Studies and Initiatives (OGSI), effective August 1, 2021. This new office will support, enhance and champion global education comprehensively at Bradley University. OGSI will work collaboratively with faculty, staff and units across campus to support, promote and expand learning opportunities for Bradley students to develop global and cross-cultural competences. It will facilitate the building of networks across divisions and colleges to foster multidisciplinary education, as well as strengthen student support, which will aid the university’s recruitment and retention of domestic and international students. OGSI will also advance partnerships that will augment these efforts and activities.

Bradley provides a wide array of curricular, co-curricular and experiential learning opportunities in this area and OGSI is an important step in expanding these efforts.

OGSI will be led by a faculty director who will report to the Vice President of Strategy and Innovation. Dr. Jeanie Bukowski, Associate Professor of International Studies, has agreed to serve as interim faculty director for the 2021-2022 academic year. She earned her doctorate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1996 and joined the Bradley faculty in 1998. Dr. Bukowski is a recipient of a Fulbright Senior Scholar Research Award. She has participated in study abroad programs in Malta, Spain, and Costa Rica; engaged students in research on transboundary water resources on the Iberian Peninsula; and advised nationally recognized student teams conducting Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Action Campaigns. Dr. Bukowski has served as chair of the Senate Standing Committee on International Initiatives since its inception in 2019.

An internal search for a permanent faculty director will be conducted in spring 2022.