Every year, thousands of University of Michigan students travel the world to gain international experience and understanding through study abroad, internships and service learning opportunities. And every year, U-M receives hundreds of foreign students and faculty who enrich the campus community.

Now, the university is looking to recognize the efforts of faculty and staff that have made these efforts possible, through the President’s Award for Distinguished Service in International Education.

“U-M faculty and staff who work in international education enhance our academic excellence by connecting people and cultures in service of our mission,” President Mark Schlissel said.

“This award will celebrate this essential component of a U-M education and those who are dedicated to helping thousands of our students see first-hand that our world is a complex place, full of wonderfully diverse people and opportunities.”

Eligible nominees for the award, which comes with a $1,000 prize, include all faculty and staff members who have demonstrated a commitment and dedication to international education, leadership in the field of international education, or service to global learning through campus networks, professional organizations or other volunteer work.

All active faculty, staff and students on all campuses and in the U-M Health System are eligible to submit nominations. The deadline is Feb. 15, 2017.

U-M offers a breadth of opportunities for global learning through study abroad programs, intensive language immersion, internships, interdisciplinary design projects and service learning.

The award also acknowledges that international students and scholars bring cultural and intellectual diversity to Ann Arbor, enriching the community and scholarship and expand the university’s global network of leadership and service.

In 2014-15, U-M had 4,377 students overseas in credit-seeking and non-credit-seeking programs in more than 144 countries, and was recently recognized for having the most students studying abroad among Big Ten universities by the annual Open Doors report by the Institute of International Education, a New York-based nonprofit.

The university also has a long history of hosting international students on campus. The first two international students, one from Mexico and one from Wales, enrolled at U-M in 1847. This fall, there were 2,061 undergraduate and 4,703 graduate and professional international students on the Ann Arbor campus, about 15 percent of the student body.

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• international students
• Mark Schlissel