Global engagement

Recent news

Faculty member recognized for advancing international education
Arizona State University’s Dr. David Androff and University of Georgia’s Dr. Jane McPherson were recognized with the 2022 CSWE PIE (Partners in International Education) Award in the Organization category.

Androff and McPherson created the Human Rights and Social Work Special Interest Group (SIG) in 2011, representing the first formal gathering of scholars and educators working at the intersection of social work and human rights. Since then, the momentum created by this group has contributed to the development of the Human Rights and Social Work Committee of the Global Commission, the Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, and many other books, events and gatherings.

Founded in 1952, the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is the national association representing social work education in the United States. Its members include over 800 accredited baccalaureate and master’s degree social work programs, as well as individual social work educators, practitioners and agencies dedicated to advancing quality social work education.

Androff is an associate professor in the ASU School of Social Work and director of the school’s Office of Global Social Work. He also serves as the School of Social Work's associate director for doctoral education and as a senior global futures scholar in ASU's Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory.

Young African leaders find innovation at ASU
Fifty young African leaders who are visiting Arizona State University will take home memories of the scorching summer heat, but they also will carry back new ways to improve their communities. The group is part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, and they are in the United States for six weeks, including academic work at ASU, community service and a meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. This is the third year of the fellowship program, begun in 2014 as the main part of Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative.

ASU Regents' Professor a major strategist in substance-abuse prevention
Flavio Marsiglia’s work on diversity, substance use and youth development is regarded to be among the best and most influential in the field. He has pioneered programs that have been implemented in all 50 states as well as in Australia, Canada, Guatemala, Mexico, Spain and the United Kingdom, among other countries.

Our programs and research have both local and global impact. We work with partners around the world to implement systems and solutions that build strong communities. Some examples include:

Americas

At the third annual North American Process Symposium, federal officials and top executives from the U.S., Mexico and Canada addressed North American competitiveness with a focus on energy and infrastructure. Through a series of working groups and plenary sessions, attendees developed specific recommendations to bolster a more efficient, resourceful and competitive North America. Partners in the effort include ASU, University of Calgary School of Public Policy and Universidad Anahuac Mexico Norte.
Led by Dave White, Decision Center for a Desert City, Tecnológico de Monterrey and ASU are in the process of integrating a proposal for a diagnosis/intervention framework (for water/sanitation operators in Mexico) based on two IDB models: Emerging and Sustainable Cities Initiative (ESCI) and AquaRating.
The Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety is working with the Regional Security System (RSS), the common defense system for seven Eastern Caribbean nations, to help gain an understanding of the problem of criminal youth groups, prioritize security concerns and assess trends for planning and resource allocation.

Africa

Through the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, ASU is part of the YALI Regional Leadership Center program, a network of four centers serving as regional hubs across the continent of Africa to encourage transformational learning and enhance leadership skills. Faculty have traveled to the East Africa Regional Leadership Center in Nairobi, Kenya to deliver civic leadership courses in person, as well as support online courses. The center serves 14 countries in east and central Africa.
The Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center is leading a study to help determine what local barriers might prevent the adoption of a new assay for HIV in northern Tanzania.
The Center for Sustainable Tourism has led efforts on community well-being and empowerment in tourism-dependent indigenous communities, as well as assessments for the country’s sustainable tourism efforts.
The Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy has brought together a collaborative network to evaluate adaption of low-cost behavioral health interventions for implementation in local African communities.
The Center for Science, Technology and Environmental Policy Studies led the Climate Smart Technology Network, part of the 2014-2019 Climate Change for Agriculture and Food Security Flagship Four initiative. Research on this project conducted network surveys and analysis to better understand a range of factors affecting the diffusion and uptake of climate smart technologies (CST) in Uganda and Tanzania, thereby providing the evidentiary basis for identifying policy interventions.

Asia

In a unique collaboration with the Ministry of Education in China, we launched the Hainan University - Arizona State University International Tourism College to address the growing need for highly educated professionals. Joint programs cover hotel/tourism management, parks and recreation management/urban and rural planning, and public service and public policy/public administration.
Building on the success of the Mandela Washington Fellows for Young African Leaders, ASU also led two tracks for President Obama's signature program to strengthen leadership development and networking in Southeast Asia: YSEALI. Through the Vocational and University Leadership and Innovation Institute, we are working to contribute directly to Vietnam’s national goal of increasing the quality of higher education and at the same time strengthening the human and institutional capacity to contribute to the country’s economic growth.
A team of researchers from the School of Community Resources and Development is examining strategies to support Burma in efforts to increase the involvement of local communities in the tourism value chain, contribute to the local economy and impact poverty reduction among local citizens. Groups have also worked with colleagues at Vietnam National University in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the School of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City and Saigon. ASU faculty presented an Executive Tourism Workshop for tourism and hospitality professionals in Ho Chi Minh City to cultivate sustainable tourism growth and educational opportunities.

Europe

Faculty and students are looking at the economic impact of tourism—key attractions, events and even the impact on residential property values—across Arizona as well as tourism studies throughout the world including Europe and Asia.