Betty Anderson, international programs coordinator in the Global Education Office, has received the university’s 2017 Presidential Principles of Community Award.

The award was established in 2013 by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, now the Office of the Vice Provost for Inclusion and Diversity, to recognize faculty and staff members who exemplify and promote a welcoming and inclusive environment in accordance with the university’s Principles of Community. One staff and one faculty member are selected annually by the Commission on Equal Opportunity and Diversity, and each receives a $2,000 cash prize.

Anderson is a Fulbright advisor who promotes the opportunities of Fulbright to faculty, staff, and students and emphasizes the importance of inclusion and accessibility. She has also overseen advising on diversity-focused national scholarships such as the Boren, the Gilman, and the Critical Language Scholarships.

Regularly educating students on study-abroad opportunities, Anderson frequently connects with students currently attending Virginia Tech’s National Capital Region campus about their educational options.

In 2015, Anderson presented a session at the NAFSA: Association of International Educators Regional Conference entitled, “Supporting the DREAM: Defense, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors” to discuss her work with deferred-action students at Virginia Tech. Due to the success of her presentation, she was invited to the subsequent conference in 2016.

Anderson regularly serves as a volunteer conversation partner and local host for the Humphrey Fellows program, which brings leaders from all over the world to Virginia Tech for a long-term English training program. Anderson also works as a volunteer coordinator at the Blacksburg Lyric Theatre to forge strong connections and maintain the arts within the local community.

Theresa Johansson, director of the Global Education Office, wrote in a letter of nomination, “Though her position here does not require it of her, she has done tireless work – on the job and off – to make Virginia Tech and Blacksburg more inclusive, to celebrate the rich diversity that we already have, and to raise the bar for the future.”

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