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Columns::April 29, 2002
It’s a girl!
Faculty members look ‘Towards 2010’ an annual symposium
Trumpet virtuoso Fred Mills named first Prokasy Professor
Vehicle registration begins May 1 for university’s new parking system
Academic Assistance changes its name to Academic Enhancement
Convocation opens new academic year
Setting the agenda
Animal, dairy complex named for Rhodes, former regents chairman
Kudos
Whither the humanities?
A better mousetrap
Campus News
Executive director of international education closes out ‘abroad career
By Shelli Bond
sdbond@uga.edu
When Richard Reiff retires as executive director of the Office of International Education next month, he will leave behind a legacy that extends beyond UGA.
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| Richard Reiff |
“Richard Reiff’s leadership contributions are almost legendary,” says Bill Barnhart, director of the International Center at the University of Utah. “He has served as president and vice president of NAFSA, executive director of Phi Beta Delta International Honor Society for the University of Georgia and the Georgia State System of Higher Education.”
One year after coming to UGA in 1971 as a foreign student adviser, Reiff was appointed director of the Office of International Services and Programs. Now, as executive director of the Office of International Education, Reiff provides direction and supervision to the staff of 14 who work with UGA’s study abroad programs and who provide immigration services for the university’s approximately 1,400 international students and scholars.
“He is one of those responsible for bringing the University of Georgia from a level of study abroad of about 250 students per year to between five and six times that number. We are now 15th among U.S. institutions in numbers of students abroad,” says Jim Fletcher, associate vice president for instruction.
During his first few years at the university, Reiff implemented several programs and services that gained national recognition: International Day at the Capital, the Campus Friends Program, International Exhibit Day and the International Speakers Bureau. He also began the International Coffee Hour, where 200 to 300 international and American students meet every Friday in Memorial Hall to mingle and have lunch together.
Reiff also began the annual Study Abroad Fair, considered one of the largest, most well attended and best organized events of its kind in the country. Nearly 2,000 students--the largest crowd so far--attended the most recent fair this past October.
Reiff has received two Fulbright awards for international educators and has received other grants to assist him in conducting numerous cross-cultural communication workshops. He also has served in several leadership roles. For 15 years, Reiff chaired the University System of Georgia Study Abroad Advisory Committee, and for the past five years, he has worked with the 34 system institutions in the state to increase the number of students participating in study abroad programs.
Reiff also served from 1990 to 1991 as president of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the largest professional organization for international educators in the world with approximately 8,000 members.
Rose Mary Valencia, director of the international affairs office at the University of Texas Health Center in Houston, says it was Reiff’s leadership skills and professional consideration that inspired her to serve NAFSA not only at the regional level but also at the national level.
“There has never been a time that I could not call Dr. Reiff and speak to him about any issue related to my campus or my membership that he would not provide me with professional inspiration,” Valencia says.
“Richard, a true professional, is generous with his time and energy for colleagues while holding continually forth the vision for international education,” says Marian Beane, director of the international student/scholar office at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte. “He has a listening ear and an encouraging word for those who are new in the field as well as his more seasoned colleagues. And his words are always seasoned with grace, charm and a good sense of humor.” |
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