Athens, Ga. – Kavita Pandit, a high-level administrator and professor at the State University System of New York, has been named the associate provost for international education at UGA, effective Nov. 1.

“For the past decade, the University of Georgia has established a nationally acclaimed program in international education,” said UGA President Michael F. Adams. “I believe Dr. Pandit can take this already strong program, build on the record of her predecessor Judy Shaw and reach an even greater level of quality.”

The appointment marks a return to UGA for Pandit, who has served as the senior vice provost at SUNY since 2007. Prior to that, she was associate dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and head of UGA’s department of geography. She was a member of the geography faculty from 1987 to 2007.

“I am delighted that Dr. Kavita Pandit has accepted our offer to return to the University of Georgia as the associate provost for international education,” said Provost Arnett C. Mace Jr. “Kavita brings a wealth of administrative and international experience at the University of Georgia and in the SUNY System Office to this position. Her leadership, expertise, and experience will enable the University of Georgia to build upon the excellence in international education of the university. I look forward to working with Kavita for the next few months to advance our international programs.”

In her new role, Pandit will oversee UGA’s international education including its study abroad program, which is ranked fifth among all colleges and universities in the U.S. in terms of student participation. Almost 30 percent of UGA undergraduates will have studied in other countries before they graduate.

“This position represents a most exciting opportunity to build on the considerable recent momentum in UGA’s internationalization and take the university to the next level of national and international recognition,” Pandit said. “I am also thrilled to be returning to a campus with which I feel a strong bond and being part of the team positioning it to be one of the very top public universities in the area of comprehensive internationalization.”

Pandit was born and educated in Mumbai, India, earning a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Bombay University in 1978. She received a master’s degree in city and regional planning and a Ph.D. in geography both from the Ohio State University in 1981 and 1987 respectively.

Her academic interests are in the areas of international economic development, population and immigration. She is the coeditor of Migration and Restructuring in the United States and Introductory Reader in Human Geography. Pandit also has authored more than 40 refereed articles and book chapters and is a recipient of grants from agencies including the National Science Foundation.

In 2006-2007 she served as the elected president of the Association of American Geographers, a scholarly organization with more than 10,000 members. She’s received numerous accolades, including the Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers’ Distinguished Service Award, Franklin College’s Sandy Beaver Award for Outstanding Teaching and the Huntington Memorial Award from Ohio State. She also served as the thesis advisor to Kate Vyborny, one of UGA’s two Rhodes Scholars in 2008.

For more information on international education at UGA, see http://www.uga.edu/oie/.

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