SF State honored for commitment to international education

SAN FRANCISCO, March 6, 2012 -- San Francisco State University is being honored by a leading international education association for its longstanding commitment to providing students, faculty and staff with an array of international experiences and perspectives.

SF State is one of five U.S. institutions to receive the NAFSA: Association of International Educators 2012 Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization. The prestigious award is named after the late U.S. Senator from Illinois and international education advocate Paul Simon. The University will be recognized at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. during International Education Week in November and will be profiled in NAFSA's 2012 edition of Internationalizing the Campus: Profiles of Success at Colleges and Universities.

"SF State's position on the Pacific Rim, in the city that gave birth to the United Nations, gives us a unique heritage that we honor with our commitment to internationalization," said Yenbo Wu, associate vice president for the Division of International Education. "We are proud that SF State is consistently among the top institutions for sending students on long-term study abroad programs, and among the top destinations for international students, with close to 100 countries represented on campus each year."

SF State is committed to integrating international education into all aspects of campus life. Students in all majors receive international content in their classes and more than 83 percent of faculty participate in internationally oriented activities on a quarterly basis. Nearly 2,300 international students attend SF State, which since 1994 has been in the top three for receiving international students among U.S. master's granting institutions. SF State is also a leader in study abroad, ranking second nationwide in 2011 among master's granting institutions for sending students abroad on long-term programs.

San Francisco State University is the only master's-level public university serving the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin. The University enrolls more than 30,000 students each year. With nationally acclaimed programs in a range of fields -- from creative writing, cinema and biology to history, broadcast and electronic communication arts, theatre arts and ethnic studies -- the University's more than 212,000 alumni have contributed to the economic, cultural and civic fabric of San Francisco and the greater Bay Area.

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