Congratulations to Dr. Malcolm Compitello, recipient of the 2011 Excellence in Global Education Award!

Excellence in Global Education and Services Awards are awarded annually by the Center for English as a Second Language (CESL) to individuals who have produced a substantial impact in the areas of international service or international education and who have a lengthy and outstanding record of working with international students. 

Malcolm Alan Compitello is professor of Spanish and Head of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. He is the executive editor of the Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies, and has published widely on contemporary Spanish literature and culture. 

This year's honorees were presented with a piece of original Philabaum glass art at a reception co-sponsored by CESL and the UA Office of Global Initiatives held at the University of Arizona Museum of Art. Renato Serrano, Masters in Guitar Performance in the UA School of Music, performed.

The award celebration coincided with International Education Week. This year's theme, "Inspiring Students Locally to Succeed Globally," perfectly describes many of Compitello's efforts. Professor Compitello has been deeply involved in international education at Arizona. He has established relationships with universities in Europe and Latin America as well as numerous study abroad programs in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Spain, and has taught and lectured in Italy and Spain.

Dr. Compitello understands that although all students can benefit from studying abroad, not everyone can afford to do so. Therefore, he has worked aggressively on fundraising to provide department scholarships for students from less privileged backgrounds. He has initiated and continues to contribute to the Nivea Parsons Scholarship for Study in Brazil, a scholarship created in conjunction with the late Professor Parsons’s family that grants excellent Portuguese students of limited means the opportunity to spend a summer in Brazil. Thanks to his tireless efforts, the department also now has the Alice Boebinger Study Abroad Fellowship Endowment, which provides scholarships for outstanding students to study in Spain.

Dr. Compitello has also fostered international relations by inviting foreign scholars to visit the UA campus community, including starting the writer-in-residence program at the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, which brought the renowned Spanish film director Iciar Bollaín to campus to teach and lecture for a semester. Dr. Compitello has made significant contributions to international relations, education, and exchange.

"I am honored that CESL has chosen me as this year's recipient of an award that recognizes those whose professional activities look beyond the borders of the United States," Dr. Compitello said. "My first trip abroad, while a doctoral student at Indiana University in 1972, was life changing from both professional and personal perspectives. I have worked diligently to assure that other students have the same opportunity to participate in quality study abroad experiences that I did. Developing and fomenting personal relationships with foreign institutions of higher education has also been an activity that has been central to my work in the academy."

Dr. Compitello was nominated for the award by Ana Carvalho, Associate Professor and Director of the Portuguese Language Program.