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September 2007
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS |
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International Admissions Director Brings World of Experience to New Position
This fall, Evelyn Levinson will travel to Trinidad, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, and Jordan – not to mention New York, Boston, and a few other American cities – in her role as AU’s new director of International Admissions. While travel only accounts for about 25 percent of her job, fall is the busiest time of year for recruiting new students, since applications for admission are due January 15. Levinson is charged with creating and facilitating a more cohesive strategic international mission and message. “The idea is to raise AU’s visibility outside of the United States to identify our strengths and to utilize all the resources across campus. I want to send a very positive and articulate message about what AU is – on the graduate and undergrad level. I’m sort of the glue bringing together pre-established resources like alumni networks, AU Abroad, faculty traveling abroad, international students already here, and potential students,” she says. The message AU sends overseas can be very confusing to potential students who are inundated with choices of U.S. schools and universities in their own countries, explains Levinson. As she travels abroad to recruit students and meets domestically with educational and cultural attaches from embassies, NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) and other programs that sponsor students to study in the United States, her job is to figure out how AU can attract a variety of international audiences. “I’ve always worked in promoting and supporting higher ed,” says Levinson, who was associate director of International Admissions at the University of South Florida in Tampa from 2003 to January 2007, Higher Education Scholarship development specialist for USAID West Bank/Gaza with the U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv from 2001 to 2003, and EducationUSA advisor of the Educational Information Center with the U.S. Israel Educational (Fullbright) Foundation (USIEF) from 1980 to 1999. In addition to years of experience, Levinson brings a wealth of contacts to the new position at AU, having served as an active member and leader with NAFSA: the Association of International Educators, whose more than 10,000 members worldwide work on issues of international testing, Visa issues, and more. “It’s a great advocacy group,” she notes. Earlier this summer, when Levinson arranged a dinner meeting with alumni in Amman, Jordan (pictured), she was impressed with the level of loyalty the alumni had in their alma mater. “All the alumni I’ve spoken with are very proud to be connected with AU. AU is in their hearts. The alums I met in Jordan were nostalgic and still excited about their time here. They remembered where they’d lived, their professors’ names, and the kinds of experiences they’d had. Their studies here were a highlight of their coming of age.” As Levinson makes her way across D.C. and across the globe, she asks the alumni and former parents she meets with how they might like to be more involved with AU, such as serving as contacts to prospective students who may have questions and/or providing the Admissions office with names of students they think might be interested in attending. “I tell alumni they are part of AU’s extended family, we are very proud of them, and we’d love to hear from them.” Equally important, she also encourages those she meets with to share a bit about what they’ve been doing since they left AU and to send her their bios or resumes so she can help them share their successes with the AU global community. She asks international alumni whether they'd like to be informed about upcoming AU activities in the region and how their AU degree impacts what they're currently doing. “I think everyone’s experience has some impact, especially when you’re back home doing something worthwhile for your society,” notes Levinson. - Melissa Reichley | |||
