West Virginia University foreign language professor Pablo Gonzalez has been honored with the states most prestigious award for promoting international education.
Gonzalez, who teaches in WVU s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, is the 2006 recipient of the Cyrus R. Vance Award for International Education in West Virginia. The award was established in 2001 to recognize significant achievement in furthering international studies and learning in the state.
Gonzalez donated the $5,000 prize money to WVU s Department of Foreign Languages to support students studying abroad.
A native of Colombia, he will retire in December after 40 years of service to WVU . Gonzalez came to Morgantown in 1966, after completing his doctorate in Latin American literature at the University of Pittsburgh.
He founded the Study Abroad Program at WVU and has organized and directed 35 Spanish study abroad summer programs in Colombia, Mexico, Spain and Brazil. Gonzalez also started the Intensive English Program for Colombian Executives and has been involved in recruitment efforts for the Council of International Programs (CIP), which brings professionals from other countries to the United States for a four-month internship.
The WVU professor has published five books in Colombia and Spain and has taught Latin American literature classes at WVU .
In addition, Gonzalez worked extensively with Peter Li, former Director of WVU s Office of International Students and Scholars, where the two served as co-directors of the Central American Program for Undergraduate Students (CAMPUS).
Gonzalez and Lee obtained a $1.2 million grant from the United States Information Agency to bring two groups of 14 students each to WVU for 30 months in order to complete their undergraduate degrees. It has been the largest grant WVU s Foreign Language Department has received.
Gonzalezs accomplishments have been recognized by his hometown of Aguadas, Colombia. He was awarded the Golden Feather, a prize for writers, and the library in Aguadas is named after him.
Although he will retire in December, Gonzalez has many plans for the future. He and his wife will return to Colombia during the winters, where he hopes to become involved in land mine safety efforts. He also plans to give presentations about literature and help students come to the United States to further their education.
Moreover, he is collaborating with the International Eye Institute and hopes to found an eye clinic in his hometown.
I want to thank Donald Hall, chair of foreign languages, who nominated me for the award,Gonzalez said.I also want to thank Dan Weiner, director of the Office of International Programs, and Mary Ellen Mazey, dean of the Eberly College, for their support.
Other 2006 WVU Cyrus R. Vance Award nominees include Mark Tauger, Kathleen McNerney and William Arnett.
For more information, contact Gonzalez at Pablo.Gonzalez@mail.wvu.edu or at 304-293-5121, ext. 5535.