Hoyt H. Purvis Award Winners Announced

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From left: Jim Coleman, Kim Needy, Chelsea Hodge, Jeff Bleich, Leyah Bergman-Lanier, Hoyt Purvis, Joseph Steinmetz

Three members of the University of Arkansas community have been named winners of the Hoyt H. Purvis Award for Service in International Education.

Lanier Nalley, Chelsea Hodge and Leyah Bergman-Lanier are the 2018 award winners.

The award recognizes a university faculty member, a university staff member and Graduate School and International Education staff member for their outstanding service in international education.

Lanier Nalley, professor of agricultural economics and agribusiness, is the university faculty award recipient. Nally co-leads the university's community development program in Mozambique. The program has been recognized for its quality and high impact.

Additionally, Nalley led the effort to establish the university's international development minor, which has received a groundswell of student support. His mentoring and dedication to students, many of whom have earned prestigious awards and international success, contributed to his selection for the Purvis award.

Chelsea Hodge, the Honors College associate director of recruitment and grants management, is the university staff award recipient. She has shown devotion to community engagement and experiential learning by preparing students for less common study abroad destinations.

Hodge received multiple letters of student support for her nomination. The letters consistently referenced her open-door policy and noted there is always a line of students outside her door.

"Chelsea is the primary reason I was able to go to South Africa this summer," one student said. "Not only because of her assistance in the grant proposal process, but because of her consistent willingness to ease my nerves and supply me with information about Cape Town and my host organization."

Leyah Bergman-Lanier, executive director of Spring International Language Center, is the Graduate School and International Education staff award recipient. Bergman-Lanier's grant writing and negotiation skills have brought cohorts of students and scholars from around the globe to the U of A.

However, the personal care Bergman-Lanier shows to international students is what sealed the deal for her award win. In her 26 years at the helm of Spring International, she has spent many late nights in the emergency room with sick students. She and her husband have hosted countless welcome and farewell parties for students in their home. But, perhaps most importantly, she has cultivated enduring relationships between Fayetteville families and international students.

The award recipients were honored at the Chancellor's Reception for International Scholars during International Education Week.

About the Hoyt H. Purvis Award for Service in International Education: The award was established to honor Purvis, now an emeritus University of Arkansas professor of journalism and international relations, for his contributions to and advocacy for international education at the University of Arkansas. He was the first recipient of the award which was begun in spring 2016.