In 2017, the Graduate School and International Education at the U of A established the International Education Catastrophic Fund after identifying a need to provide emergency support to students who may experience unexpected life events that would interrupt their studies.

After helping hundreds of students in need across the five years since its inception, that fund netted the university a prestigious award from the Institute of International Education.

The IIE awarded the U of A the 2022 Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education in the category of Models of International Education Financial Support, recognizing models of financial support that further student, faculty and/or staff participation in international education.

"The need for financial support for international students who are facing hardship is well recognized throughout IIE's century-long history and is demonstrated more recently with our Student Emergency Initiatives that supported 391 international students on U.S. campuses affected by global crises in 2021," said Jason Czyz, IIE's co-president. "We applaud the University of Arkansas for developing the International Education Catastrophic Fund through their own means to provide need-based assistance to undergraduate and graduate international students with an unforeseen financial emergency beyond their control that would hinder their ability to continue enrollment at the university."

The Graduate School and International Education received the award during a webinar June 8, which included a panel discussion with members of GSIE who discussed the creation of the award, its impact and its sustainability.

GSIE's Student Emergency Funds, which include the Needy Family Graduate Student Emergency Fund and the International Education Catastrophic Fund, have helped to provide stopgap funds for international students who are struggling with unforeseen emergencies such as medical bills, car repairs or family emergencies. In addition to these emergenices, the need for health and daily living expenses increased as emergenices at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We see the effect of everyday crises on our students. For many of them, a $250 unexpected medical bill is going to essentially stymy their education here," said Jim Gigantino, associate dean of the Graduate School and International Education. "Just this week, we had a student call from the hospital and said they had broken their arm and couldn't afford to pay for their arm to be fixed. With a broken arm, you're not doing anything in your lab or doing anything beyond that. We told him to go get his medical treatment, pay the bill and then submit to this fund."

"This morning we awarded this student $500 for that medical bill that will allow that student to continue at the university when they wouldn't have been able to before," Gigantino added.

Since its inception, the fund has helped more than 230 students totaling nearly $70,000. And 46 alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the U of A have given more than $75,000 to the fund and continue to support it annually.

The fund was created in 2017 through a major gift from a university benefactor after emergency support for graduate and international students was identified as a key funding priority for the Graduate School and International Education during Campaign Arkansas.

"Anecdotally, we had heard stories of faculty and staff who had come in contact with international students they had advised or knew on campus who had unforeseen financial emergencies, and at the time there was no existing fund to help support these students," said Julie Olsen, senior director of foundation relations. "Oftentimes, they would work through university chains to see if there were possible resources available, which many times there were not. But oftentimes, [faculty and staff] would personally help support these students in these emergencies."

"So our deans felt it was important in our unit to establish funds to provide a formal process and a sustainable source of funds for international students who were experiencing unforeseen emergencies," Olsen added.

Students interested in applying for funding can learn more about eligibility requirements and access an online application on the GSIE website.

About the IIE Heiskell Awards: The IIE Heiskell Awards were created in 2001 to promote and honor the most outstanding initiatives being conducted in international higher education by IIE Network members, particularly those that address a specific need, remove institutional barriers, and broaden the base of participation in international teaching and learning. The IIE Heiskell Awards are named after Andrew Heiskell, a former chairman of Time Inc. and a member of the Executive Committee of IIE's Board of Trustees. He was a renowned international and cultural philanthropist and a long-time supporter of international education. IIE is proud of continuing his outstanding legacy through the IIE Heiskell Awards and bestowing these awards on to IIENetwork members that demonstrate the power and longevity of international education through their innovative and impactful programs.