Amherst Foreign Study Adviser William Hoffa Recognized for Work
August 31, 2005
Director of Media Relations
413/542-8417
AMHERST, Mass.—The NAFSA Association of International Educators, the leading professional organization for international education and foreign exchange, has presented the 2005 Homer Higbee Award to William Hoffa, the study abroad adviser at Amherst College.
The Homer Higbee Award is given annually to a member of NAFSA currently involved in associational activities with at least 10 years of distinguished service, who has been a mentor to colleagues in all aspects of the field. " Since the beginning of his distinguished career," NAFSA notes, "Bill Hoffa has been a tireless activist and advocate for international education at all levels, through his employed positions, his elected posts, his volunteer activities, his publications and his presentations. What distinguishes Bill Hoffa from many others is the fact that he has been a continuous source of information and wisdom for so many years to so many people."
Hoffa, who has served in numerous regional and national leadership positions within the association, is the editor and author of most of NAFSA's publications for education abroad. He has taught at several institutions including a year as a Fulbright lecturer in Finland, and he has been on the faculty at the School for International Training since 1998. In addition to his service since 2001 as study abroad adviser at Amherst College, Hoffa also has been a consultant on campus internationalization to over 25 colleges and universities.
NAFSA was founded in 1948 as the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers to promote the professional development of American college and university officials responsible for assisting and advising the 25,000 foreign students who had come to study in the United States after World War II. Its members included admissions personnel, English-language specialists and community volunteers. In 1964 the association changed its name to the National Association for Foreign Student Affairs. By 1990, as the number of foreign students in the United States approached the 400,000 mark, there were 6,400 NAFSA members on 1,800 campuses, and increasing numbers of U.S. students were studying abroad. That year the organization changed its name to NAFSA: Association of International Educators. The acronym was retained to reflect NAFSA's proud past and broad name recognition.
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