Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Prestigious award for Leeds Beckett University Professor
Elspeth Jones - Emerita Professor of the Internationalisation of Higher Education at LBU, is the inaugural recipient of the North Star Medal of Lifetime Achievement in the A. Noam Chomsky Global Connections Awards of the Society of Transnational Academic Researchers (STAR). This medal is STAR’s premier acknowledgment of outstanding achievement and success in transnational research and honours a senior scholar whose life-long service, leadership and contributions serve as a guiding ‘North Star’ for scholarly collaboration in research.
Elspeth said: “It is such an honour to receive an award associated with the great humanist, Noam Chomsky. My international experience has developed me as a person, increased my understanding of issues and contexts in different parts of the world, and has continually sparked my eagerness to learn from other people and cultures. International education aims to develop global mindsets in all our students whether or not they have travelled, and to help build tolerance, inclusivity, social justice and humanity - sorely needed in today’s world.”
Elspeth worked at LBU for 23 years, most recently as Dean of the Leslie Silver International Faculty, and responsible for internationalisation across the university. This experience, and working with students from more than 130 countries, resulted in her 2007 book (with another LBU Emerita Professor, Sally Brown, and many LBU authors). She then established the prestigious Routledge book series, Internationalization in Higher Education https://www.routledge.com/Internationalization-in-Higher-Education-Series/book-series/INTHE with 21 titles published or due so far. She has written over a hundred books, reports and peer-reviewed articles, many in collaboration with her far-reaching international networks of established scholars as well as early career researchers.
Elspeth was chosen as winner of the award due to her extensive academic contributions. She has been described as a ‘thought leader and social media influencer’ in international education, and is regularly invited to work with universities, organisations and cross-national institutions across six continents, such as the International Association of Universities, European Parliament, European Commission and UNESCO. In 2014 she received the European Association for International Education’s Award for Excellence in Research. During lockdown she began a YouTube series of conversations with international educators from around the world https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFfSoDUTo90_uIBF-cD5_aw.
Speaking of all the award winners, Dr Uttam Gaulee, President of STAR said: “The works of these scholars are intellectually breath-taking. I applaud them for their audacity and boldness in advancing global social mobility. What a powerful addition to the positive force that is shaping a more humane and just world.”