Danling Fu, professor in the School of Teaching and Learning, received the 2022 Senior Faculty International Educator of the Year award for her dedication to advancing international education at UF. Fu has demonstrated a strong commitment to improving the lives of immigrant children and English language learners by giving speeches and workshops to low-achieving schools, and by working with communities and families of new immigrants to improve their educational outcomes. Through her work, she has left a lasting impact on the lives of international students and their families.
The Senior Faculty International Educator of the Year award, through the UF International Center (UFIC), is given to a faculty member who has made indubitable contributions to international education within the past five years. For this campus-wide award, the selection committee looks for someone who makes an impact on students, international partners and the university community. These guidelines made Fu the ideal candidate to receive this honor. She claims she couldn’t have accomplished this on her own,
“I truly appreciate the University’s recognition for my international work, but without the support and assistance from our college and school in the past decade, I wouldn’t have been able to make this achievement globally. This award reflects a joint effort of our college and school!”
Recent research projects of Fu’s include, “Comparative studies of K-12 Literacy Instruction between the US and China” and “Translanguaging pedagogical model and Emergent Bilinguals in the US” to improve the educational outcomes of these students. Similarly, she is involved in numerous different organizations to help make an impact. She serves on the Distinguished Advisory Committee of NYC Urban Teacher Institute, the National Advisory Board for the CUNY-New York State Initiative on Emergent Bilinguals and on the Advisory Committee for English language learners of Pearson Publishers and American College Testing (ACT). Additionally, she is a member of the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Elementary Steering Committee, a program chair of Division G at AERA (American Education and Research Association), a column editor of the National Association of Bilingual Education Journal and serves on the review boards of five top journals in the field such as Reading Research Quarterly and Language Arts.
To be recognized as Senior Faculty International Educator of the Year, one must be nominated by a UF college, area study center, museum or library. The nomination must include a cover page, a two-page personal statement, a letter of endorsement and two letters of support. Through this lengthy process and due to the myriad of contributions she has made to the internationalization of students, Fu emerged as a clear choice for this award. In the award notification, Marta L. Wayne, dean of UFIC, noted that the committee was extremely impressed with the depth of Fu’s international engagement and her work in support of international education at UF.
Her long list of accomplishments doesn’t end there, Fu’s scholarly and inservice work has been published as five books and over eighty chapters, journal articles and book reviews. She continuously sets herself apart through her countless hours of dedication to her mission. She has been recognized for a handful of other accolades such as the Scholarship of Engagement Award in the UF College of Education and the UF COE Graduate Teacher of the Year award in 2007. She was also presented with an honorary doctoral degree of Humane Letters by DePaul University in Chicago and an honorary Professorship by China Women University and Jingling College, Nanjing University in People’s Republic China.
Two others from the college were recognized for the 2022 UFIC awards:
- Tara Mathien, clinical assistant professor of early childhood education: Junior Educator of the Year for the College of Education
- Riya Chakraborty, curriculum and instruction Ph.D. candidate: Alec Courtelis Award for International Student Achievement
Congratulations to all!
Danling Fu, Ph.D.
