1. w
Symposium
on Leadership
The Innovation Imperative: Leading
Change in a Competitive Environment
Tuesday, May 26, 2015 i 7:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel i Boston, Massachusetts, USA
NAFSA thanks Northeastern University for its generous support.
A NAFSA Signature Program of the International Education Leadership Knowledge Community

2. The Innovation Imperative: Leading Change in a Competitive Environment2
TIME DESCRIPTION PRESENTERS
7:30 a.m-8:00 a.m. Check-in and Breakfast
8:00 a.m-8:15 a.m. Welcome and Introductions Rahul Choudaha
8:15 a.m-9:15 a.m.
Seismic Shifts in Global Higher
Education: The Innovation
Imperative for Your Institution
Abraham Varghese
9:15 a.m-11:05 a.m.
(includes break)
Institutional Innovation: Voices from
the Field
Ann Buller
Erich Dietrich
Barry Morris
Richard Nader
11:10 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Individual Competencies:
International Education Leadership
and Change Management
Stephen Connelly
Kate Jennings
Lucy Apthorp Leske
12:15 p.m-12:30 p.m. Final Comments and Wrap-Up Rahul Choudaha
AGENDA
Symposium

3. The Innovation Imperative: Leading Change in a Competitive Environment 3
The Innovation Imperative:
Leading Change in a Competitive Environment
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Abraham Varghese
Abraham Varghese, with two decades of profes-
sional experience in establishing strategic alliances
in more than 40 countries, ­currently serves as the
CEO-India at ­Academic Partnerships, LLC, a lead-
ing online education service provider to universities
worldwide.
Previously Varghese had a long career at the Univer-
sity of Miami, where he most recently served as the
assistant provost for globalization and was respon-
sible for developing strategies and implementation
plans for the globalization of the university. Prior to
that,Varghese served for 12 years as the director for
international and government relations at the uni-
versity, developing global academic partnerships through trade missions, foreign embassy
collaborations, and international economic development organizations.
Varghese has served as a board member on several international committees of economic
development organizations, including the India-U.S. Chamber of Commerce of South Flor-
ida and the Miami Council for International Visitors, the official South Florida host for the U.S.
Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program.
May 26, 2015
Boston, Massachusettson Leadership

4. The Innovation Imperative: Leading Change in a Competitive Environment4
Ann Buller
Ann Buller moved to Canada from Scotland as a young girl and lived the immigrant
experience. Since becoming president of Centennial College in 2004, she has led
its transformation to a learning-centered college offering students experiences that
underscore the benefits of global citizenship. A community college graduate her-
self, Buller has overseen Centennial’s award-winning internationalization that attracts
more than 5,000 visa students to its Toronto campuses annually. Centennial enjoys
institutional partnerships in several countries, provides Western teacher training/­
methodologies in China, and has trained General Motors’ dealers in 10 ­Middle
­Eastern countries. President Buller is a member of the International Board of the Chair
­Academy and is the past board chair of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (2012–14). As past
chair of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (2011–14), she was instrumental in ensuring Cana-
da was selected as one of the four countries to collaborate with India to revamp its post-secondary ­institutions.
Stephen Connelly
Stephen Connelly is a director of GlobalEd Services, an independent consulting
firm specializing in international education, and has more than 25 years experience
in the field. He has held senior executive roles at RMIT and Swinburne universities in
Melbourne, Australia, and was president of the International Education Association
of Australia from 2008 to 2012. He is a graduate of Monash and Melbourne universi-
ties, and studied at the University of Cologne in Germany in the 1980s. Connelly is a
board member of ISEP and has recently been appointed senior consultant in inter-
national education leadership at Shandong University Weihai in China.
Erich Dietrich
Erich Dietrich is assistant vice president of global programs at New York University
and associate dean of global and academic programs at NYU’s Steinhardt School,
where he leads in the strategic development of curriculum, partnerships, and pro-
gramming on both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Trained as a histori-
an, Dietrich’s expertise is in race and higher education in a comparative context,
as well as internationalization in higher education. He teaches a biannual gradu-
ate study abroad course on race and higher education in Brazil, as well as a do-
mestic graduate seminar on internationalization of higher education. He serves on
the ­advisory board for the Institute of International Education’s (IIE) International
­Academic ­Partnership Program for Brazil,which promotes U.S.-Brazil collaborations in higher education.­Dietrich
holds an MA from the University of Wisconsin-­Madison and a PhD from New York University.
Kate Jennings
Kate Jennings has worked in international education in a variety of capacities at
four different institutions in Canada over the past 17 years, most recently as direc-
tor of education Abroad at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. She is currently
an international education consultant based out of Vancouver, Canada. Jennings
was elected chair of the International Mobility Chapter of the Canadian Bureau for
­International Education (CBIE) in 2001 and served on the CBIE Board of Directors
from 2002 to 2005. She was a course coordinator and instructor with the Interna-
tional Educators Training Program at Queen’s University, Canada, from 2003 to 2007,

5. The Innovation Imperative: Leading Change in a Competitive Environment 5
where she primarily focused on training for new education abroad professionals. Jennings has published and
presented on a variety of international education topics,including invited sessions and workshops for CBIE and
the British Columbia Council for International Education (BCCIE), as well as accepted workshops and presen-
tations at the annual events of AIEC, BCCIE, CBIE, EAIE, and NAFSA.
Lucy Apthorp Leske
Lucy Apthorp Leske, managing partner of the higher education practice, joined
Witt/Kieffer in 1998 and has been an executive recruiter since 1992. She has led
a broad range of searches, including presidential, vice presidential, decanal, and
provostial, during her tenure with the company, and her areas of expertise include
­academic affairs,student affairs,development,and finance and administration.She
has published national articles and presented at professional conferences on top-
ics such as leadership transition, professional development for women and under-
represented individuals, and the recruitment and retention of staff. Leske serves on
the Witt/Kieffer Diversity Task Force and works with clients to enhance ­diversity and
inclusive excellence in leadership recruitment. She is a member of the board of trustees of ­Mitchell ­College in
New London, Connecticut.
Barry Morris
Barry J. Morris is an institutional strategy and international education consultant
and the vice chair of the board of directors of the Georgia Council of Interna-
tional Visitors. He is the former vice provost for global engagement and strategic
initiatives at Kennesaw State University (KSU)—University System of Georgia, where
he was responsible for leading KSU’s global engagement mission and a variety of
campuswide strategic initiatives. Morris has served as dean of American Univer-
sity of Nigeria and as a lecturer at a number of leading universities. He has expe-
rience in global banking and finance, and consulting in international education
and business. Morris earned an MA and PhD in international relations and interna-
tional political economy from Emory University.
Richard Nader
Richard Nader is vice provost for international affairs at the University of North ­Texas
(UNT) and serves on the APLU Commission on International Initiatives. Prior to his
current post, he served as director of research development within the Office of
the Vice President for Research, establishing a new suite of faculty support and
training programs and assisting UNT in securing more than $7 million in the office’s
first 3 years of operation. Nader was a program director at the National Science
Foundation (NSF) Office of International Science and Engineering from 2005–2008,
where he oversaw the peer review process and proposal management for solicita-
tions designed to catalyze international research and education projects. He also
­managed the East Asia Pacific Summer Institute, NSF’s flagship program for sending U.S. doctoral students to
conduct independent research in Asia and the Pacific Rim. Previously, he served at Texas A&M in International
Programs as ­director of the Institute for Pacific Asia and at Texas A&M’s Japan campus. Nader earned a PhD
in higher education administration from Texas A&M.

6. The Innovation Imperative: Leading Change in a Competitive Environment6
SYMPOSIUM PLANNING TEAM
Rahul Choudaha
Rahul Choudaha, chair of the International Education Leadership Knowledge
Community (IEL KC), is chief knowledge officer & senior director of Strategic De-
velopment at World Education Services. At WES, he leads a team responsible for
research, consulting, innovation, and strategy. Choudaha is widely recognized for
his thought leadership and expertise on internationalization of higher education
with a focus on student mobility, enrollment management, transnational education,
and academic collaborations. He has presented nearly 100 sessions at professional
conferences such as NAFSA, AIEA, APAIE, CACIE, and EAIE. He serves on the Board
of Directors of InterExchange, a nonprofit specializing in cross-cultural ­exchange
­programs. Choudaha holds a doctorate in higher education, a master’s degree in management, and a bach-
elor’s ­degree in engineering.
Sonja Knutson
Sonja Knutson is the director of the International Centre and special adviser to the
president on international affairs at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She has an
MEd in postsecondary education (Memorial University) and BEd in Teaching English
as a Second Language (Concordia University). She has been working in ­international
education for 20 years and is currently responsible for leading, partnering, and sup-
porting internationalization initiatives, and strategic planning at ­Memorial. She is an
instructor with Queen’s University (Ontario) International Educator’s Training Program,
and is serving a second term on the Board of Directors of the ­Canadian Bureau for
International Education.
Sandra Rincón
Sandra Rincón is director of international alumni relations at Tilburg University in the
Netherlands. She has more than 20 years of experience in international educa-
tion including bilingual education, language acquisition, and curriculum develop-
ment of international programs (dual degrees, Erasmus Mundus, and Atlantis). She
has taught languages and intercultural communication in United States, ­Colombia,
Spain,and the Netherlands.She has presented at the annual conferences of ­NAFSA,
EAIE, CASE-EU, CASE-LAWLANDS, and CLADEA on topics related to ­international
­education and international alumni relations. She has organized workshops on in-
ternational alumni relations for NAFSA, EAIE, and NUFFIC as well as international
­fundraising for NAFSA. Rincón served on the IEL KC from 2010 to 2014.

7. The Innovation Imperative: Leading Change in a Competitive Environment 7
NAFSA International Education Leadership
Knowledge Community (IEL KC)
This professional community addresses the needs of international educators engaged in vi-
sioning, coordinating, and ­building commitment for internationalization, working at the nex-
us of ­administration, faculty, and international education services. E-mail us with your interests:
IELKC@nafsa.org.
Leadership Team
Rahul Choudaha, PhD, chair
World Education Services
Penelope Pynes, PhD, past chair
University of North Carolina-Greensboro
Dlynn Williams, PhD, chair-elect
University of North Georgia
Melanie Agnew, EdD
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Marca Bear, PhD
University of Tampa
Amy Fishburn
Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco
Jane Gatewood, PhD
University of Rochester
Sonja Knutson
Memorial University of Newfoundland,
­Canada
Judith Pennywell, EdD
David Wright, PhD
University of New Mexico
Dlynn Williams
Dlynn Williams, chair-elect of the IEL KC, has served as the department head of
political science and international affairs at the University of North Georgia since
July 2012. Previously, she was the director for the Center for Global Engagement at
North Georgia College and State University. Williams was in the role of senior inter-
national officer from 2003 to 2012. Prior to serving on the leadership team of the
NAFSA IEL KC, she chaired the Study Abroad Committee for the University System
of Georgia (USG), and was the vice-chair of the European Council for the USG.