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Directors

Executive Leadership

Unit Directors

  • Todd M. Beard, Director, English Language Institute
  • Rachel Rui, Director, Global Research, Innovation, and Partnerships
  • Kate Scott, Director, Programs Abroad Office
  • William Vittetoe, Director, Office of International Student and Scholar Services
  • Lauren Wood, Director, Office of International House

Will Jennings, Faculty Director

Associate Vice Provost of Global Learning and Impact

wjenning@utk.edu

As a member of the UT Political Science Department for over 20 years, Will Jennings has introduced countless students to global education opportunities. Jennings’ own global education began with a History Department study abroad Greece at the University of North Carolina, expanding as a Ph.D. student at the University of South Carolina through fieldwork in Africa.  His travels and global work have taken him to more than a hundred countries.
Since 2003, Jennings has taught African Politics, globalization and comparative politics courses to over 8,000 UT undergraduates in over 120 classes. He has been recognized as an outstanding teacher by numerous organizations including UT’s Panhellenic Council, the College of Arts and Sciences, the UT Alumni Association, and the American Political Science Association.
He frequently integrated international experiences into his teaching, from training elementary school teachers in South Sudan in 2007 to leading UT’s Honors and Scholars Program at Cambridge University in 2023. Notably, he was named an Inaugural Teaching Fellow by the Howard H. Baker School for Public Policy in 2022 and was appointed co-chair of the UT Faculty Senate’s Teaching and Learning Council in 2021-2022.
In his role as Associate Vice Provost for Global Learning and Impact, Jennings has co-founded the UT Global Strategy Commission to coordinate international programming across UT’s fourteen colleges.  He has participated in a Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities trip to Spain and an SEC International Partnership delegation to West Africa sponsored by LSU Global.  Jennings has been intent on elevating the dialogue on campus about global events by starting the CGE Signature Lecture (usually in November) and co-hosting hundreds of speakers, consular officials, and delegations during their time in Knoxville.

Barbra Giorgini, Executive Director

Center for Global Engagement

bgiorgin@utk.edu

Barbra Giorgini serves as Executive Director for the Center for Global Engagement

Todd M. Beard

Todd M. Beard, Director

English Language Institute

tbeard9@utk.edu

Todd has been in education for over 20 years, teaching and leading programs in the USA, Germany and the UK. Before coming to UT Knoxville, he was the director for an intensive English program at a private higher education institution in Nashville, Tennessee. His strengths are with ideation, innovation and being a catalyst for strategic change. He enjoys taking action in areas to stimulate growth and learning that elevate the student experience. He has led presentations, program development and student recruitment in Europe, Central America and South America. Actively involved in international education, he has served on the NAFSA Region VII Leadership Team as the International Enrollment Management Liaison, the board of Study Tennessee as co-chair and as a member-at-large on the TNTESOL board. Todd is excited to welcome students at the English Language Institute!

Rachel Rui

Rachel Rui, Director

Global Research, Innovation, and Partnerships

jrui@utk.edu

Rachel Rui serves as the director for the Global Research, Innovation, and Partnerships office. Her work at GRIP focuses on collaborating with campus partners to develop and execute innovative programs that contribute to global learning, research, and service opportunities. Rui came to UT as an international student and obtained her Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Communication and Information from UT. Before coming to UT, she worked as an international journalist in Beijing, China for the Associated Press TV News. Rui is recently recognized as Volunteer 40 under 40 class of 2023.

Kate Scott

Kate Scott, Director

Programs Abroad Office

kscott71@utk.edu

Kate’s passion for international education really took root when she taught at an international elementary school in Khartoum, Sudan, for three years after graduating with her undergraduate degree in elementary education. She returned to the United States and continued her professional trajectory in international education by pursuing a master’s degree in TESOL while teaching in an ESL program at Saginaw Valley State University. During her tenure at SVSU, she served as the assistant director and then the director of the English Language Program. Under Kate’s leadership, the English Language Program achieved specialized accreditation through CEA, the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation. Her last role at SVSU was Director of International Education, which encompassed oversight of education abroad programs, inbound short-term international programs and a community outreach for local elementary school students called ‘Passport to the World’ which focused on introducing global competencies through interactions with SVSU international students. 

Kate is passionate about international education and is looking forward to working collaboratively with partners across campus to enhance students’ agency to engage in the global community, invoking a life-long obligation to global citizenry as an integral part of the Volunteer experience.

William Vittetoe, Director

Office of International Student and Scholar Services

wvitteto@utk.edu

William serves as the Director of International Student and Scholar Services. He has worked in multiple areas of campus internationalization. His approach emphasizes a perspective that values campus partnerships, synergy of efforts, and the utilization of technical efficiencies in order to create the greatest level of personal access and support to students and scholars. His experience has taught him that the greatest support to students is the creation of meaningful and tangible relationships that guide and encourage them as they pursue their educational goals.

Lauren Wood, Director

International House

lwood16@utk.edu

Lauren Wood serves as the director for the International House, UT’s global community center. In this role, she works with an enthusiastic team to make the International House feel like “home sweet home away from home” for every student who walks through its doors. Lauren is passionate about creating spaces and opportunities for students to make meaningful connections with each other and to apply their learning beyond the classroom to impact their campus, their local community, and the world.

Lauren began her career in international education as an English teacher, most recently working at UT’s English Language Institute. She has coordinated numerous short-term language and culture immersion programs, including the EducationUSA Academy at UT, a program with the U.S. Department of State.

As a native East Tennessean and proud Appalachian who has enjoyed living, working, and traveling abroad, Lauren is passionate about welcoming international students to UT and introducing them to local culture, helping American students learn about opportunities for global engagement, and facilitating intercultural learning for all students.