Blair McElroy, University of Mississippi director of study abroad and senior international officer, visits the International School of Kigali in Kigali, Rwanda. Submitted photo
Blair McElroy hopes to expand group’s digital outreach and education efforts
The membership of the Association of International Education Administrators has elected Blair McElroy, senior international officer and director of study abroad at the University of Mississippi, to its board.
McElroy will serve as a board member and serves as chair-elect for the association’s publications and resources committee. The association is the only group dedicated to advancing leaders in international education.
International education affects many areas of higher education, including admissions, global and intercultural competence, diversity, research, study abroad, immigration and advocacy, McElroy said.
“With such a wide scope of topics and issues that relate to our international community and efforts to develop our campuses and constituents for global competencies and careers of the future, it is valuable to have conversations and resources related directly to leading these efforts and managing them in comprehensive, realistic and fruitful ways,” said McElroy, who has been a member of the association since she became senior international officer at Ole Miss in 2018.
“Learning from each other, leaning on each other in difficult political and societal times, implementing similar successful programs on our campuses, and having a network of colleagues through AIEA is simply incredibly valuable.”
In her role with the committee, McElroy hopes to encourage the creation of podcasts and other digital media while continuing to support peer-reviewed publications, she said.
“I have always been grateful for the information and resources shared by long-time senior international officers in the field of international education,” she said. “I am excited to be part of the collaborative information-sharing and development of peer-reviewed pieces across the world to assist in the goals we all have for the internationalization of higher education.”
McElroy will serve on the board and publications and resources committee through 2027.
By Clara Turnage
