Sheila Bong has been named Program Director of the Global Oregon Initiative to help lead the upcoming expansion of the program.

Global Oregon is a university-wide program that aims to enhance internationalization in the student experience and in research, and to improve the UO’s outreach to the state and the world. The program is deliberately cross-regional and interdisciplinary, drawing together UO expertise in every world region and from many academic disciplines.

Global Oregon is poised to significantly expand in scope and scale in the near future. Bong brings more than a decade of experience in Asia, as well as expertise in international program management, world language programming, business development and marketing.

Bong says she is looking forward to her new position and is excited to be part of the ambitious program.

“Global Oregon encourages interdisciplinary research and collaboration on international issues that transcend academic boundaries,” she says. “I am convinced the program will draw upon the UO’s impressive intellectual and organizational strengths to expand the reach and quality of the university.”

Bong previously co-founded Avant Assessment in partnership with the UO and the Center for Applied Second Language Studies, establishing a suite of tools to enable K-16 students to reach meaningful levels of world language and cultural proficiency.

“Building relationships, gathering information and making key connections are strengths from my past experience that I believe will help me in my new role,” Bong says.

- by Aria Seligmann, UO Office of Strategic Communications