2014-15 AIEA Presidential Fellows

Sharon Nagy is Vice Provost of Global Engagement at Clemson University. Nagy holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Political Economy from UC Berkeley. Nagy’s ethnographic research on urbanization and migration in the Arabian Gulf is recognized as pioneering in the field.  She has previously taught at DePaul University, University of Bahrain and American University of Cairo; and, led study abroad programs in Morocco, Oman and the UAE. 

Leigh Poole is the Director of the International Center and an Assistant Professor at Winthrop University.  As Winthrop’s senior international officer, Leigh is responsible for leading campus-wide internationalization as well as overseeing education abroad and international student/immigration services. She was selected as a Fulbright Scholar to both Germany and South Korea and has studied overseas in the Dominican Republic and Mexico.  Leigh holds a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia, a M.Ed. from the University of South Carolina, and a B.A. from Wofford College.

Barbara A. Simmons is Inaugural Dean and Associate Professor of International Education at William V.S. Tubman University in Liberia. She is active in AIEA, International Economic Development Council, National Bar Association focusing on alternative dispute and conflict resolution, and Greater Monrovia Lions Club.  She previously held faculty and administrative positions at Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland State University, Community College of Philadelphia, Cheyney University and Temple University.  She holds a MSSA from Case Western Reserve University and a juris doctorate from Temple University.

Hong Yang is Bryant University’s inaugural Vice President for International Affairs. He was the founding director of Bryant University’s U.S.-China Institute and Confucius Institute. Yang is also the Charles J. Smiley Chair Professor of Environmental Sciences and has published three edited books and more than 70 peer reviewed articles. The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations selected him as a national Public Intellectual Fellow. He holds a doctorate in geosciences from University of Idaho.