UK welcomes Tim Barnes, former Director of Illinois Strategic International Partnerships at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as the new Executive Director of International Partnerships and Research at the University of Kentucky International Center.
“I am looking forward very much to Tim Barnes joining our team,” said Associate Provost for Internalization Sue Roberts, who leads UK’s International Center (UKIC), where International Partnerships and Research is located. “Tim is recognized as a national leader in the development of strategic inter-university partnerships that catalyze research and education and generate benefits for both partner institutions.”
Barnes is excited to help UK faculty and students engage more actively on the global stage as he enhances and supports international research collaborations, and works to create a diverse portfolio of strategic partnerships with universities around the world.
"I believe very strongly in a faculty-driven approach to comprehensive campus internationalization,” Barnes said. "I hope to start my tenure at UK by engaging with faculty, academic and research leadership across the campus to learn more about their vision for global engagement, their definitions of success, and their ideas about how UKIC can best assist them in achieving that success.”
In particular, Barnes sees growth opportunities at UK for interdisciplinary, transnational collaborative research, sustained, multi-faceted institutional partnerships and unique cooperation in the bench-to-bedside biomedical enterprise. Such initiatives complement ongoing efforts focusing on internationalizing the undergraduate student experience at UK.
A New Jersey native, Barnes received his bachelor’s degree in Classical Guitar Pedagogy at Shenandoah University and furthered his education with graduate studies in Historical Musicology and Ethnomusicology at the University of Maryland of College park and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign..
While pursuing his Ph.D. at Illinois, Barnes took on numerous roles. As a contingent instructor, Barnes taught undergraduate courses on various types of music history and non-Western music. In addition, he served as an editorial assistant and archivist, maintaining and compiling musicological archives for Renaissance Manuscript Studies. He then became a production editor and eventually joined Illinois International in 1998. There, he worked in the offices of Overseas Projects and Foreign Visitors, East Asian and Pacific Exchange Programs, and Institutional and Faculty International Collaboration prior to his current position.
In his years at Illinois, Barnes cultivated and managed numerous strategic international partnerships such as the Illinois-Sweden Partnership for Educational and Research Exchange (INSPIRE) and the Birmingham-Illinois Partnership for Discovery, Engagement and Education (BRIDGE). Furthermore, he worked with colleagues to create unique learning abroad and collaborative research opportunities and served as the campus liaison officer for the Fulbright Senior Scholar program.
Barnes’ efforts to increase international engagement among faculty have received much recognition throughout his career. In 2016, Barnes and Illinois received the Andrew Heiskell Award for innovation in international education from the Institute of International Education, for INSPIRE, the pilot project of Illinois Strategic International Partnerships.
International Partnerships and Research is part of UK’s International Center, which also houses Education Abroad and Exchanges, International Student and Scholar Services, the Confucius Institute, the Office of China Initiatives, Global Health Initiatives and International Health, Safety and Security.
The International Center supports UK's global vision by providing leadership, raising awareness, facilitating the pursuit of international education and encouraging global collaborations for the university community and the Commonwealth.
UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how you can support continued investment in your university and the Commonwealth, go to: uky.edu/uk4ky. #uk4ky #seeblue
