UK International Center Announces 2025 Global Impact Award Winners
LEXINGTON, Ky — The International Center at the University of Kentucky has announced the 2025 UK Global Impact Award winners.
Recipients comprise faculty, staff, alumni and community members who have significantly contributed to the university’s global engagement through education, research and service.
“These individuals are making a wonderful and positive difference with their dedication to helping create a more global University of Kentucky,” said Sue Roberts, associate provost for internationalization. “We are excited to honor their contributions.”
This year, six winners are being recognized with Global Impact Awards in six different categories.
Community Partner Global Impact Award
The University of Kentucky is pleased to confer the 2025 Community Partner Global Impact Award to the Lexington Sister Cities Commission. The Lexington Sister Cities Commission (LSCC) is a non-profit organization that manages and maintains programs and partnerships with Lexington's four Sister Cities and one Friendship City.
The Sister Cities Program was created to be a network that champions peace and prosperity by creating and maintaining bonds between people from different communities worldwide. With these bonds of friendship, citizens – not just politicians and diplomats – can help foster a world where people of different cultures can understand, appreciate and celebrate their differences while building new partnerships.
The City of Lexington has four Sister Cities and one Friendship City:
- County Kildare, Ireland
- Deauville, France
- Newmarket, England
- Shinhidaka, Japan
- Jeju City, South Korea
LSCC has benefited the University of Kentucky’s global engagement in several ways over the years, including facilitating education abroad experiences for UK students, and arranging for internships in the Lexington community for visiting students from universities in our sister cities.
“Overall, the University of Kentucky is fortunate to have such an established and high-performing Sister Cities Commission as a partner,” said Roberts.
UK Alumni Global Impact Award
The 2025 Alumni Global Impact Award recognizes the outstanding career and achievements of John R. Bell (B.A., History, 1985). Bell began his academic journey at U.K. with an interest in architecture, but he found his passion in history and German language studies. Mentored by influential professors such as John Chambliss, Jeremy Popkin and Vince Davis, Bell developed a nuanced understanding of international relations, global history and intercultural complexity. Courses on topics like the Holocaust and diplomacy, along with intensive study of the German language, shaped his worldview and laid the foundation for a distinguished career in international security.
As a CIA officer, Bell undertook assignments in several regions of the world, including Europe, where his fluency in German and deep understanding of history and politics were crucial. His career demanded not only strategic and analytical excellence but also diplomacy, cultural sensitivity and adaptability in high-stakes environments. Bell’s long service helped build and sustain critical international partnerships, and contributed meaningfully to U.S. foreign policy and national security interests. Bell’s work promoted cross-cultural dialogue, trust-building and peaceful engagement across international communities.
In recognition of the transformational role international education played in his own life, Bell established the John R. Bell International Studies Scholarship at UK. This fund supports International Studies majors participating in education abroad programs. He also created the John R. Bell Scholarship for Study in Germany, enabling UK students to study at Heidelberg University or complete internships in Berlin. These scholarships reflect Bell’s dedication to cultivating the next generation of globally minded leaders. Beyond his philanthropy, Bell mentors UK students who have interests in international careers, including WilDCats at the Capitol students.
UK Global Impact Award for Distinguished Faculty Achievements in International Research and Scholarship
Dr. Brent Seales has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Global Impact Award for Distinguished Faculty Achievements in International Research and Scholarship. Dr. Seales is the Alumni Professor of Computer Science at the University of Kentucky, where he has been teaching and mentoring students since 1991. He holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin (Ph.D. and M.S.), and the University of Southwestern Louisiana (B.S.). The focus of his research for the past 20 years has been on using advanced technology to restore cultural and historical artifacts from the ravages of time. The challenge of rescuing texts that may be central to Biblical scholarship and the formation of the ancient world is a primary passion.
As a result of his innovations, including the invention of "virtual unwrapping," Dr. Seales has become renowned by collectors and curators across the globe, earning a reputation as "the guy who can read the unreadable.” In 2015, Seales and his research team used virtual unwrapping to reveal, for the first time ever, a complete text from a manuscript so damaged it could never be opened and read via traditional means. The text was identified as the oldest known Hebrew copy of the book of Leviticus (other than the Dead Sea Scrolls), carbon dated to the third century C.E. The reading of the text from within the damaged scroll received international recognition from Science Advances, The New York Times, Le Monde and The Times of London, among others, and has been hailed as one of the most significant discoveries in biblical archaeology of the past decade.
Dr. Seales has been awarded funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation and the United Kingdom's Arts & Humanities Research Council. He was a Google Visiting Scientist in Paris (2012-13), and served as a Getty Conservation Institute Scholar (2019-20). He is Principal Investigator on the EduceLab project, a first-of-its-kind world class heritage science lab at the University of Kentucky.
UK Global Impact Award for Distinguished Faculty Achievements in Education Abroad
The 2025 Global Impact Award for Distinguished Faculty Achievements in Education Abroad recognizes the outstanding efforts of Dr. Christy Brady. Dr. Brady is an Associate Professor in the College of Health Sciences at the University of Kentucky. She has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Kentucky, as well as a graduate certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies. She teaches courses focused on the intersection of health and society including Cultural Humility in Healthcare, Social Determinants of Health, The Social and Cultural Evolution of Disease and Global Perspectives in Health Sciences. Dr. Brady leads education abroad programs comparing health outcomes in the United States to economically similar countries. She has led programs in England and France and is planning a program in Ireland for 2026.
In terms of scholarship and service related to the field of education abroad, Dr. Brady is a pioneer and leader. Currently, Dr. Brady serves as the College of Health Sciences’ representative on UK’s International Advisory Council (IAC) and on the IAC’s education abroad committee. In doing so, she works to support and improve the quality of education abroad across campus. Dr. Brady has also integrated education abroad into her research agenda, attending and presenting at a range of national and international conferences, including The Forum on Education Abroad, NAFSA and WISE (Workshop for Intercultural Skills Enhancement). In 2023, Dr. Brady launched a large-scale research survey that assessed student development in intercultural competence gained during education abroad and presented these findings at WISE.
In nominating Dr. Brady for this 2025 GIA award, her colleagues in the Department of Health and Clinical Sciences noted that Dr. Brady “strives to create high-impact learning that continually engages learners. Her work in education abroad is innovative, student-centered, grounded in intercultural humility, and yet nothing short of transformative. She inspires our students and faculty alike and, in doing so, has fostered a thriving culture of education abroad throughout our department’s efforts in scholarship, teaching and service.”
UK Global Impact Award for Distinguished Faculty Achievements in Internationalizing the Curriculum
Dr. Keiko Tanaka is recognized with the 2025 Global Impact Award for Distinguished Faculty Achievements in Internationalizing the Curriculum. Dr. Tanaka is Professor of Rural Sociology in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. She also has a joint appointment with the Department of Sociology in the UK College of Arts and Sciences. Her Ph.D. is from Michigan State University, and her research focuses on the role of agricultural science and technology in reconfiguring the relationship between food production and consumption in the global context. Dr. Tanaka publishes both in English and Japanese. Her publications appear in such journals as: Rural Sociology; Journal of Rural Social Sciences; Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development; Agriculture and Human Values; and Agriculture and Economy [Japanese]. Her current projects on beginning farmers in the Southeastern U.S. and in Japan concern the intersection of their knowledge, practices and perspectives on agricultural sustainability.
Dr. Tanaka’s instruction focuses on the sociological examination of global food systems and agricultural sustainability. She is passionate about internationalization and the importance of civic engagement in university scholarship. Between 2008 and 2013, Tanaka led the Asia Center, first as the Co-Director (2008-2010) and then as Director (2010-13). She also served as Director of Graduate Studies in Sociology (2009-2011, 2013-2014) and in Community & Leadership Development (Fall 2015). She is an active member of the interdisciplinary undergraduate curricula in Sustainable Agriculture in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, and Japan Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. She has been active in the Rural Sociological Society, having served as the Program Chair for the 75th Annual Meeting (2012), Vice President (2014-15) and President (2018-19).
In nominating Dr. Tanaka, Professor Kristine Urschel, Assistant Dean for Instruction in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, noted “Dr. Keiko Tanaka’s dedication to internationalizing the curriculum at the University of Kentucky has been unwavering. Through her course instruction, leadership in curriculum development, leadership in the Asia Center and her commitment to fostering student global engagement opportunities, she has transformed educational experiences both in and beyond the classroom. Dr. Tanaka’s efforts to integrate global perspectives into academic programs, mentor the next generation of scholars and engage with the international community within and beyond the University make her an extremely deserving recipient of the Distinguished Faculty Achievements in Internationalizing the Curriculum Award.”
UK Global Impact Award for Distinguished Staff Achievements in Campus Internationalization
Ms. Katherine Hale, Director of Gatton Global Initiatives for the Gatton College of Business and Economics, has been named the winner of the 2025 Global Impact Award for Distinguished Staff Achievements in Campus Internationalization. Ms. Hale joined the Gatton College Undergraduate Resource Center in 2020. She is particularly passionate about helping students achieve academic success and engage in high-impact experiences such as education abroad, internships, research and service learning. In her current role, she manages various global initiatives for the College and serves as a resource for Gatton students participating in education abroad programs as well as the primary academic advisor for undergraduate international business students. Prior to coming to UK, Ms. Hale worked for eight years as a study abroad advisor and has previous experience in residence life and ESL instruction. She earned a Master of Arts in Student Affairs in Higher Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish, German, and Religious Studies, both from Western Kentucky University. Her most cherished college memories are from her study abroad experiences in Mexico and Austria. Post-graduation, she had the opportunity to spend an academic year in Argentina working as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant.
In nominating his colleague for this award, John Peloza, Associate Dean for Research, Graduate and International Affairs in the Gatton College of Business and Economics, said, “In 2022 Katherine took on the Director of Gatton Global Initiatives position. Since then, her experience has been invaluable to our education abroad planning and execution. In her role, Katherine works with our undergraduate majors to explore how education abroad can help their personal growth and career aspirations. In the two years since she began her role, our college participation rates in education abroad have grown 9% and 11% respectively. We are currently on track to grow at an even faster pace in the current year, and these results are largely due to Katherine’s effort and expertise”
About the UK Global Impact Awards
The Global Impact Awards were established in 2020 to recognize, highlight and celebrate the wide range of global engagement activities undertaken by UK faculty, staff and alumni.
Nominees for the various award categories are reviewed by the International Advisory Committee and receive additional review from campus stakeholders, such as the Staff Senate and past awardees.
The 2025 recipients will be recognized at an event on September 17, 2025.