Damita Chambers, dchambers@bowiestate.edu, 301-832-2628
BOWIE STATE – Two international educators with strong backgrounds in delivering life-changing study abroad experiences for college students have joined Bowie State University’s revamped International Office, boosting the global engagement for Maryland’s first historically black university.
Named the new director of international education and services, Qimmah Najeeullah is a seasoned international education leader, who is committed to diversifying America’s image abroad and increasing African Americans’ participation in global affairs. Patrick Frazier, named the study abroad coordinator, has more than 15 years of experience of opening doors to opportunity to students to study abroad.
“For the first time in our history, BSU is looking forward to building a solid infrastructure for our international students and providing experiential learning opportunities for domestic students abroad,” said interim Provost Judith Kirkpatrick. “Our international students are being challenged, and we must surround them with the support needed for them to remain a growing and vital part of our campus community. At the same time, we want to be prepared to offer the very best study abroad opportunities to our students.”
The BSU International Office now coordinates all of the university’s international engagement efforts to include exchange and study abroad programs, student recruiting and admissions, and support for international students. As director, Najeeullah will provide a foundation of success for international students and develop new initiatives to strengthen the university’s international education and outreach efforts. Her work will deepen engagement of BSU students and faculty with educational and career development partners around the world.
Most recently, Najeeullah served as director of the International Student Exchange & Visitor Program at Morgan State University, where she instituted its first recruiting efforts in Asia and facilitated visa petitions for international faculty and staff. She was also a university Fulbright Scholars Liaison, promoting the prestigious international education scholarship program to students and faculty. In addition, she has served on selection committees for multiple international scholarship programs, including the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leadership program. She is a past recipient of the J. William Fulbright Foreign International Educator Fellowship and the Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Award.
Najeeullah holds a master’s degree in international peace and conflict resolution from American University and bachelor’s degree in art history, with a minor in Portuguese language, from the University of Maryland. She is completing a doctoral degree in international education policy from the University of Maryland.
Frazier will manage all of the university’s study abroad activities, expand international education programming and advise faculty and students on international travel protocols. He will also establish centralized recruitment, application, enrollment and evaluation processes for all study abroad programs.
Frazier joins BSU after serving as an international student advisor at the University of Maryland, where he worked with exchange students who spent a semester or year in the United States. At Loyola University, he served as the assistant director for international programs, implementing six study abroad programs for about 100 students per year to include travel to Italy, Singapore, Belgium and Australia. As study abroad director at Quinnipiac University, he established semester study abroad programs in several countries, as well as a specialized study abroad program for nursing and education students.
Frazier holds a master’s degree from the American University in Cairo and a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University.
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