Thompson Rivers University (TRU) brought faculty, staff, students and partners together on Friday, Nov. 14 for Global Horizons: Celebrating Faculty Impact on Internationalization, an initiative led by the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT). The gathering highlighted the creativity, commitment and global vision guiding TRU’s new Strategic Internationalization Plan.
The event showcased how TRU faculty are expanding global learning through multilingual research, decolonizing pedagogies, international field schools, community-engaged scholarship and partnerships that connect local knowledge with worldwide challenges.
Pictured left to right: TRU’s Baihua Chadwick, Dr. Gloria Ramírez and Dr. Jenna Woodrow
A joint keynote from Dr. Gloria Ramírez, a professor in the Faculty of Education and Social Work, and Dr. Jenna Woodrow, an associate teaching professor in the Faculty of Arts, opened the morning. They shared personal and professional reflections on bilingualism, intercultural learning, reconciliation and educational justice. Their stories emphasized that global engagement grows from relationships to land, language and community.
Posters and roundtables highlighted faculty leadership across disciplines. Examples included microbiology field schools in Thailand, nursing exchanges in Nepal, disaster-resilient community research, experiential tourism programs in Italy, and new uses of technology and artificial intelligence to support Indigenous learners.
Baihua Chadwick, vice-president international, noted the shared effort behind this work.
“Our faculty bring the world into TRU classrooms and carry TRU values into communities across the globe”, she said. “Their work ensures that every learner can thrive in an interconnected world.
As TRU advances its 2025 to 2035 Strategic Internationalization Plan, Global Horizons served as a reminder that internationalization is more than an institutional strategy. It is the day-to-day practice of a community committed to justice, curiosity and global connection.
Posters from the session are available here.
