SLU Receives the 2026 Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization
ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis University has been awarded a 2026 Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization by NAFSA: Association of International Education. Named after the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon of Illinois, the annual NAFSA Simon Awards celebrate outstanding commitment and accomplishment in campus internationalization.
The award for Comprehensive Internationalization recognizes excellence in integrating international education throughout all facets of university and college campuses. SLU is one of only five universities receiving the Comprehensive Internationalization award.
The Center for Global Citizenship. SLU file photo.
“We are honored to receive the 2026 Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization,” said SLU President Edward Feser, Ph.D. “This recognition celebrates SLU’s deep commitment to international education – a commitment we demonstrate by welcoming international students to St. Louis, fostering a global community at our Madrid campus, developing innovative global partnerships, and creating rich opportunities for SLU community members to learn and build relationships across nations and cultures.”
In the fall of 2025, Saint Louis University had 1,854 international students from 95 countries on the St. Louis campus, with an additional 1,285 students on the SLU-Madrid campus. More than 600 SLU students study abroad each year. SLU’s Education Abroad team has expanded efforts to make study abroad accessible to all students interested in a global experience.
Saint Louis University also has the first American university campus in Spain. SLU-Madrid was founded in 1967 and offers students from over 65 countries the opportunity to pursue U.S.-accredited degrees and short-stay study abroad programs in a multicultural environment. Enrollment at Saint Louis University-Madrid is up 18% in Spring 2026 over the previous Spring semester. The 1,645 students at SLU-Madrid include 900 visiting students from universities across the United States.
“International students and global experiences are essential to the vitality of our campus and the quality of a Jesuit education,” said Jean Marie Cox, the University’s interim vice president for enrollment management. “This recognition affirms SLU’s commitment to attracting talented students from around the world while ensuring all of our students gain the global perspective they need to thrive after graduation.”
SLU has actively worked over the past decade to increase international engagement, innovate programming and partner with other organizations to create global impact.
Saint Louis University’s curriculum offers 56 courses on global perspectives, international communities, and cultures. To foster internationalization and broad participation from students, faculty, and staff, SLU has built a vibrant campus culture through new and recurring programming. Programs include SLU’s annual Atlas Week, which aims to increase awareness of the global issues confronting the world today, international student showcases, festivals, and a Parade of Nations.
SLU’s Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning offers workshops to develop faculty interest in internationalizing their teaching and research. In the past two years, the University has added 10 new faculty-led experiences in locations such as the United Arab Emirates, Belize, Hungary, Spain, Germany, Brazil, and Italy. SLU averages 20-25 faculty-led programs each year.
SLU has an innovative partnership with the University of Mumbai, creating opportunities for Indian students to earn advanced degrees while gaining valuable academic and cultural experiences in the United States. The collaboration features a 1+1 pathway program that enables students to complete the first year of their master’s degree at the University of Mumbai and the second year at SLU in St. Louis.
In addition to increasing internationalization on campus, Saint Louis University works with a variety of local and global partners to increase access to Jesuit higher education.
NAFSA honored SLU in 2025 with the Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award. The award recognized SLU’s Partnership for a Higher Purpose initiative, which encompasses the SLU-Jesuit Worldwide Learning program offering bachelor's degrees to international students displaced by conflict, lack of opportunity, and poverty in places such as refugee camps in Nigeria, Kenya and Malawi.
“Internationalization is in the DNA and mission of Saint Louis University,” said Luchen Li, Ph.D., associate vice president for global engagement and international enrollment. “SLU is intentionally innovative with our efforts for internationalization as we pursue success.”
About NAFSA
Serving more than 10,000 members and international educators worldwide, NAFSA: Association of International Educators is the largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange. Visit us at www.nafsa.org/press. To learn more about our advocacy efforts on behalf of international education, visit www.nafsa.org/takeaction.
Institutions selected for the Simon Awards will be featured in NAFSA's annual report, Internationalizing the Campus: Profiles of Success at Colleges and Universities, to be published this fall and honored during NAFSA’s 2026 Annual Conference & Expo this spring.
About Saint Louis University
Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic research institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers more than 15,300 students a rigorous, transformative education that challenges and prepares them to make the world a better place. As a nationally recognized leader in research and innovation, SLU is an R1 research university, advancing groundbreaking, life-changing discoveries that promote the greater good.
