SLU Professor Emerita Diana Carlin Honored with NAFSA's Leadership and Collaboration Award

SLU Professor Emerita Diana Carlin Honored with NAFSA's Leadership and Collaboration Award

Carlin, SLU Both Honored for Commitment to International Education at NAFSA Conference

ST. LOUIS - Diana B. Carlin, Ph.D., professor emerita of communication at Saint Louis University, is the 2026 NAFSA International Education Award for Leadership and Collaboration winner. The award honors the contributions of an international educator to international exchange on a global scale.

"Diana Carlin's career reflects the power of collaboration to expand opportunity, strengthen institutions, and build enduring global partnerships," said Fanta Aw, CEO and executive director of NAFSA: Association of International Education. "Diana has demonstrated exceptional leadership over her career, with Sister Cities, Assistance for Immigrations and Refugees, and with leadership roles at Saint Louis University, University of Kansas, and at the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C."

Carlin said she was honored to be recognized at a time when NAFSA also highlighted Saint Louis University's overall commitment to international education. SLU was named one of five winners of the 2026 Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization by NAFSA in February. The award recognizes excellence in integrating international education throughout all facets of university and college campuses.

"SLU has a longstanding commitment to international education," Carlin said. "It was one of the things that first attracted me to SLU and I am honored to be a part of strengthening that culture."

Saint Louis University's curriculum currently 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.

Carlin facilitated faculty workshops in international education and helped to expand programming offered through the Center for Global Citizenship.

"The CGC was the inaugural recipient (2015) of the Innovation Award in Internationalization by the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA)," Carlin said. "I was honored to participate in that nomination, which recognized exceptional programs, projects, or initiatives aimed at advancing campus internationalization."

Carlin continues to work on international programming, chairing committees on international education and participating in advocacy work for NAFSA.

"She has contributed greatly to NAFSA through her years on the NAFSA board, including on the governance committee as chair and secretary," Aw said. "Across higher education, community organizations, and international exchange efforts worldwide, her leadership has brought people together around shared purpose and lasting impact. Diana's work exemplifies NAFSA's core values and the transformative potential of collaborative leadership in international education."

Carlin is professor emerita of Communication at SLU and a founding member of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education. She has taught courses on and written about first ladies for 30 years. Her recent publications include U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies with Anita B. McBride and Nancy Kegan Smith and Remember the First Ladies.

Her research and writing also covers women in politics, presidential communication, and political debates.

Carlin was recognized during the NAFSA 2026 Annual Conference and Expo in May.

About NAFSA

NAFSA is the largest and most comprehensive association of professionals committed to advancing international higher education. The association believes that international education advances learning and scholarship, fosters understanding and respect among people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives, is essential for developing globally competent individuals, and builds leadership for the global community.

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 13,300 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.