Dr. Shpresa Halimi To Lead International Programs

Dr. Shpresa Halimi has been appointed as Pacific’s next director of International Programs, effective June 2, 2022. Dr. Halimi will succeed International Programs Director Stephen Prag, who will retire after serving in that role for 18 years.

Dr. Halimi, who is currently the project director for the Pacific AANAPISI Grant for Inclusive Student Success, is an international educator with more than 20 years of experience in designing and delivering innovative high-impact learning offerings, both locally and globally, that help students, faculty, staff and administrators thrive in the areas of education, multi-level governance, internationalization and sustainability in higher education, and equity, diversity and inclusion. She is a multi-cultural and multi-lingual educator and her career spans a number of leadership positions.

During her leadership of the Office of Global Initiatives at Bellevue College she was instrumental in developing and implementing one of the most comprehensive internationalization plans among four-year colleges in the state of Washington. At Portland State University, she directed international teaching, training, research and service initiatives at home and in Europe, South East Asia and the Middle East and North Africa regions.
 
Currently the director of AANAPISI Initiative for Inclusive Student Success at Pacific, Dr. Halimi earned her Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Tirana (Albania), her Master of Public Administration from Indiana University and a PhD in Public Administration and Policy from Portland State University. She also completed advanced studies in Project Management at ProjectStyrning in Sweden. Dr. Halimi has an impressive track record of securing extramural grants to support internationalization efforts, has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses and is the author and co-author of numerous articles, book chapters, toolkits, case studies, white papers and reports.