Every year, the University of Washington celebrates the people who make our campuses stronger, more compassionate and more connected. The Awards of Excellence honor alumni, faculty, staff, students, and retirees whose work embodies our values and elevates our shared mission. UW Global’s “Excellence in Global Engagement” is one such award.
We were honored to recognize and celebrate the nominees and recipient of the Excellence in Global Engagement Award last Tuesday during the UW Global Annual “Community Celebration” at the UW Club. The award honors faculty and staff at the UW for their leadership in global engagement and alternates each year between faculty and staff honorees. This year’s award honors a UW staff member who has led or undertaken activities that connect UW students, faculty, and staff to global communities locally, nationally, or internationally. The award carries a $5,000 stipend.
We are pleased to announce that this year’s recipient is James Sherrell from EthnoMed at Harborview Medical Center. James’ colleagues nominated him with the highest praise and we are delighted to join them in recognizing his outstanding contributions. James’ leadership in re-envisioning EthnoMed has expanded experiential learning for
UW students, residents, and clinicians while centering the needs of immigrant and refugee communities. By developing multilingual resources, conducting community-informed research and teaching cross-cultural care, James has helped strengthen communication, cultural competency, and trusted partnerships across UW Medicine and beyond.
James commented, “At a time when global health is being re-examined, I am so proud to be part of a program that helps the incredible people who have dedicated their careers to this work to understand that the knowledge and skills we associate with global health are just as vital here at home as they are overseas.”
James added that at Harborview Medical Center, people from refugee, immigrant, and migrant backgrounds with limited English proficiency make up nearly one-fifth of the patient population. They saw over 140 distinct languages in their clinics last year alone.
We were also honored to welcome UW President Robert Jones who offered some inspiring remarks and added his congratulations to the recipient and nominees.
“Celebrating all the nominees and their impactful work was an honor,” said Vice Provost for Global Affairs Ahmad Ezzeddine. “The award represents the University’s highest recognition for contributions to global engagement, and James’ work demonstrates the powerful local impact of globally focused initiatives.”
On Thursday, June 11, hundreds of colleagues, friends and family members will gather to recognize this year’s recipients at the 56th annual Awards of Excellence ceremony and James will be among them. Again, congratulations, James!