DENTON (UNT), Texas -- Pia Wood, an expert with more than two decades of experience in providing leadership in higher education international programs, has been named the new vice provost and dean of international affairs at the University of North Texas.
Dr. Wood is joining UNT from the University of Tennessee, where she has served as the associate provost of international education and director of the Center for International Education since 2007.
UNT Provost Jennifer Cowley said she is excited to have such a highly qualified leader join UNT’s team. In her role at UNT, Wood will work with departments and colleges to develop an international action plan to expand UNT’s global reach.
"Today’s students have a much greater global appreciation, and it is our job to ensure they have college experiences that are meaningful and add to the richness of their experience," Cowley said. "Pia understands the unique experiences of international students and the opportunities for American students to study internationally, but she also has a firm grasp of how to grow and manage international programs at the university level."
Wood starts her position Oct. 23. She also will hold the position of an associate professor of political science.
"When I was making my decision, many things stood out about UNT’s strong international program," said Wood, whose personal experience as a child growing up partly in Europe shaped her view of the world and ultimately led to her career choice. "I was impressed by the strong support for international from both the president and provost, and I am looking forward to working with the talented team I met at UNT International.
"My overarching goal will be to raise the global footprint of UNT and to enhance the international reputation of UNT."
An expert in U.S.-European relations and European foreign policy and politics, Wood has earned numerous grants and academic honors such as being selected as a Fulbright-Hays Fellow for faculty development in Turkey and the NEH (National Endowment for the Humanities) for the Institute "Memory, History, and Dictatorship: The Legacy of World War II in France, Germany and Italy." She and her colleagues earned the Heiskell Award Special Recognition for internationalizing the campus. She also has served the Association for International Education Administrators as president and the American International Recruitment Council as president and an executive board member.
Prior to Wood's service at the University of Tennessee, she served as director for the Center for International Studies and chief international officer at Wake Forest University from 1999 to 2007. From 1993 to 1999, she was director of the International Studies Undergraduate Program at Old Dominion University in Virginia. Prior to following her passion into international education, Wood was an assistant professor and associate professor in the Department of Political Science and Geography at Old Dominion and a visiting professor in the Department of National Security Studies at the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. She taught at Bates Colleges in Lewiston, Maine, and at the Woodrow Wilson School for Government and Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia.
Wood holds a bachelor's degree in economics and French from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, a master's in international business from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, a master's in Latin American studies from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and a Ph.D. in political science from the Graduate Institute for International Studies at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.