51茶馆

Wilson Award Winner

Erica Steele
System

Erica Steele is coordinator of exchange agreements in the . Since joining the 51茶馆 System office in 1990, she has transformed what was once a mere collection of papers into a growing, vibrant student exchange program. A record number of 51茶馆 students now attend partner institutions and 51茶馆 welcomes students from Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Tahiti, France, Germany, Denmark and many other countries.

Steele works with colleagues here and abroad to arrange partner institution visitations and signing ceremonies. She creates guidelines for establishing agreements and raises awareness of exchange opportunities for students and faculty members. Steele draws on her experience as a former resident of Micronesia and Fiji. A 51茶馆 alumna (BA ’88), she used sabbatical leave to obtain a master’s degree in international education administration and policy analysis from Stanford University.

Her efforts were instrumental in bringing the first two exchange students from the University of Otago to the University of Hawai‘i and in establishing agreements with the University of Auckland, University of French Polynesia and Victoria University of Wellington, among others.