Chelsey Watts, formerly an operations manager at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, has been named assistant director for partnerships and affiliations in the Global Education Office.

Watts will play a key role in managing Virginia Tech’s portfolio of student exchange agreements as well as its partnership with the International Student Exchange Program. She will oversee and evaluate partnership activities and identify potential new collaborations.

Global Education Director Theresa Johansson said that despite Virginia Tech's impressive array of study abroad opportunities, a barrier to student participation lies in the difficulty of identifying programs whose courses dovetail with degree requirements.

"This new position gives our office the ability to work closely with the registrar and with departments across campus to overcome that challenge,” she said. “At the same time, we can identify and develop strategic relationships that can grow into rich, multilayered collaborations with universities around the world."

In Chicago, Watts directed processes for units within the school's MBA program. She was involved in the planning and coordination of quarterly exchange-student orientation and support.

Watts has also worked for Laureate Online Education International in Amsterdam, helping to maintain the organization’s partnership with the University of Liverpool.

She received a bachelor's degree in business administration from High Point University in High Point, North Carolina, and a master's degree in international and comparative education from Stockholm University, in Stockholm, Sweden.

While studying in Sweden, Watts served as a research assistant for the Institute of International Education, where she worked with graduate students. 

The Global Education Office, part of Outreach and International Affairs, sends more than 1,100 Virginia Tech students abroad each year. The office also administers the Fulbright program and provides faculty incentives for the development of programs that infuse global elements into the curriculum.

Written by Rommelyn Conde Coffren

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