At Lehigh, we are fortunate to belong to a community that is committed to creating not only a sustainable environment, but also one that is diverse, global, and inclusive. Bill Hunter, the Director of Fellowship Advising and UN Programs is tasked with creating opportunities for students, staff and faculty to engage directly with global decision makers. He also works with Lehigh’s high-potential students to identify scholarships and related opportunities. During his twenty year career at Lehigh, Bill has opened a lot of doors for our students to engage on a global basis, has empowered them, and enabled them to succeed. Bill Hunter shared his background with us and his continued vision for a more global Lehigh. Here’s what Bill Hunter told us:
Q1: How did you become interested in a career focused on international affairs and fellowship advising?
My bubble was very small as a kid. There was very little diversity, and not much exposure to the world outside my neighborhood in Pittsburgh. Nonetheless, I was always curious about what was beyond my horizon and it was this curiosity that led me to study abroad several times, learn Spanish, and earn degrees in international communications and international education leadership.
Q2: What are your main responsibilities as the Director of Fellowship Advising and UN Programs?
In the UN side of the job, my role is to create opportunities for students, staff and faculty to engage directly with global decision makers. These connections often lead to research projects, extensions of the curriculum, and internships. The fellowship advising part of my job allows me to work with Lehigh’s high-potential students to identify scholarships and related opportunities that help them realize their dreams of studying abroad, learning languages, conducting research, or attending graduate school overseas.
Q3: What is your vision for advancing Lehigh’s reputation for developing strong applicants to the nation’s most prestigious scholarships?
I’ve discovered over the last two years as Director of OFA that our students have tremendous potential to win such nationally competitive awards. Lehigh’s interdisciplinary focus leads to multidimensional, broad-minded and globally competent students. This is a great recipe for success. Our office will put a considerable energy into identifying these high-potential students as early as possible, and then help them to scaffold their time on campus in a strategic fashion, leading to competitive applications for these awards.
Q4: What have you learned from serving as Lehigh’s Representative to the United Nations?
Most people would say that the United Nations is this behemoth global entity that strives to solve society’s greatest challenges. With agencies and programs spread across the world, it might seem daunting to create a dialog with those in leadership roles, or even to find a way inside. While that’s a fair assumption, Lehigh has systematically approached UN agencies, offices, and Member State Missions seeking to identify synergies where alliances can be formed. These collaborations include the Division of Sustainable Development, UN Environment, and UN Women, among others. We then build proactive relationships that benefit both parties. It’s impossible to “partner” with the UN holistically, but targeted linkages have proven very useful to us.
Q5: What is your proudest accomplishment so far?
After several years of sitting in meetings with non-governmental organization (NGO) colleagues from around the world, all of whom had served at the UN for decades, it became clear to me that the UN NGO community was missing the opportunity to engage with young people. We identified six UN accredited NGOs from around the world who’s mission and vision aligned with Lehigh, and then wrote to each, asking if they would offer one of their UN badges to a high-achieving Lehigh student, who would serve as their youth voice at the UN. To my surprise, all six accepted my offer, and the first UN Youth Representation program came to life. Since 2006, more than 100 Lehigh students have served as Youth Representatives for NGOs on 6 continents. Four years ago the UN took our model and now uses it with youth and NGOs worldwide.
Q6: What impact do you hope to make at Lehigh?
May 1st marked my 20-year anniversary at Lehigh. I began as the Director of the Global Union, and that has morphed into many globally focused roles since then. I hope my legacy is that I opened a lot of doors for our students to engage on a global basis, empowered them, and then got out of their way, enabling them to succeed.
For more information and resources, please visit: https://global.lehigh.edu/.