Award for Global Engagement

Dr. Katharine Pelican is a recognized expert in designing, implementing, and developing global education and global outreach programs. Her work has increased the reputation of the University of Minnesota around the world.

Dr. Pelican had an immediate impact upon her arrival at the University of Minnesota in 2009. She coordinated the submission of a proposal to the USAID Emerging Pandemic Threats Program. The resulting award launched the USAID RESPOND project, which worked to strengthen global capacity for the prevention, detection, and control of infectious disease threats around the world. The RESPOND project has worked with faculty from 34 institutions across Africa and Southeast Asia, and it was instrumental in creating two regional One Health University networks.

Dr. Pelican is also leading the USAID One Health Workforce Project, which focuses on faculty professional development and pre- and post-service training and education for the health workforce in Southeast Asia and Africa. The University of Minnesota has been awarded more than $60 million as part of this worldwide effort to prevent pandemics. The project connects the University to more than 80 universities around the world.

In addition, Dr. Pelican helped create the One Health Systems Mapping and Analysis Resource Toolkit. The toolkit has been used in more than 20 countries to support One Health operations for infectious disease planning and response, natural disaster preparedness, antimicrobial resistance action planning, and national workforce planning.

As the co-director of the University’s Strategic Partnerships and Research Collaborative (SPARC), Dr. Pelican is moving forward the University’s ability to support a culture of interdisciplinary research, innovation, and translation. Dr. Pelican was instrumental in making SPARC a reality, advancing partnerships and projects that put the University of Minnesota at the forefront of global innovation, impact, and change.