On Wednesday, April 3, the 2013 International Awards Ceremony was held where Frank A. Fear won the Charles A. Gliozzo International Award for Public Diplomacy.

Frank Fear, the senior associate dean emeritus for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, has made extraordinary contributions to international programs throughout his 30-plus year career at MSU. As a scholar focused on participatory community engagement, Frank has built relationships around the world that contribute to the important networks that feed MSU’s international engagement and reputation.

With exceptional people skills, Frank has a unique ability to bring people together in a community that spans cultural boundaries and makes people feel connected. His engaging style helps transform conversations into a course of action where everyone feels they are part of something greater. With a philosophy for community engagement and development that has few boundaries, Frank has built hundreds of meaningful partnerships and supported the important work of numerous colleagues at MSU and in institutions abroad. 

It’s not surprising that Frank has spent his career studying, writing, and teaching about change in organizational and community settings and the extraordinary change that is the result of collaboration.

A few examples of his impact include: helping to establish the “Consortium for Sustainability: Collaborative Study Abroad Program in Costa Rica,” which brings together EARTH University and 10 land-grant universities; championing the effort to bring hundreds of students from 27 countries to MSU for the 12th Annual International Student Summit and Symposium on Agriculture, Food and the Environment; and strengthening community partnerships in Mayo Ireland to create a study abroad program that has become a model for community engagement. 

As the inaugural chairperson of The Liberty Hyde Bailey Scholars Program, Frank’s efforts helped to create a distinctive undergraduate program that promotes undergraduate student and faculty development through collaboration.

He has devoted his career to building and sustaining relationships. A perpetual diplomat, believing everyone deserves a seat at the table, Frank Fear embodies the spirit of the Charles Gliozzo International Award for Public Diplomacy.