LesLee Eicher

I gratefully accept the nomination to serve as VP for International Education on AACRAO’s Board of Directors.  

This is the right moment to step into this role. As our world grows more complex, international educators must lead with innovative and creative solutions to support learner mobility. We cannot afford to pull back; we must push forward, because international education and exchange strengthen us all.  

AACRAO has been my most important professional network for over 25 years. I served on AACRAO’s national staff, providing professional training on international admission and credential evaluation to AACRAO member colleagues. Currently I serve on the International Education Standards Council (IESC), the body that researches non-US education and develops and approves placement recommendations in EDGE, the resource built specifically for international credential evaluators at institutions across the US and abroad. I also served on AACRAO’s inaugural Curriculum Committee as we strengthened and clarified the Core Competencies to better reflect today’s structures and professionals. In 2020, my ECE colleague and I were awarded IERF’s Inez Sepmeyer Award for Excellence in Credentials Evaluation Research for our project on the recognition of private higher education in Africa and Latin America, and in 2024, I was recognized with AACRAO’s Award for Excellence in International Education.  

As VP for International Education with AACRAO, I will be uniquely positioned to guide how we think about global learning, learner mobility, international exchange, and ways to break down barriers. In my work in Graduate International Admissions at Seattle University, we have navigated significant opportunities and challenges: a global pandemic that limited student movement, the application explosion that followed as we came out of the pandemic, building systems and expanding staff to best serve our international applicants, working with colleagues across campus to provide the warmest and smoothest transition and support for students from application to enrollment to graduation and beyond. And now, we continue our relationships with applicants and students to keep them informed and encouraged as we navigate changing government policies and restrictions on immigration and visa issuance. All this underscores what we already know: no one “phones it in” in international education. This is a job that demands our time and our energy, but it gives back in so many ways at personal, national, and international levels. For all that AACRAO members and my colleagues have given me personally and professionally, I can now give back. 

If you elect me as AACRAO Vice President for International Education, I will take concrete action and work with my colleagues, friends, and international counterparts to: 

• Support continuing professional development. As an international credential evaluator, I have personally experienced how challenging it is for new professionals to get the training they need to do this complex job. I will always advocate for AACRAO to provide the guidance to members that they need to do their jobs accurately and well; 
• Strengthen best practices. AACRAO is a leader in higher education in general and international education in particular. I will support the AACRAO members who continue to build practical resources such as AACRAO EDGE and the International Guide, and to create and support structures that foster inbound and outbound exchange. I will work to support the resources that keep AACRAO members educated, consistent, and principled, and ensure that AACRAO always provides a rich environment for professionals in international education; 
• Monitor emerging trends. AACRAO is the forefront of innovative ideas, new technologies and groundbreaking thought leadership in all the areas represented by the association. We will harness our collective brain power to continue to lead in international admissions, credential evaluation, study abroad, and he many facets of international education; 
• Champion a big-tent approach. When we bring together the diverse areas that make up international education, when we promote inclusivity, when we seek out and respect different perspectives and backgrounds, we all benefit. As AACRAO VP for International Education, I will ensure that all facets of international education are reflected in AACRAO’s work, and that all contribute to shaping how colleagues and institutions engage with the world and with our counterparts in other countries; 
• Finally, I will help advance AACRAO’s strategic plan with a global mindset and an international credential evaluator’s attention to detail.  

 Thank you for your support!

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