Who we are

Saúl Sosnowski, PhD
Associate Provost for International Affairs
Director, Office of International Programs
In addition to his role as Associate Provost and OIP Director, Dr. Sosnowski is Professor of Latin American Literature and Culture. He chaired UM's Department of Spanish and Portuguese from 1979 to 2000, and directed the Latin American Studies Center, which he founded in 1989, until 2008.  He has also held visiting appointments at other universities in the U.S. and overseas. Since 1995 he has directed the project A Culture for Democracy in Latin America, which includes funded projects in Brazil and Venezuela, and coordinates, with Dr. Edy Kaufman (with University of Maryland's Center for International Development and Conflict Management), a conflict resolution and peace-building initiative in Ecuador and Peru.

Joseph B. Scholten, PhD, Associate Director, joined the Office of International Programs in November 2006.  Among his responsibilities are OIP area initiatives for India and Africa; serving as campus representative for Fulbright programs for faculty and professional staff; and supervision of OIP communications.  He has taught at UM since 2001, primarily in the Classics Department, (co-leading on several occasions the winter term study abroad program in Central Italy), but also in the Department of History and the University Honors Program, where he served as Interim Associate Director from August 2005 until October 2006.  Prior to coming to UM, he was Assoc. Prof. of History at Michigan State University.

Heather Simms, Director of Administrative Services, is responsible for the management and administration of fiscal operations and resources for OIP and it’s related offices. She is also the administrator for human resources and benefits for those same offices. Prior to joining OIP in 2001, Heather worked in accounting and human resources for the Federal Government and private industry. She holds a B.S. degree in Management.

Lucie Covey, Coordinator, Conferences and International Visitors, is responsible for the International Visitor Program, incoming Fulbright Scholars, the International Faculty Travel and Activity Grants, and planning OIP'S conferences and events. She started with OIP in 1998, after working on Capitol Hill at the Supreme Court and as a financial counsultant. She has a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Maryland. 

Kellie Corcoran, Communications Coordinator, oversees print and electronic communications for all OIP units, in addition to her role as Editor/Designer of UM's "Maryland International" newsletter. Kellie earned a B.A. in Communications from Roger Williams University. Additionally, she worked as a Public Affairs Writer for her alma mater; as a Corporate Communicator for CVS Pharmacy; a Field Director for PBS Television; as a Special Event Coordinator for the Special Olympics of Rhode Island; and, most recently, as an Advisor in UM's Study Abroad Office. 

Fabián Faccio, Staff Assistant, joined the Office of International Programs in January, 2007. Fabián assists the Director of Administrative Services with payroll transactions, travel, and database management. He is responsible for the management of general administrative tasks and assists all office staffers with projects as needed. He has been a member of the College Park university community for more than ten years. He holds a BA in Spanish Languages and Literatures and an MA in Second Language Acquisition, both from UMCP.

Who's who in our other offices:

International Education Services
Study Abroad
Maryland English Institute
Institute for Global Chinese Affairs
Confucius Institute