The New York Times recently ran a story that opened with these words: “As educators question what college should look like in the 21st century, one answer is: global.”

The University of Virginia is taking its international offerings to a new level this week, bringing global development pros to Grounds for a new career and recruitment event that will place Wahoos in jobs and internships around the world.

The program is being offered with the Society for International Development Center’s Washington, D.C. chapter and MetroLink DC. The consortium connects employers in metropolitan Washington with students attending UVA, the College of William & Mary, Swarthmore College and Yale University. Among the participating employers are the Brookings Institute, Peace Corps, USAID Global Corps-Health and ChildFund International.

Friday’s Global Development Career Day and Recruiting Fair, to be held from 9 a,m. to 4:30 p.m. in Bryant Hall, features panel discussions and presentations that will be capped by interviews and career conversations to help place students in positions around the world.

Student demand for the fair is extremely high, David Lapinski, director of Employer Relations at UVA’s Career Center, said. The career center has created a waiting list for the Global Networking Night and the employer panels and presentations to ensure students can interact with all of the companies attending the fair.

“As international economies grow in developing countries,” Lapinski, who helps create and maintain relationships with employers and recruiters looking to connect with UVA students, said, “there will be increased need for talented students who understand international cultures, global health challenges, policy issues and complex engineering infrastructures that are needed to sustain these maturing markets. This fair is designed to educate students about the trends, but also create a recruiting forum that connects students, alumni and employers.”

He is available to talk with reporters about this new offering and why UVA thinks it is important to make these opportunities available to students as part of the “total advising” element of UVA’s Cornerstone Plan.

Lapinski can be reached at 434-924-4865 or dal8d@Virginia.EDU.