Who We Are 

The Hampton University International Office (HUIO) is responsible for the overall planning, organization and management of all activities and policies related to international travel, global education, and immigration. 

Mission 

The mission of the Hampton University International Office is to promote American diplomacy through global citizenry and further social and cultural collaboration among domestic and international students and scholars. 

Vision 

By way of its mission, the International Office positions Hampton University on the global stage, providing “the #1 student experience in America”, being recognized world-wide as a top university for innovation, collaboration, and internationalization.  

Primary Focus 

A primary focus is to elevate and strengthen HU’s global presence across academic and economic spaces through the development of strategic agreements. 

The Team 

The Director of HUIO – Ebony Majeed 

    Mrs. Majeed maintains leadership, management, programming and direct supervisory responsibility for the International Office by ensuring adherence to the policies set forth for international education by its national and federal governing bodies.  She supports the campus community’s process of internationalization, as outlined by the HU Strategic Plan 2023-2033, with the support and guidance of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs.  To enhance HU’s global visibility with respected stakeholders, she collaborates with partners and universities around the world to strategically create agreements for domestic and international students.  Similarly, she focuses on fundraising, faculty development, and building relations externally for the institution. 

    To strengthen the risk management and safety protocol for international programming, she serves as a primary point of contact for the development of global risk management and safety plan, in coordination with Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC).  Mrs. Majeed serves as the federal compliance officer for all regulations governing the operation of international students (Primary Designated School Official-PDSO for F visas) and scholars services (Responsible Officer-RO for J visas) related to the Student and Exchange Visitor System (SEVIS), the Department of State, USCIS, ICE, Department of Homeland Security.   

    In collaboration with the Director of the HU Honors College, she serves as the primary point of contact for study abroad student scholarship for funding programs from the U.S. Department of State, such as the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship, the David L. Boren Scholarship/Fellowship, the Critical Language Scholarship, and the Freeman Asia Scholarship. 

The Assistant Director of HUIO – Samaria Haysbert 

    Ms. Haysbert assists the Director in the implementation of the institutional and unit-wide strategic plans.  She assists the International Office in strategizing and prioritizing long-term goals with short-term objectives and translating them into reportable deliverables.  As a strategy to increases study abroad participation rates for the University, she supports and onboards study abroad applicants throughout the study abroad experience until their return to the institution, then to perform administrative record keeping and processing. 

    To execute the development of strong partnerships and agreements, Ms. Haysbert conducts site visits in developing regions of study, where programs’ culture cohesion, safety and scholastic experience needs verification or adjudication.  She also assists in developing or identifying measures that market, streamline and finance International Office activities.  To enhance the streamlining of processes, she collaborates with faculty and administrators to market, streamline, and finance international office activities.  Finally, Ms. Haysbert assists in critical immigration needs as a secondary federal compliance officer for all regulations governing the operation of international students (Designated School Official-DSO for F visas) and scholars services (Alternate Responsible Officer-ARO for J visas) related to the Student and Exchange Visitor System (SEVIS), the Department of State, USCIS, ICE, Department of Homeland Security 

The Immigration Specialist – 

    The Immigration Specialist provides support and services to international students and scholars, while designing social and cross-cultural events.  She advises students on complex immigration requirements, permissions, benefits, applications, and procedures.  To maintain institutional compliance, she garners and implements specialized knowledge of the immigration system and solves complex issues with the guidance of immigration rules and regulations of the Department of Homeland Security.   

They serve as a point of contact to disseminate guidance to academic departments regarding immigration fees and visa processes for new international faculty and scholars.  With the goal of streamlining processes for prospective students, she collaborates with the Office of Admissions, The Graduate College and faculty to strengthen campus-wide student retention efforts.  To address an important key indicator of the institutional strategic plan, she engages with the Director of International Students, Scholars and Programs to develop an international student recruitment campaign with the goal of increasing enrollment and retention for students from abroad. 

The Administrative Assistant – Leah Turner 

    Ms. Turner supports the International Office and campus community by providing outstanding customer service while illustrating the principles of diversity, equity and inclusivity.  She also assists the office, students and visitors with inquiries and timely feedback.  When students and the campus community visit or contact the office, she explains the required documentation and procedures for study and intern abroad programming options.  This encourages the development of a campus culture of internationalization.  Ms. Turner shares points of contact and procedures for international students seeking admission to the university.  She also processes documentation regarding the unit’s budgets in the campus financial system (Banner) for travel, office supplies, daily tasks and routines.  Finally, she serves as the International Office’s primary point of contact for external inquiries relating to the creation of international agreements and outreach to/from foreign institutions and partners