Member Details

GianMario Besana is Professor in the College of Computing and Digital Media, and currently serves as Associate Provost for Global Engagement and Online Learning. His portfolio comprises the internationalization process of the institution and its online learning operations. The two sides of GianMario’s portfolio came together in 2013 with the creation of the Global Learning Experience (GLE) program, a virtual exchange initiative aimed at supporting DePaul’s faculty members who wish to open their classrooms to technology-facilitated learning experiences at a distance, in partnership with institutions all over the world. The GLE program was recognized in 2019 with the POD Innovation award and in 2020 with a NAFSA Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award for Campus Internationalization. GianMario has facilitated workshops on institutional approaches to virtual exchange at several institutions around the world and has presented on the topic of virtual exchange at several conferences. GianMario earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of Notre Dame, IN, USA, after completing his bachelor degree, also in Mathematics, at the Universita’degli Studi di Milano, Italy. He has published widely in the field of algebraic geometry, applications to computer vision, and computer science education. GianMario is an alumnus of the Institute for Educational Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and of the first edition of the Senior International Officers Academy of the Association for International Education Administrators (AIEA). He has served on the Executive Board of AIEA as a member at large and is one of the founding members of the International Virtual Exchange Consortium, IVEC.