Our Approach
With an accumulated 40+ years of experience in international higher education, Volition Global's strength is in building relationships.
Our Story
Although Volition Global, LLC was officially established in 2012, Cornell and Mona Menking have been working in higher education since 2000, beginning in Ecuador. They have amassed a world of contacts and are experts in connecting people with those that can help.
Meet the Team
Mona Menking
Managing Partner
Mona Menking is a tri-lingual (native proficiency in English, Spanish and Farsi), extroverted, dynamic, task-oriented professional with a passion for excellence. Born in Iran, her family fled that country to escape religious persecution when she was four years old. After spending four years in England, at the age of 8, her family relocated to Quito, Ecuador. In Quito she secured a scholarship to attend the elite Academia Cotopaxi International Baccalaureate School through the 11th grade. She finished high school in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, graduating in the top 10% of her class. Ms. Menking has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and International Management, and a minor in Economics, from The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque (1995), and a Master’s Degree in Education from Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), Ecuador, graduating with honors (2007).
Ms. Menking has worked in higher education since 2001, serving the Office of the President at USFQ in various capacities, including Director of Institutional Effectiveness & Accreditation, Director of Alumni Relations and Development, and International Summit Coordinator. At USFQ she gained a deep understanding of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation process as USFQ prepared for U.S. accreditation. After working for a brief period in Western Kentucky University’s Office of Enrollment Management (2008), she began telecommuting as Coordinator of International Initiatives for the Office of Outreach at the University of Mississippi, with a special emphasis on Latin America and the Middle East.
She is currently the Director of Global Education Outreach in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, at Kansas State University (KSU). At KSU she has spearheaded and served as liaison for multiple international initiatives totalling $35 million.
A few examples of these international initiatives are:
- Government of Ecuador's "Go Teacher" English Language Training program for Public School teachers - six US cohorts (2010-2016)
- University of West Indies-Barbados, KSU served as lead institution with 4 US partner institutions where the program was replicated (2012-2015).
- Project Summit, the intensive English and Pedagogy Program for first year undergraduate students at UNAE (2014-2015).
- Project Reach, development and implementation in country for Yachay, City of Knowledge, of a specialized remedial curriculum to bring undergraduate science students up to the minimum required English proficiency level for academic programs (2013-2015).
- English Teacher Training program for Kansas State Universality and New Mexico State University with La Comisión México-Estados Unidos para el Intercambio Educativo y Cultural (COMEXUS) (2015-16).
- Proyecta 100 Mil - students from Mexico (2016).
- Director of the Khbrat Program for teachers from The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at Kansas State University (2018).
Cornell H. Menking
Managing Partner
Cornell H. Menking is an educator and entrepreneur with thirty years of experience in internationally oriented education and development, including 20+ years in higher education administration and 10+ years of university teaching experience. He has travelled to over 50 countries and served as a senior administrator at both U.S. and Latin American universities, with experience in academic affairs, student affairs and enrollment management, accreditation, grant writing, curriculum development and instructor supervision. He describes his leadership style as “capacities-based” and is adept at facilitating change through a shared vision. He is multilingual (Spanish, Russian, West African Krio) with interdisciplinary interests (global education, educational leadership, pedagogy, assessment, learning and the brain, entrepreneurialism) and creative talents (musician, graphic/web design, artist, photographer, and outdoor sports).
Dr. Menking often presents at internationally-oriented professional conferences (AIEA, APLU, CONAHEC, AMPEI, etc.) pertaining to comprehensive internationalization and has done extensive work at the national level to address internationalization challenges faced by minority-serving institutions. He has also advised foreign governments and universities (notably in Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico) on topics ranging from capacities-based leadership, accreditation, the internationalization of higher education, intercultural communication, and English for speakers of other languages.
Since 2018 Dr. Menking has served as Director of the Global Gateway Program at Baylor University, and is also an adjunct professor at Baylor where he teaches Perspectives on Global Culture. Previously, he served as Associate Provost for International and Border Programs, and Associate Professor in the College of Education, at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM (2012-2018). Before coming to NMSU, he was the Assistant Vice President for International Affairs at Kentucky State University (2010-12), Chief International Officer at Western Kentucky University (2008-10), and a professor of education and administrator (Director of Graduate Programs in Education, Assistant Dean of the Graduate School, and Director of International Programs) at Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador (2001-2008). He served as a United States Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone, West Africa (1988-91), lived in the Sakha Republic (Siberia), Russia (1993-96), and has traveled throughout Central Asia, India, and Latin America working in the areas of rural community development and sustainable leadership. He received a bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University (1986), and a Master’s (1998) and Ph.D. (2003) from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM.