Ethical Global Engagement: The Problem with Voluntourism

Virginia Rowthorn

Assistant Vice President

University of Maryland, Baltimore

Virginia Rowthorn, JD, LLM (Global Health Law), is assistant vice president for global engagement at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and executive director of the Center for Global Engagement (CGE). She also is a senior lecturer at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Graduate School, where she directs the Global Health Innovation Certificate program.  Previously, Rowthorn was the Managing Director for the Law & Health Care Program at Maryland Carey Law for 10 years; a staff attorney at the Department of Health and Human Services; Associate at the law firm of DLA Piper; and a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Marshall Islands.  She is on the Board of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH).

In her role as AVP, Rowthorn oversees the activities of CGE, a University-wide center that serves as the hub of interprofessional global health and education activities on the UMB campus. CGE provides University-wide leadership to build and sustain global education at UMB; nurtures strategic global partnerships through the center-run President’s Global Impact Fund; creates and manages student, faculty, and staff mobility programs; promotes collaborative international research; develops curricula designed to build global competency through the GLOBALtimore Fellows Program; and delivers educational and professional services that support sustainable global programs.  Rowthorn obtained her BA in American Studies from Carleton College, JD from University of Maryland Carey School of Law, and LLM in Global Health Law from Georgetown Law.