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LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pa. – Lincoln University has been selected to receive an IDEAS grant from the United States Department of State’s Capacity Building Program for U.S. Study Abroad.
The Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students—or IDEAS—grant funding is provided by the U.S. government and supported in its implementation by World Learning.
Lincoln University is one of 24 colleges and universities from across the United States, selected from 115 applicants, to receive the grant. Grant recipients are charged to create, expand and diversify American student mobility overseas in support of U.S. foreign policy goals.
“Through this grant we aim to accelerate students’ access to global opportunities, providing the fundamental preparation students need to lead their communities and change the world,” said Dr. Dafina Diabate, director of Lincoln’s Office of International Programs.
Lincoln University will use the grant to support the Global Opportunities to Advance the Lincoln Legacy —or GOALL—program, which seeks to equip students with the skills, knowledge, and experience to thrive in a globally connected world by bolstering education abroad opportunities. IDEAS funding will be used to increase minority student access to study abroad by creating a faculty-led, cohort-based, short-term study abroad program, supporting a new Study Abroad Fellow position at the university to focus on study abroad advising and application management, and expanding the number of students obtaining their U.S. passport.
As the new Study Abroad Fellow, Janet Mingo brings a wealth of professional knowledge and personal experience, having studied abroad in Japan and graduated from an HBCU. After years of advising Lincoln students through a studying abroad provider Mingo said she is eager to continue to guide students in accessing international experiences that bolster their career or graduate school preparedness.
On November 18, International Programs will host Lions in International Careers, where an alumni panel will discuss how study abroad launched their international careers.
The projects supported by the IDEAS grant help to advance several themes of the University’s Strategic Plan. For example, in support of the second theme of enhancing academic quality and achieve operational excellence, the project will increase opportunities for direct faculty-student engagement, with high impact practices embedded into the design. Collaboration between International Programs and the Office of Corporate & Foundation Relations exemplifies both the third theme of developing strategic partnerships to leverage resources and assets and fourth theme of strategically aligning resources to support institutional practices.
Since the creation of the Office of International Programs in 1992, Lincoln students have studied abroad in more than fifty countries around the world. International Programs cultivates global learning and cultural appreciation at Lincoln University, empowering students at the nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University to effect positive change in their communities and the world. It does so by facilitating educational international experiences that enable students to discover their connection with the world; providing services to enhance the lives of international students on campus; and leading initiatives to make the university more culturally inclusive and engaged with the global community.
“We are committed to continuing our support for U.S. colleges and universities as they build their study abroad capacity now, in anticipation of a strong return to U.S. student mobility in the future,” said Marie Royce, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. “When American students study abroad, they support critical U.S. foreign policy goals by building relationships with foreign peers, sharing American culture and values, and developing valuable career skills. With these international experiences, the next generation of Americans is being equipped with the skills necessary to compete and succeed globally.”
For more information on Lincoln’s international initiatives, visit lincoln.edu/oip. Learn more about mutually-beneficial partnerships between the University and private and philanthropic entities, by contacting Lincoln’s Office of Corporate & Foundation Relations at lincoln.edu/cfr.
The Capacity Building Program for U.S. Study Abroad seeks to increase the capacity of accredited U.S. colleges and universities to create, expand, and diversify study abroad programs for U.S. students. In addition to the IDEAS Grant competition, the program also offers opportunities for faculty, staff, and administrators at U.S. colleges and universities to participate in a series of free virtual and in-person study abroad capacity building activities. For more information, including details on a free IDEAS webinar series on maximizing study abroad resources during and after the global pandemic, please visit the Capacity Building Program for U.S. Study Abroad website at https://www.studyabroadcapacitybuilding.org/.
