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The Bunche Center Newsletter
- October & November 2019 -
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- Center Highlights
- 2020 Patricia Roberts Harris Public Affairs Fellows Announcement
- Two Howard Alumni Awarded 2020 Pickering Fellowship
- Bison Abroad Highlights
- Student Opportunities
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Prioritize & Lead II: HBCU Symposium on Study Abroad
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Justin D. Knight Photography
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From our Director...
"With ever more compelling information to support the benefits of study abroad it is a wonder why more HBCUs do not prioritize it as a part of their student success strategy.
At the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard University, we wanted to address that very concern. In 2017 we convened the first Prioritize and Lead: HBCU Symposium on Study Abroad. We gathered representatives from HBCUs to discuss best practices and challenges for study abroad at our institutions.
On November 2, 2019, we convened Prioritize and Lead II. Representatives from 20 HBCUs arrived in DC, along with colleagues from study abroad program providers, US government agencies, NGOs and other associated organizations to participate in the daylong event. The major international education conferences, where resources and information are typically shared, often see low participation from HBCUs primarily due to associated costs, and for those who can participate, the conversations often do not take into consideration unique circumstances that many HBCUs face, like lack of staff support, funding, etc.
We wanted to provide a space for focused conversations about how to strengthen study abroad at HBCUs specifically and center the HBCU experience and our unique context. The opening event at NAFSA: Association of International Educators headquarters offered participants an opportunity to engage with study abroad program providers, NAFSA staff, and each other. They also heard from Colombian Ambassador Francisco Santos and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs for the Western Hemisphere Bureau, Mr. Jon Piechowski, about the recently signed MOU between the US Department of Education and the Colombian Ministry of Education to support increased exchanges between Colombian universities and HBCUs.
The full-day agenda included updates from institutions since the 2017 symposium, sessions on funding opportunities for HBCUs, standards of best practice, health, safety and risk management, developing MOUs/agreements with foreign institutions, and data collection. We wanted participants to return to their campuses with tools they could use to support more faculty-led study abroad programs and tell their stories better through the use of data."
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Tonija Hope Navas
Director, Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center
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COAS/Bunche Center 2019 Passport Drive
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Over the past three months, the College of Arts & Sciences (COAS) has partnered with the Bunche Center to sponsor a major passport initiative. The end-goal is to encourage every COAS student to explore international experiences and for every COAS student to graduate with a passport. On Wednesday, November 20th, we concluded the first phase of the mission. The Washington Passport Agency sent a team of passport agents to Howard University and processed a total of 124 completed applications. One hundred twenty-four COAS students will soon receive their passport, the fee for which COAS generously covered. For most of the students this will be their first passport and most of them expressed interest in studying abroad at some point in their matriculation through Howard University. We look forward to helping them achoieve that goal. We were also joined by representatives from the Bureau of Consular Affairs, who spoke to the new passport holders about travel and safety abroad, as well as foreign service careers.
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Water
Worldwide
: November Edition
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Dr. Kola Abimbola, Ifá Priest and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Howard University, brought an ethereal energy to THE SPIRITUALITY OF WATER on November 20th. He centered the space by leading attendees in a spiritual invocation before detailing the power and purpose of water in the Yoruba faith. His presentation spanned a conversation of Yoruba cosmology, the Orishas, and the intrinsic spirituality of water. The standing room only audience was impressed by his revelations and left yearning for more.
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Wang Peng Visits HU for
International Education Week
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As part of International Education Week 2019, the Bunche Center, in partnership with the Confucius Institute U.S. Center, hosted renowned master of the Guqin art form, Wang Peng. The performance and lecture were part of the 35th anniversary of the DC/Beijing Sister City Relationship.
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Día de los Muertos at the RBC
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During the week of October 28th, the Bunche Center opened up its doors to the Howard community to celebrate the traditional Mexican holiday of Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) for the first time. In collaboration with the President of the student group Chango!, Gyselle Garcia, an altar with images of deceased loved ones, notes, candles, and trinkets were created, resembling those made throughout Mexico during the same timeframe. To launch the event, an event was held for students to discuss and learn about the meaning and significance of the Day of the Dead. Refreshments were served in celebration.
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SIX STUDENTS AWARDED PATRICIA ROBERTS HARRIS PUBLIC AFFAIRS FELLOWSHIP
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Administered through the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center, the Patricia Roberts Harris Public Affairs Fellowship seeks to prepare Howard University students for careers in public affairs in an increasingly global world. To date, more than 200 Howard University alumni have been Patricia Roberts Harris fellows.
The PRH Fellowship was established in 1987 to uphold the legacy of one of Howard’s most distinguished alumni, Ambassador Patricia Roberts Harris (1924–1985). A summa cum laude graduate of Howard’s College of Liberal Arts in 1945, Ambassador Harris was praised for her contributions to the public affairs profession, both domestically and internationally.
We are excited to announce the selection of six fellows to the Patricia Roberts Harris Public Affairs Fellowship. During their one-year fellowship, the cohort will be encouraged to become dynamic professionals in public affairs and engage in the three major programmatic components: mentorship, internship, and the Patricia Roberts Harris Annual Lecture in Public Affairs to be held in spring 2020.
The cohort includes students matriculating through Howard at the undergraduate and graduate levels, from various backgrounds with diverse majors of study. The six fellows are:
- Hadiyah Cummings, a junior political science and criminology double major
- Anyah Gilmore-Jones, a sophomore political science major
- Jessica Grider, a junior media, journalism and film major
- Dyrrell Moon, a junior political science and sociology double major
- Virgil Parker, a junior media, journalism and film major
- Lyndsie Whitehead, a doctoral student in the educational leadership and policy studies program
For more information on how to join the community of professionals that support the PRH Fellowship, email Crystal Yuille, the PRH Fellowship program coordinator, at crystal.yuille@howard.edu.
A tax-deductible contribution to help finance the PRH Fellowship’s internship opportunities can be made
online
by selecting "other" and designating the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center—Patricia Roberts Harris Public Affairs Fellowship as your donation.
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TWO HOWARD UNIVERSITY ALUMNI NAMED 2020 PICKERING FELLOWS
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Two Howard University alumni have been selected for the prestigious Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship, the first recipients to be selected from Howard University in the past 10 years. Erick Boone (BA '18) and Uri-Biia Si-Asar (BA '15) were among 30 fellows selected from across the nation.
The Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program is a program funded by the U.S. Department of State, administered by Howard University, that attracts and prepares outstanding young people for Foreign Service careers in the U.S. Department of State. The Program provides graduate fellowships to qualified college seniors and college graduates committed to joining the Foreign Service. The fellowship helps finance two-year graduate programs, provides two summer internships, offers mentoring from a Foreign Service Officer, and provides other professional development activities. The program continues to ensure that the Foreign Service reflects the face of America to foreign audiences and provides a source of trained women and men who are dedicated to pursuing Foreign Service careers with the Department of State and representing America’s interests abroad.
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Erick Boone, (BA '18)
Boone graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in legal communications from Howard University. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, his passion for international affairs and public service led him to Howard, where he enrolled in the School of Communications. While on campus, Boone volunteered in the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center, helped found the Howard University chapter of the United Nations Association, and presented research as a member of the Annenberg Honors Program.
After graduation, Boone worked as a program assistant for the Young African Leadership Initiative. He traveled to France where he taught English and American History through the Teaching Assistant Program in France. He currently works as an intern for the Department of State and as a policy fellow for the U.S. Helsinki Commission, where he focuses on human rights issues. Boone plans to pursue a master’s degree in public diplomacy before starting a career as a diplomat.
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Uri-Biia Si-Asar, (BA '15)
Si-Asar graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and a concentration in international relations from Howard University. Born and raised in Twin Cities, Minnesota, Si-Asar traveled to Washington where she interned at the Federal Reserve Bank and the Office of Congressman Keith Ellison. She has also served as a program instructor with the Close Up Foundation.
Si-Asar, who is proficient in French and is TEFL certified, currently serves as a returned Peace Corps volunteer, where she is a secondary education English teacher in Benin, West Africa. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in international relations.
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Mindful Travelers Workshop Series: Preparing Bison for Study Abroad!
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The MTW series is a 5-day conversation between alumni, Ms. Montgomery and accepted study abroad participants prior to their departure from Howard. Topics selected for these daily discussions relate to the experience of staff, research on the field of international education and feedback from students upon their return from studying abroad. Students select two of the five workshops to attend and conclude their week of events with the Saturday Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO). The PDO is mandatory and provides an overview of all the information related to Howard processes and policies related to study abroad. Additionally, all remaining student questions are answered and this time is used to connect students with others traveling in the same region, as well as, speak with Bison Abroad alumni who have traveled to the same location.
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On Nov. 7th, Maraina Montgomery, the Bunche Center's Assistant Director for Study Abroad, presented at the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) Conference in Brooklyn, New York. During the 75 minute presentation, she and co-presenters
Noelle Baldwin (IES Abroad) and Tim Baird (CET Academic Programs) facilitated a discussion with over 120 professionals in the field of international education on how to support students as they navigate the overseas study/travel experience. The title of their presentation was "Is it All Abroad Me? Decentralizing the 'Self' in Study Abroad." Ms. Montgomery is committed to elevating the work we do at Howard and shedding light on HBCUs, the students we serve and the impact of international education administrators working at our institutions.
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Bison Abroad Peer Advising
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As part of the Bunche Brigade,the RBC's Student volunteer group, the Bison Abroad Ambassadors were assembled to aid and assist the study abroad process. As the number of students visiting the RBC continues to grow, with more than 350 student visits during the fall 2019 semester, we invited study abroad alumni to volunteer to lead the office's initiatives related to peer advising, study abroad information session facilitation, outreach and marketing, programming and overall student support around the process of studying abroad. 22 students have elected to volunteer for the 2019-2020 academic year.
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Fellowships - Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
2018 - 2020 CBCF Fellows Apply Now Program Overview The CBCF Congressional Fellowship Program equips early career policy professionals who are committed to contributing to public policy with the necessary skills to become the next generation of...
Read more
www.cbcfinc.org
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The Youth Assembly - Friendship Ambassadors Foundation, Inc.
It's Time: Youth for Global Impact February 14-16, 2020 * New York City, USA Register Now View the Agenda The Youth Assembly The Youth Assembly is a unique platform that cultivates a global network of young leaders and changemakers through...
Read more
faf.org
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Summer Fellowships for Visiting Faculty - London...
Each summer AIFS and Richmond the American International University will award up to 5 non-stipendiary Richmond Summer Visiting Faculty Fellowships for existing university Partners and AIFS Affiliates.
Read more
www.richmond.ac.uk
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A
tax-deductible
contribution to support the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center's programming activities can be made online
by designating the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center as your donation.
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To stay up-to-date on everything going on at the Bunche Center, follow us on social media! @HUBuncheCenter
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