Program & Funding Models

Both funding and program development are important to consider as we identify best practices for increasing access and inclusion in global education. Funding is often cited as one of the key challenges students of all backgrounds face to participating in study abroad programming. Furthermore, programs with inclusive curricular and co-curricular activities may be more attractive to students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds. In this track, participants will consider what innovative approaches to funding can be employed to provide greater access to encourage students from a broad range of backgrounds to participate in global education opportunities.

Collaborative Leadership & Strategic Partnerships

International education offices and organizations benefit from formalizing current diversity and inclusion efforts into a cohesive plan to broaden access and engender inclusion in global education. This track will examine the process and components of engaging multiple institutional stakeholders to develop a diversity and inclusion strategy, as well as how to develop inclusive and comprehensive strategies in global education.

Outreach, Marketing, & Recruitment

When recruiting, marketing, and conducting outreach to students for international programs opportunities, it is important to consider how the methods and messages we use reach and resonate with students of diverse and underrepresented backgrounds. This track engages in these important considerations by examining how diverse students may have interests or concerns that are not clearly satisfied through existing marketing and recruitment efforts for international programs.

International & Exchange Student Advising and Programming

The number of international & exchange students continues to rise on many college campuses around the country. Some college campuses have been criticized for their lack of support in creating a welcoming climate for these students. Furthermore, many international students may spend years in this country without interacting with or developing an understanding of the many diverse communities that exist in the United States. This track explores ways to support this cohort in a more impactful manner and how to engage them in education abroad opportunities.

As we consider systemic approaches to ensure access and support for diverse and underrepresented student populations in education abroad, it is necessary to include conversations in global education as early as possible in a student’s academic career. This track addresses this need for early action by considering how educators can ensure that students are exposed to global education opportunities throughout the K12 “pipeline.”

Perspectives from Minority Serving Institutions

As international education becomes more ingrained into the fabric of higher education many Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) are engaged in innovative activities to ensure their students have the skills and knowledge to be successful in the global market. This track explores innovative practices, research, program models and current trends from colleagues at MSIs or those who partner with MSIs on inbound and outbound international education.

Hiring, Belonging, & Career Advancement

Aside from the direct work international educators do to reach and support diverse and underrepresented students, the goal of inclusive excellence also impacts the climate within organizations and offices. The field of international education is not nearly as diverse as the students it serves. This track will explore inclusive excellence with respect to hiring practices, training and development, career advancement, mentorship, and allyship within international education as well as balancing career advancement and health/wellness for diverse professionals.

Fundamentals of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Higher Education

This tracks features sessions designed to advance learning and collaborative exchange related to core topics in Diversity/Equity/Inclusion. Example sessions may focus on key theoretical frameworks for supporting under-represented minorities in higher education learning environments (critical race theory, belonging, etc), research supporting diverse learning environments, emerging social movements impacting global LGBTQI+ communities, and historical significance and modern-day goals of Minority-serving Institutions.

Call for Proposals | 2020 Diversity Abroad Conference

Q: Inclusive Advising and Student Success

Student success is a shared goal on college campuses as well as within the organizations who support them. To ensure international programs lead to greater student success, academically, interpersonally, and professionally, it’s critical that the advising and support structures in place are inclusive and address the needs of diverse students. This track will explore inclusive practices for advising and support of diverse and underrepresented students before, on-site, and after participating in international programs. Additionally, it explores how various campus units, such as diversity & multicultural offices, career centers, disability or TRiO offices, have a role in supporting on-campus international students and student success through international programs.

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

Ibram X. Kendi is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, professor of history and international studies, and the Director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research. He is an Ideas Columnist at The Atlantic, and a correspondent with CBS News. He is the author of four books including Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won National Book Award for Nonfiction, and the New York Times bestsellers How to Be an Antiracist and STAMPED: Racism, Antiracism, and You, co-authored with Jason Reynolds. His newest book, Antiracist Baby, published on June 16th, 2020.

Dr. Penelope Pynes is Senior International Officer (SIO) at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), leading internationalization efforts and promoting student/faculty exchange. She has served as President of AIEA, Chair of NAFSA’s International Education Leadership Knowledge Community (IEL-KC) and is currently a Senior Associate for Internationalization at the ACE. A regular presenter on comprehensive internationalization and co-designer of several SIO training programs, she has a doctorate in Germanic linguistics from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Nell has over 25 years of experience in international higher education at UNCG. Prior to her current position she served as Director of Study Abroad and Exchanges and before that she taught German. Most recently she directed the University’s Global Engagement Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) a five-year initiative tied to UNCG’s regional accreditation. Through this university-wide initiative UNCG was able to implement and assess activities related to four Global Student Learning outcomes and design faculty development programming to promote these initiatives. As a long-term outcome of these efforts UNCG’s general education program includes two competencies related to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Global and Intercultural Awareness.

Neal McKinney (he/him/his) joined the education abroad field in 2015 and serves as the Associate Director of Off-Campus Programs at DePauw University. During his time at DePauw, Neal has become a passionate social justice advocate, and has focused his energy on increasing outreach and access for underrepresented students to study abroad. As a result of his efforts, DePauw has seen increased participation in first generation students, students of color, and Pell-grant eligible students by 11%, 25%, and 35% respectively over the past four years.

Neal’s most rewarding accomplishment includes successfully securing a $1-million commitment in endowed funds from DePauw’s Alumni Development office specifically for inclusive excellence funding to support underrepresented student participation in experiential learning programs including study abroad and international internships. Through this accomplishment, Neal developed the Global Access Initiative Challenge scholarship program (which he pitched at Diversity Abroad’s first Innovation Competition, and earned him an honorable mention), and this effort has provided $10,000 in scholarship funds to ten underrepresented student scholars.

Lastly, within the larger international education field, Neal has taken to every opportunity to center his professional development on diversity and inclusion. He is very active within Diversity Abroad, having attended/presented at the past three conferences, served on the Race/Ethnicity Task Force, participated/twice co-chaired the Global Student Leadership summit, and as well as submitting a paper for the Global Impact Exchange publication. He has also been able to share his expertise at the NAFSA national convention, the IFSA Conference, and to the national ACPA student affairs conference.

Xavier University of Louisiana, located in New Orleans, was founded in 1925 by Mother Katharine Drexel (canonized in 2000 by Pope John Paul II). It is America’s only Historically Black and Catholic University, which is just the first of the distinctions that have set Xavier University of Louisiana apart for more than eight decades. Despite its relatively small size
(3,300 students), Xavier is a nationally recognized leader in the STEM and the health sciences, producing more African American students who graduate from medical schools each year than any other university in the United States. Its College of Pharmacy is among the top producers of African American pharmacists.

Both Xavier’s core and each discipline’s specific curriculum are guided intimately by the University’s mission such that students are developed to be life-long learners and global leaders that actively contribute to a more just and humane society for all. The study abroad program, through the Center for Intercultural and International Programs, has been an integral part of Xavier’s diverse learning and teaching approach in fulfilling this mission. Xavier has also consistently provided significant scholarships and training opportunities for students to participate in many study abroad and academic programs.

Its liberal arts-based programs in areas such as art, business, education, psychology, and political science – as well as such recent additions as bioinformatics, data science, neuroscience, crime and social justice, and jazz studies – offer students an unbeatable combination of traditional classroom study, hands-on research, service-learning opportunities, and life experiences.

Jazzlyn is a senior majoring in International Studies with a concentration in Asian Studies and a Business minor at the University of South Alabama. To promote her interests in Asia she co-founded, and is the current President for the campus organization USA Hallyu, which seeks to educate about and encourage interest in Korean culture both traditional and modern. She chose to participate in a year long study abroad program in Seoul, South Korea, and was inspired during her time abroad. After returning from her program she became a study abroad ambassador at the Office of International Education at her university. She uses this platform to encourage other students to study abroad by hosting info sessions, seminars, and one-to-one study abroad advising, as well as assisting current international students on campus. She hopes that by sharing her personal experiences abroad, she can attest to the importance of studying abroad, and help her peers to overcome obstacles preventing them from studying.

CAPA: The Global Education Network is committed to academic excellence, integrity, and innovation in learning abroad. Our mission is to provide meaningful experiences that challenge and inspire students to analyze and explore complex political, cultural, and social landscapes within urban environments. Through our commitment to personalized learning, global connections via technology, and collaborative learning communities, we prepare students to live and work in a globally interdependent and diverse world. This approach has made CAPA a trusted global leader in study abroad since 1972. Learn more at capa.org.

CAPA’s commitment to diversity is academic, experiential, and personal, including outreach to, and engagement with, the diverse communities that make up our Global Cities Program locations and participants. Diversity is a characteristic of our locations, a subject we teach, an educational principle, and an ethical imperative. Because we understand that diversity and identity can have different definitions for different people, CAPA gives students the tools they need—regardless of age, race and ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and abilities—to fully experience our programs. In addition, CAPA views its commitment to diversity as a form of social justice, in that international education should be an opportunity that is available and realistically achievable for all.

Lee D. Lambert has been Chancellor of Pima Community College since July 2013.

Under Chancellor Lambert, Pima is focusing on student success, partnering with employers to foster relevant careers and regional economic development, and building a multicultural world that honors our differences as well as the values that unify us.

Chancellor Lambert’s leadership has resulted in Pima twice being named one of the Aspen Institute’s top 150 schools eligible for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.

Chancellor Lambert is a founding member of the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3), and serves on its Board of Directors. In October 2019, Chancellor Lambert was named chair of the UNMUDL Community College Founders’ Council, which assists adult working learners.

Additionally, Chancellor Lambert has long championed community colleges as instruments in the fight for equity and social justice, and as key players in global education.

Chancellor Lambert is CEO of the National Asian Pacific Islanders Council, and has received the League of United Latin American Citizens’ National Convention Humanitarian Award. Pima Community College is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution.

In 2018, he presented on “How Industry 4.0 & Global Education will Shape the Future of Work: A Case Study from Arizona” and participated on a panel, “Tertiary Education International Policy Forum,” at the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics global conference.

He received a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts from The Evergreen State College and a Juris Doctor degree from Seattle University School of Law.

Chancellor Lambert is a U.S. Army veteran. He was born in Seoul, South Korea, and grew up on three continents.

He likes for people to call him Lee.

Grand Valley State University (GVSU) strives to make sure their outreach, marketing and recruitment efforts reflect the widest possible range of student experiences and to involve underrepresented students in the process of developing their outreach strategy. Notable projects include outreach videos for the new TRiO and Student-Athlete study abroad programs, outreach events such as ‘Being Black & Brown Abroad’ and ‘LGBTQIA+ Abroad’, Passport Scholarships and the ‘First Around the World’ book collaboration with TRiO Student Support Services.

Omar Nedzelsky Jr. is a current Master of Science in Health Science student at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). Being a first-generation Hispanic student in his family made him feel proud of accomplishing this milestone in his academic career and allowed him to prove to his family that the world is bigger than what we think. He considers his culture to be very reserved, and having the support from his family to venture out and gain experiences that lead to him becoming a global citizen was the most rewarding opportunity he could ever ask for. During his academic career at UTRGV, he was fortunate enough to have studied abroad more than once and got to visit countries such as United Kingdom, France, and the most recent Japan as a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship recipient. This allowed him to open and become himself within the world. He got to make global connections with different walks of life, their cultures, and their languages. These opportunities were just enough to allow him to experience the diversity of a culture, get a better understanding of the world, and encouraged him to break out of his comfort zone.

Pre-Conference Only Pricing

Member: $374

Non-member: $424

Graduate Student: $324

Chancellor Lee D. Lambert