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- Greetings
- Calendar Fall 2017
- HU Bison Abroad Office
- Returnee Reflections
- Faculty Opportunities
- Introducing A New and Improved Bunche Center Website
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Greetings Howard University Family and Friends!
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Welcome to the 2017-18 Academic Year! Welcome 1st year and transfer students and welcome back to returning students! We have been working diligently throughout the summer to be ready for the new year. We are pleased to share with you our new mission and vision statement for the Center that we developed over the summer.
Mission:
To serve as the hub and catalyst for enhancing international engagement for the benefit of the HU community. In doing so, the Center integrates global perspectives into the HU experience, promotes education abroad, facilitates deeper scholarship on global issues, supports cross-cultural dialogue and respect for cultural diversity and, prepares leaders who can find solutions to global
problems.
Vision:
Through our exceptional internationally focused programming and activities, the RBC will position HU to be a leader among higher education institutions in preparing and empowering students to be globally competent leaders with the capacity to affect change at home and abroad. We will do this by:
- Promoting cross-cultural dialogue, civil discourse and respect for cultural diversity within the university and beyond;
- Facilitating deeper scholarship and engagement on global issues, particularly within the African diaspora;
- Preparing students for careers in international leaderships and service;
- Facilitating engagement and deeper scholarship across all disciplines on global issues;
- Advancing the University’s effort to expand its international footprint and role in world affairs;
- Empowering socially conscious global citizens who can create innovative and sustainable solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.
We are committed to supporting and strengthening comprehensive international education across the University and look forward to increased engagement with each school and college and all our students, undergraduate, graduate and professional.
Every academic year the Bunche Center selects a theme to focus on for the duration of the year and develops a lecture series around it. This year we are partnering with the Department of World Languages and Culture on our series “Russia 101”. It is a timely focus that will cover important issues that our students and the greater Howard community should be informed on and will feature experts from a variety of disciplines. Throughout the year, we will also have additional programming outside of the series. A calendar for most of those events for the first semester is available below and any additions will be communicated through this newsletter and via our website and social media so please stay tuned!
We have been working hard to spread the word about opportunities for our students to study abroad. Because of our efforts, this fall the Ralph Bunche Center will send over 50 students abroad for a semester or more, which is just over a 100% increase from last fall semester. We look forward to an even greater number of students studying abroad this coming spring. If you would like more information on study abroad opportunities please attend a study abroad info session, held every Tuesday and Wednesday at 3pm in the Bunche Center. We have also upgraded to a new software program that will streamline the application process for study abroad, both for semester-long programs as well as for faculty-led short term programs. More information is available
here.
Here’s to a phenomenal and 2017-18!!
Globally,
Tonija Hope Navas
Deputy Director
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Fall Events You Don't Want to Miss
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Your Study Abroad Experience Is More Simple Than Ever Before!
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The Bison Abroad Office is excited to introduce our new online study abroad application software. Begin your journey by creating your ViaTRM account here. Once you've accessed the portal you can see every program option provided by Howard. Got questions? Email
studyabroad@howard.edu
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Our Study Abroad Info Sessions Return
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Interested in leading a study abroad program or need pre-departure orientation services?
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Contact the Bunche Center
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The Bunche Center provides information to faculty seeking guidance on leading study abroad programs. Find out how to plan a study tour for your students at Howard.
We also provide pre-departure orientation services for faculty prior to their trip. Schedule your "Before You Go" session using the link below or contact maraina.montgomery@howard.edu.
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Seneca Williams, Oaxaca Mexico
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Howard University offers a wide array of study abroad programs throughout the globe. These programs are administered either through several third-party providers or via faculty led trips. Other options include Alternative Spring Break and the Young African and Africana Leadership Initiative (YAALI). Although Howard University offers a robust portfolio of international opportunities, there are hardly any options for graduate level students and furthermore, none in Ethiopia – my country of interest.
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As a graduate student in the department of African Studies, more opportunities to go into the field on the continent is crucial. Over the past year I recognized this gap and I set out to fill it. Along the way I learned valuable lessons in creativity, diligence, and the value of human resources. Herein lies my motivation for writing this article. I want to let the student body know that they can study abroad even if Howard does not have an established program in their country of interest.
Learning how to craft my own study abroad experience in Ethiopia for two months taught me that sometimes you have to be the first one to do something. It has been a dream of mine to study abroad in Ethiopia for about four years now, and I did not want the lack of options at Howard to deter me. Here is a general guide from my perspective in four steps for how you too can go global at HU.
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Step one: Identify institutions and contacts in your country of interest
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Find out what subjects you want to study. Research which possible universities or other educational institutions you could attend. You can try to contact them beforehand, but it’s not a requirement. Sometimes it is hard to reach people internationally, and a face to face meeting often leaves a more lasting impression. In my case I actually had to use the Amharic I had learned in class to locate the Amharic department at the University of Addis Ababa. Once I found the department, they offered me the opportunity to enroll for the summer semester in the intermediate level Amharic Speaking and Listening class. I earned a certificate and since I did not need the class to fulfill any Howard requirement, I didn’t have to worry about the credits transferring.
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Step two: Establish fundraising sources on and offline
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I fundraised my trip by volunteering my services for the Pan African Technical Association (PATA). Ethiopian Tourism Ambassador Yaw Frederick Davis, PATA’s Executive Director, sent me to Ethiopia to pursue research for my Master’s thesis on Ethiopian and African-American Relations and the Legacy of Ethiopianism and Pan- Africanism. So not only did I get a chance to study Amharic at the University, but I also conducted research in the archives of the University’s Institute of Ethiopian Studies. Before I knew it, I had a student ID and was getting to know folks on campus. I also received money from another organization I am a part of called "African Americans for Sustainable African Development" or AFSAD. AFSAD consists of people whom I traveled to Ethiopia with on two previous occasions to participate in the "Bible and its African Roots" conference. After bringing the idea to the Bunche Center I was also able to receive some additional funding. I, also started a crowd funding page
www.gofundme/KamauinEthiopia and put up flyers in Sankofa Video, Books and Cafe. Finally, I shared my story through my Instagram and Facebook pages. I learned that it is imperative that you have multiple avenues of financial support. Assistance may come from the unlikeliest of places.
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Step three: Connect with people from that country in the United States
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Many of my friends and coworkers come from Ethiopia. Last year I worked at Sankofa Bookstore, which is a jointly owned African –American and Ethiopian establishment right across the street from Howard. My contacts at Sankofa connected me to family and friends they knew in Ethiopia, some of whom I even got a chance to meet - which was an added bonus. I am grateful for their kindness and also appreciative of the support from three of my Ethiopian professors at Howard: Dr. Almaz Zewde, Dr. Alem Hailu from African Studies and Professor Tafessework Gebeyehu from World Languages.
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Step four: Be adventurous, and take a chance
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I went to Ethiopia on a fact-finding mission to see what options we could open up for more Howard Students. When I left for Ethiopia on June 27th I did not have everything figured out. I was off to a good start, but I knew it would be up to me to follow through and achieve my goals. Follow my journey on Instagram
@Kamauiwowie. Currently I am working with The Department of World Languages and the Center for African Studies to develop an Amharic language Study Abroad Program in Ethiopia. Please be on the lookout for more information.
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OPPORTUNITIES FOR FACULTY
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Click below to be redirected to the SIT site.
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Check out the updated Bunche Center webpage!
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From the new online study abroad application to our fresh new interface, the RJBC site has undergone - and is still undergoing - many exciting changes. If you feel like you have missed some crucial information, email
bunchecenter@howard.edu to get caught up
and continue to subscribe to the Bunche Center Newsletter.
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Got a question about study abroad, our fellowships, international programs or facilities?
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Follow us on Social Media
@HUBuncheCenter
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Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center.
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