The Council for American Overseas Research Centers has announced the 2024 awards for faculty to participate in an Overseas Faculty Development Seminar in Senegal. Fifteen faculty members from US community colleges and minority-serving institutions have been selected to participate in "West Africa and the Diaspora—Continuities and Transformations" in January of 2025. This seminar, administered by CAORC in collaboration with the West African Research Association and its member center in Senegal, the West Africa Research Center, funds participation in a two-week workshop in Dakar that will also include visits to Gorée Island, Toubacouta, and Saint-Louis, among other locations. This seminar will feature lectures, site visits, panel discussions, and film screenings on the history, culture, arts, economy, and political life of Senegal, with a focus on connections between West Africa and the diaspora. The seminar will also place a special emphasis on Senegal’s spiritual diversity and religious tolerance, as well as the region’s growing transnational movements and their impact on society and especially young people. Round-trip travel, accommodations, in-country transportation, and meals will be provided for the seminar.
The Overseas Faculty Development Seminars are fully-funded overseas seminars that help faculty and administrators at US community colleges and minority-serving institutions gain international experience with the aim of developing and improving international courses, curricula, and teaching materials at their home institutions. Awarded participants for these seminars receive round-trip travel, accommodations, and meals for the duration of the two-week seminar. CAORC seminars are run in partnership with participating Overseas Research Centers (ORCs) and are generously supported by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Upcoming Deadline! Summer 2025 Overseas Faculty Development Seminars to Indonesia, Mexico, and Mongolia are currently accepting applications until December 2, 2024.
Indonesia: Cultural Currents: Education and Society in the Indo-Pacific Region, July 11 - 25, 2025.
Mexico: Mexico's Indigenous Languages and Cultures, May 18 - June 1, 2025.
Mongolia: Climate Change and Public Health: What does Climate Change mean for the People of Mongolia?, July 26 - August 9, 2025.
Learn more, register for an upcoming webinar, and apply today by visiting the Overseas Faculty Development Seminar page at caorc.org.
The 2025 awardees are:
Deborah Anna Brown, Associate Professor, History,
Riverside City College, Riverside, CA
Cristin Cash, Professor, Art History,
Montgomery College, Takoma Park, MD
Christine Draper, Staff/Administrator, Office of Online Education,
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV
Judith Dolce, Adjunct Instructor, Race and Ethnic Studies,
Borough of Manhattan Community College, New York, NY
Miloni Gandhi, Adjunct Instructor, Workforce and Global Studies,
Foothill and De Anza Community Colleges, Los Altos Hills, CA
Kishema Pendu Malik, Adjunct Instructor, Fine Arts,
College of Southern Nevada, North Las Vegas, NV
Kevin Morris, Associate Professor, Biology,
Montgomery College, Silver Spring, MD
Valery Nana Ngassam, Professor, Physics and Astronomy,
Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA
Zaakira Sadrud-Din, Assistant Professor, History and Political Science,
Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL
Kim Scott, Assistant Professor, Management & Entrepreneurship,
Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, NC
Brittani Sterling, Assistant Professor, Libraries,
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
Kersha Smith, Associate Professor, Social Sciences, Psychology,
CUNY Queensborough Community College, Bayside, NY
Robert Soza, Professor, Composition, Creative Writing & Literature,
Chandler-Gilbert Community College, Chandler, AZ
Annette Teasdell, Assistant Professor, Curriculum & Instruction,
Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA
Kimberly Tyson, Staff/Administrator, Office of International Affairs,
North Carolina A&T University, Greensboro, NC
The Overseas Faculty Development Seminar to Mongolia is carried out in Partnership with the West African Research Association and its member center in Senegal, the West Africa Research Center, and is funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
