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Albright College Earns U.S. Dept. of State IDEAS Grant

IDEAS grants support 26 U.S. colleges and universities in building study abroad capacity

by Carey Manzolillo

Reading, PA (05/19/2021) — Albright College, in Reading, Pa., is one of only 26 U.S. colleges and universities awarded a 2021 IDEAS Grant (Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students) under the Capacity Building Program for U.S. Study Abroad, by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and World Learning.

Albright will use its IDEAS Grant to develop a Global Scholars program that will provide a month-long, faculty-led study abroad opportunity embedded within existing first-year programming. The project aims to engage students from groups underrepresented in study abroad, especially racial and ethnic minority, low-income, and first-generation students.

Albright's program will operate for the first year in Ecuador and will then move to Costa Rica for the second, with a focus on food insecurity in the Americas. Students will engage in experiential and service-learning components while abroad as well as at home, enabling comparative local and global learning.

U.S. IDEAS grants support the development and expansion of study abroad programs around the world that are aligned with U.S. foreign policy goals.

"Americans studying abroad serve as citizen ambassadors by building relationships within their host communities, demonstrating American values, and countering stereotypes," said Heidi Manley, USA Study Abroad Chief, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. "They also gain critical job skills abroad that in turn benefit their home communities."

Recommended for funding by panels of U.S. higher education representatives, colleges and universities from 20 states represent the full diversity of the American higher education system, including five community colleges and nine minority-serving institutions.

Funded projects support activities such as developing new international partnerships and programs, training faculty and staff, internationalizing curriculum, creating resources to engage diverse student groups in study abroad and creating virtual exchanges. Once international travel resumes in full, these IDEAS grant recipients will be better equipped to deliver impactful and inclusive study abroad programs around the globe.

The 26 colleges and universities across the country earning 2021 IDEAS grants are:

  • Albright College, Pennsylvania
  • Boise State University, Idaho
  • Bridgewater State University, Massachusetts
  • Centralia College, Washington
  • College of Staten Island, New York
  • Drake University, Iowa
  • East Carolina University, North Carolina
  • Fayetteville State University, North Carolina
  • Florida State College at Jacksonville, Florida
  • Goshen College, Indiana
  • Green River College, Washington
  • Juniata College, Pennsylvania
  • Loyola University New Orleans, Louisiana
  • New Jersey City University, New Jersey
  • North Central College, Illinois
  • Northern Virginia Community College, Virginia
  • Prairie View A&M University, Texas
  • Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey
  • Salem State University, Massachusetts
  • Savannah State University, Georgia
  • The Ohio State University, Ohio
  • University of Arizona, Arizona
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
  • University of Utah, Utah
  • University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Albright College, Reading, Pa., established 1856.

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