USD Becomes First SDBOR Institution to Receive U.S. Department of State IDEAS Program Grant
Selected from a pool of 200 eligible proposals, USD is the first South Dakota Board of Regents institution to be selected for an IDEAS Program grant.
“I am ecstatic to share this grant with the USD community and be able to serve the growing need for international education,” said Jessica Winterringer, study abroad advisor at USD. “This grant will allow us to expand upon our study abroad opportunities, allowing more students to take part in the transformational educational experience of global learning.”
The selected proposals will develop new international partnerships, train faculty and staff, internationalize curriculum, engage diverse students in study abroad, broaden the destinations where U.S. students study, and create virtual and hybrid exchanges. The IDEAS Program contributes to the State Department’s diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts to engage the American people in foreign policy.
“Increasing and diversifying U.S. students going abroad for educational opportunities, as well as diversifying the places where they study, is a State Department priority,” said Lee Satterfield, assistant U.S. secretary of state for Educational and Cultural Affairs. “This year’s recipients reflect the true greatness of America – our diversity – as almost 25 percent represent two-year institutions, 40 percent represent minority-serving institutions, and 25 percent represent rural-serving institutions.”
Of the 34 U.S. colleges and universities selected, eight are community colleges and 13 are minority-serving institutions.
USD will use the grant to increase global programming for underrepresented student groups in study abroad experiences. The Gallagher International Center and St. Cloud State in Alnwick, England, will create a new short-term faculty-led program – Fostering First-Year Resiliency in England – for incoming first-year students, which will support students through a four-year program to examine how a first-year study abroad experience contributes to student retention and engagement.
Winterringer said that Fostering First-Year Resiliency in England aims to show the parallels between studying abroad and starting a college career, and the main objective for the faculty-led program is to provide a low-cost international experience for incoming first-year students.
“We hope that this program will help students demonstrate awareness of multiple perspectives within the global community and understand the fundamental characteristics of resiliency,” said Winterringer. “We then hope students will take this increased understanding and relate it to coping with adverse situations, specifically when studying abroad and attending higher education as a first-year student.”
The program includes a nine-day international excursion exploring resiliency, culture and globalization, followed by eight weeks of course instruction on campus. The program also provides resources and services to support underrepresented students in their study abroad journey at USD.
Since 2016, the IDEAS Program has awarded 179 grants to 173 U.S. colleges and universities in 49 states and territories to create, expand and diversify their study abroad programs in 71 countries across all world regions. In addition to the IDEAS grants, the program offers opportunities for international educators at U.S. colleges and universities to participate in free virtual and in-person study abroad capacity-building activities.
The IDEAS Program is a program of the U.S Department of State with funding provided by the United States Government and supported in its implementation by World Learning. For a full list of 2023 IDEAS grantees, as well as information on upcoming IDEAS webinars and workshops, visit studyabroadcapacitybuilding.org.
