University of Arizona Awarded IDEAS Grant for U.S. Study Abroad

The University of Arizona has been selected to receive an IDEAS (Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students) grant from the U.S. Department of State’s Capacity Building Program for U.S. Study Abroad. The University of Arizona, a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), is one of 26 colleges and universities from across the United States selected from 132 applicants to create, expand and/or diversify American student mobility overseas in support of U.S. foreign policy goals. This U.S. Government program is funded by the U.S. Department of State and supported in its implementation by World Learning.

The $35,000 IDEAS grant will expand the institution’s Navigating Education in Borderlands Program (NEBP), a program through which students will build cultural competencies and learn about the history, people and culture from the intersecting borderlands area where the University resides. 

The IDEAS Grant will support capacity building efforts including program re-design with COIL and Border Pedagogy, conducting recruitment efforts, and strengthening collaborations that will take the NEBP from being a one-time summer program to being a distinguished educational offering at the University.

The Navigating Education in Borderlands Program was co-developed with the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and University of Sonora-Mexico, and hosted at the University of Arizona in collaboration with the Department of Mexican American Studies (MAS) and Native Nations Institute (NNI) and other partners such as the Mexican Consulates in Tucson and Douglas. The IDEAS proposal was developed across  Mexico Initiatives, Global Experiential Learning and Digital Learning on the University of Arizona campus.

Members of the NEBP team are: Nadia Alvarez Mexia (Mexico Initiatives); Melody Buckner (Digital Learning); Dan Xayaphanh (Global Experiential Learning); and Sandra Bernal (CAPLA). 

Read more: University of Arizona Awarded IDEAS Grant