Institute for Global Engagement | St. Francis College
Institute for Global Engagement
The focus of the Institute for Global Engagement at SFC International is to promote global awareness, global perspective and global engagement throughout the institution. In other words, through the promotion and nurturing of global competencies, the Institute will support the mission of St. Francis College “to foster the development of critical thinking, moral choices, responsible citizenship and personal commitment to social justice and the environment” and to enable “the transition from student to citizen of the world.” We strive to ensure every SFC student has the chance for meaningful global engagement.
For more information or to discuss how to get involved in our work, please contact Dr. Timothy Houlihan, Director, or Dr. Olivia Bullio Mattos, Associate Director, of the Institute.
The Institute has continued to support the ongoing work of the faculty, the Office of Mission and Ministry, and of SFC International to develop global awareness by promoting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, an understanding of the complexity and challenges of global interconnectedness, and the Franciscan commitment to global social justice.
The Institute’s current partners include the Academic Deans and the academic departments, in particular the Department of History, Political Science and Economics, the Interdisciplinary Studies Department., the Department of Management and Information Technology, and the Department of Accounting and Business Law. We will also work with the Forum on Migration, The Institute for Cross Cultural and International Psychology, Campus Mission and Ministry, the General Education Council, the campus Fulbright Representative, and Student Government and clubs to ensure that global perspective is an integral goal of our curriculum and co-curriculum.
2020-2021 Activities
- Co-sponsored the Human Rights Lecture Series with SFC International, the academic departments, and the campus chapter of Amnesty International. The series included three lectures on topics including corporate social responsibility, sustainability, reversing extreme inequality, and human rights activism.
- Engaged in establishing a signature Human Rights Program at SFC, in partnership with Amnesty International USA, and creating a Human Rights minor/certificate.
- Completed a grant application to pay for passports for 25 of our US students. This was through IEE, the students must be PELL recipients, and we should know by May whether we received the grant.
- Completed a grant in collaboration with UNIVA (Guadalajara) for a virtual and in-person exchange in fitness and public health.
- Application to include SFC in the YEAR program completed in March. This is a program through the US embassy in Moscow that pays tuition and room and board for Russian students to study in the US for a year.
- Global Citizenship Alliance Seminars in Salzburg, Austria, will be opening up for faculty (July 2022) and for students (May or June 2022)..
- Launched a Short Term and Virtual Study Abroad Survey to gauge and to manage and support faculty development of global engagement programs.
The Institute can offer faculty development funds, creative and scholarly support, and introductions to faculty at partner institutions in many countries. For faculty, we have resources to support collaborative online exchanges as well as financial assistance to help jump-start new in-person initiatives. We also have funding for scholarships for student participation in study abroad. Current programs under discussion include:
- March 2022 short-term study in Cuba.
- Summer 2022 study in Segovia, Spain.
- Summer 2022 study in Izmir, Turkey.
- Franciscan pilgrimage in Fall 2021 (faculty) and January 2022 (Students).
- Partnership discussions through SFC International with institutions in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, Slovenia and Turkey.
- Summer 2022 short-term study in Brazil