Virtual Engagement and 10-Day Residency Proposals should be submitted to Cliff Maxwell as a single PDF.

Grant amount: up to $2,500
Deadline for application: 08.15.2021

Description

In keeping with our mission to offer global experiences to all undergraduate students at UVa, the Office of Global Affairs will continue to pilot the Global Mentors Program (GMP) for the Spring 2022 semester. The GMP is open to all faculty who seek to provide their students with in-class mentors who work in globally-oriented fields—through government agencies, private entities, partner academic institutions, NGOs, community organizations, advocacy groups, social entrepreneurships, creative arts initiatives, and others. The GMP’s goal is to provide students with an opportunity to learn directly from international practitioners and other experts as a means to building on academic and classroom experiences and to help them create networks that may aid in navigating future career paths. These mentors, speaking from their knowledge as practitioners, will offer lessons in cultural and social analysis, research epistemologies and methods, project planning, implementation and evaluation, and many other real-world skills.

While faculty grants and startup funds in the past have enabled individual faculty members to compensate partners for their work as both researchers and mentors, the GMP will formalize these partnerships in order to equip students to transition to working in the global space, including possible participatory action research in addition to service learning opportunities in the mentors’ home communities. Global mentors (GMs) will be part of UVa’s teaching family and will enable us to establish robust two-way exchanges with the world of practice and effect.

We anticipate robust, enduring partnerships with mentors and their home organizations and communities as more travel is incorporated into the program. In consultation with faculty partners, GMs will participate in all facets of our academic community, from classrooms, to advising, to research environments, and may interact with Charlottesville and other relevant communities during short-term residence. To further extend the global experience, GMs will be encouraged to incorporate internship and research projects with students abroad.

During Phase 2 of the pilot, GMs will participate in activities across departments, schools, Grounds, and Charlottesville at large, through digital platforms. In addition to virtual

engagement in Phase 2, GMs will be brought to Grounds during the last week of January to meet with each other, students, faculty, and staff, and participate in programming, talks, and lectures across Grounds for up to 10-days. Travel and lodging will be provided separately by Global Affairs.

Spring 2022 Engagement

Phase 2 envisions a modular format in which faculty invite an international or local partner to participate through digital platforms and a 10-day residency. In the digital format, GMs will co-teach, guest lecture, and work with students for up to a semester in duration. Funding will be used for honoraria and materials and other support required at UVa and at the mentors’ locations.

For the purposes of this pilot, we are accepting proposals that are relevant to the following topical areas (after the pilot, a broader spectrum of opportunities may be included):

• Global Environments & Sustainability, including design
• Global Public Health
• Global Development (including income inequality)
• Global Security & Justice (including reckoning and reparations)
• Indigenous Studies
• Global Commerce
• Global Civil Engineering
• Community Activism
• Democracy Building

Deadline for submission for GMs in the Spring 2022 semester will be August 15, 2021. Proposals will be evaluated by the GMP committee.

Eligibility: All faculty.

How to apply: Proposals should be a single PDF document not exceeding three pages (excluding CVs), and should include the following:

• Name of principal applicant and any affiliated faculty, and mentor, with affiliations
• Title of Project
• Total amount requested (up to $2,500)
• Proposed activity and significance (with an emphasis on the depth, extent, and quality of student contact)
• Proposed travel itinerary for the mentor with approximate travel costs
• Draft of syllabus indicating introduction of the GMP to the class; description of integrated engagement and activities with the mentor; timeline of activities, etc. (Note: courses and descriptions must meet UREG’s spring deadline for inclusion in the University’s course schedule.)
• Statement of IRB status if required
• Budget and narrative detailing the specific use of funds
• 1- page CVs of applicant and mentor