Tennessee State University to Receive Second Annual $20,000 CIEE Access Grant

CIEE today announced it has awarded its CIEE Access Grant to Tennessee State University (TSU), an urban, land grant, historically black university based in Nashville. TSU will use the $20,000 grant to support an innovative faculty-led study abroad program led by professors Rebecca Dixon, Ph.D., and Jennifer L. Hayes, Ph.D., in Paris, France, in June 2017. The grant will open doors for TSU students who have never traveled abroad or who don’t have the resources to study abroad.

TSU and CIEE’s Faculty-Led & Custom Programs team will work together to create and execute a program titled, “Intersecting Lives: Reading African-American Literature through a Black Feminist Lens.” Students in this program will learn and apply a black feminist critical framework to examine the historical contexts that have led African-American men and women to travel abroad to resist various levels of oppression in the United States. The program is designed to enhance students’ appreciation for global exchange and to begin to change their perspectives in ways that allow them to see themselves as a part of a global community.

“Many of our students are first-generation students and are from underserved minority groups who have not traveled outside of the United States. They are highly motivated and seek to improve their life chances through education,” said Dr. Hayes, an assistant professor of English and women’s studies at TSU. “We believe this experience will provide our students with a unique opportunity to see the connections between their experiences at TSU and the global community.”

Applications increased significantly for CIEE´s second annual grant, with more than 200 proposals submitted by colleges and universities across the United States, including 17 community colleges and 90 minority-serving institutions. CIEE created the Access Grant to recognize innovative programs that increase access to international educational opportunities for students in groups that are traditionally underrepresented in study abroad. The grant program is part of CIEE’s Generation Study Abroad pledge to break through the barriers of cost, curriculum, and culture to double the number of students from all backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses, and majors who study abroad by 2020.

“CIEE is excited to award the second annual Access Grant to Tennessee State University. TSU has an illustrious history of enriching the lives of underserved minority groups who are traditionally underrepresented in study abroad. We’re proud to work with Drs. Hayes and Dixon and the university to continue in this tradition by making it possible for more TSU students to gain the knowledge, intercultural skills, and global perspectives needed for success in today’s world,” said Maritheresa Frain, executive vice president of study abroad at CIEE.

The first CIEE Access Grant was awarded to Northshore Technical Community College (NTCC). NTCC, based in Louisiana, used the grant to develop a faculty-led program in Sharjah and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for freshmen and sophomores pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math. The program, which ran in January 2016, focused on providing workforce training and industry credentials relevant to NTCC students’ future employment, while also offering intercultural skills training to help prepare them to enter the global economy following graduation.

For more information about CIEE’s Faculty-Led & Custom Programs, visit: https://www.ciee.org/faculty-led-study-abroad/.