{"id":1011,"date":"2014-02-17T17:11:44","date_gmt":"2014-02-17T17:11:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/ebuckhor\/?page_id=1011"},"modified":"2016-02-11T20:05:00","modified_gmt":"2016-02-11T20:05:00","slug":"global-connections","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2014\/features\/global-connections\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Connections"},"content":{"rendered":"

Foundations help link Trinity to the world<\/i><\/p>\n

\"Trinity<\/a>

Trinity Associate Director of Admissions Mandi Haines and Trinity Associate Professor of Political Science Stefanie Chambers, right, join MasterCard Foundation Scholars Tracy Keza, Fatty Al Ansar, and Nasri Abdilahi, all members of the Class of 2017, at the United States International University in Nairobi, Kenya, in May 2013.<\/p><\/div>\n

by Maura King Scully<\/i><\/p>\n

The world just got a little closer to Hartford.<\/p>\n

Thanks to substantial support from The MasterCard Foundation and The Henry Luce Foundation, Trinity is deepening connections in two of the world\u2019s most rapidly growing regions: Africa and Asia.<\/p>\n

Investing in education<\/strong><\/p>\n

The MasterCard Foundation, based in Toronto, Canada, has tapped Trinity as one of eight international partner institutions for an innovative scholarship model. The program provides monetary support for talented students from Africa to achieve their university education. The scholarship initiative is a collaboration between the foundation and African Leadership Academy (ALA), a pan-African secondary institution in Johannesburg, South Africa.<\/p>\n

Founded in 2004, ALA \u201cis an amazing two-year, precollegiate school that grooms students as future leaders,\u201d says Trinity College Associate Director of Admissions Mandi Haines. \u201cTrinity began recruiting students from ALA four years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beginning this academic year, the initiative is bringing three outstanding African students on full scholarships to Trinity annually, with The MasterCard Foundation contributing a total of $715,000 in support over seven years. The foundation funds a portion of the scholarships, flexible financial support that can be used toward tuition, and funds for expenses not covered by financial aid, including travel, visas, and computers. Trinity commits to co-funding the balance of tuition as well as providing ongoing mentorship and guidance to students through dedicated faculty and staff liaisons.<\/p>\n

\"MasterCard<\/a>

MasterCard Foundation Scholars Fatty Al Ansar \u201917 and Miriam Atuya \u201916 at the Hotel La Mada in Nairobi, Kenya, in May 2013<\/p><\/div>\n

This past fall semester, Trinity admitted its second class of MasterCard Foundation Scholars: Abdirahman \u201cNasri\u201d Abdilahi, Fatty Al Ansar, and Tracy Keza, all members of the Class of 2017. They join Miriam Atuya \u201916 and Eddy Oketch \u201914, who were named MasterCard Foundation Scholars last year.<\/p>\n

The program is built on the premise that investing in education is a catalyst for social and economic advancement. This initiative provides students with comprehensive support for tuition, mentoring, and voluntarism.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than scholarships, this is about developing next-generation leaders who will return to Africa and make a difference in their communities,\u201d says Deepali Khanna, director of youth learning at The MasterCard Foundation.<\/p>\n

Partner institutions, including universities in the United States, Canada, and Europe, were selected for their commitment to serving economically disadvantaged youth, their academic excellence, and their nurturing environments.<\/p>\n

The scholars contribute greatly to Trinity\u2019s academic and intellectual community, says Garth Myers, Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of Urban International Studies. \u201cThe MasterCard Foundation Scholars are among the best students we have,\u201d he says. \u201cThey come here with the ability to think globally and hit the ground running. I\u2019ve been a beneficiary as a professor because they contribute so much to my classroom,\u201d he continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my \u2018African Cities\u2019 class, I actually turned the class over to Eddy Oketch for one lecture on governance in Nairobi, Kenya.\u201d A victim of postelection violence in 2008, Myers says, Oketch started a nongovernmental organization that was instrumental in preventing an outbreak of violence in that country\u2019s most recent elections. \u201cThe whole class gained from having one of their peers speak to them about his firsthand experience.<\/p>\n

Associate Professor of Political Science Stefanie Chambers has also enjoyed the presence of MasterCard Foundation Scholars in her classes. \u201cAll students benefit from having a diverse community of learners,\u201d she says. \u201cThey contribute a different point of view on what we do in the U.S. and what they see in their own countries\u2019 political systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chambers, who traveled to Kenya this summer to take part in a conference The MasterCard Foundation held for scholarship recipients heading to colleges overseas, is grateful to the foundation for its support of this program. \u201cThese are young people with incredible leadership potential who are going to make wonderful contributions at Trinity and in their own countries,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Says Haines, \u201cThis program from The MasterCard Foundation increases our ability to reach out to international students, enhances the classroom experience, and makes Trinity a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eastward ho<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Stern<\/a>

Stern Family Scholar Crystal Rosa \u201914, second from left, and Class of 1916 Scholar Kaitlyn Sprague \u201916, second from right, listen as Carol Cassidy, right, owner of Lao Textiles in Vientiane, Laos, describes the work of the weaver at left.<\/p><\/div>\n

In December 2012, The Henry Luce Foundation approved a $400,000 grant to Trinity through its Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment (LIASE). The four-year grant comes on the heels of a yearlong $50,000 exploration grant, bringing the total amount to $450,000 over five years.<\/p>\n

The LIASE funds are already hard at work, helping to fully implement an integrated program linking Asian studies, environmental science, and urban studies. \u201cThe implementation grant is providing crucial support for faculty development, teaching, research, and most importantly, experiential learning for students,\u201d says Xiangming Chen, dean and director of the Center for Urban and Global Studies and Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of Global Urban Studies and Sociology.<\/p>\n

Chen explains that this past summer, LIASE support enriched the experience of the popular three-week \u201cRiver Cities of Asia\u201d summer course. Two students, Daniel Luke \u201914 and Class of 1963 Scholar Shaina Lo \u201915, were able to spend an additional month on the continent conducting independent research. \u201cWe\u2019d like to see more students take advantage of this in the future,\u201d Chen says.<\/p>\n

Trinity is also using the grant to strengthen a permanent hub for study abroad and collaborative research at Fudan University in Shanghai and to establish a second base linking the Chinese cities of Chongqing and Kunming with cross-border programming that encompasses Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.<\/p>\n

Also in the works for next year is a summer field course in Japan. Jeffrey Bayliss, Charles A. Dana Research Associate Professor of History, and Jonathan Gourley, senior lecturer in environmental science, are developing a short Tokyo-based traveling course focusing on the economic and environmental challenges of that country\u2019s rebuilding in the wake of earthquakes and tsunamis.<\/p>\n

Professor of Biology Joan Morrison, who has co-taught \u201cRiver Cities of Asia\u201d with Chen and Associate Professor of History Michael Lestz \u201968 since its inception in 2009, firmly believes in the benefit of such travel courses. \u201cThis kind of experiential learning\u2013actually visiting and experiencing these places and their associated challenges\u2013can affect a student for life,\u201d she says. \u201cBeing in and learning how to navigate in a different culture breeds compassion and tolerance in students who have not been exposed to such differences. These types of experiences can better prepare young people to lead productive lives and be good global citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tongji<\/a>

Tongji University Professor Jing Gan addresses Trinity students about sustainable urban development in China in Tongji\u2019s College of Architecture and Urban Planning in Shanghai, China.
Photo by Xiangming Chen<\/p><\/div>\n

In addition, the grant will bring visiting professors to campus for semester-long appointments as Luce Scholars. In January, Professor Jing Gan from China\u2019s Tongji University will come to teach \u201cSustainable Urban Development\u201d with a focus on China. \u201cTongji is China\u2019s top university for architecture and urban planning,\u201d explains Chen. Gan\u2019s focus is on green, ecological cities and energy conservation.<\/p>\n

LIASE is also strengthening Trinity\u2019s online links to Asia through Digital Cities, an online platform designed to store students\u2019 work from the field, share scholarly material, and promote the exchange of ideas among Trinity students and faculty and between them and scholars and organizations in China. Developed by Trinity computer scientist Trishan de Lanerolle, who has trained several students to maintain it, Digital Cities is expected to become a resource for people and organizations across cultural and geographic borders who are interested in Asia, the environment, sustainability, and urban development.<\/p>\n

\"As<\/a><\/p>\n

Extending Trinity’s Reach<\/strong><\/p>\n

Support from the MasterCard and Luce foundations further strengthens the College\u2019s existing efforts in Africa and Asia. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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Foundations help link Trinity to the world by Maura King Scully The world just got a little closer to Hartford. Thanks to substantial support from The MasterCard Foundation and The Henry Luce Foundation, Trinity is deepening connections in two of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"parent":1069,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1011"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1011"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1172,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1011\/revisions\/1172"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}