NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – The Council on International Educational Exchange has awarded Tennessee State University a $20,000 grant to help first-generation and minority students study abroad.

The grant will support an innovative faculty-led study abroad program in Paris in 2017 led by TSU professors, Dr.  Rebecca Dixon and Dr. Jennifer L. Hayes. 

Students in this program will 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 hopefully 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,” said Hayes, an assistant professor of English and Women’s Studies. “They are highly motivated and seek to improve their life chances through education. 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.”

Dixon, a professor of English and Women’s Studies, agreed the program should be enlightening.

“My hope is that the students’ sense of the literature, history, and culture that informed African-American expatriate artists will be enriched by this experience,” she said.

CIEE created the Generation Study Abroad 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 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 Generation Study Abroad Access Grant to Tennessee State University,” said Maritheresa Frain, executive vice president of study abroad at CIEE. “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.”

Founded in 1947, CIEE is the country’s oldest and largest nonprofit study abroad and intercultural exchange organization, serving more than 340 U.S. colleges and universities, 1,000 U.S. high schools, and 35,000 international exchange students each year.

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

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