PAYNE GLOBAL INITIATIVE
In today’s borderless world, American higher education continues to play a key role in building communities of learning across the hemisphere. Public universities are increasingly serving as a catalyst in carrying out the trilogy of education, research and public service in partnership with transnational universities. With few exceptions, public universities have internationalized their campuses by recruiting and enrolling more foreign students, conducting research in collaboration with international universities, and creating public forums for intercultural discourse between faculty and students across the academic and global spectrums.
The growing commitment to international education has not only enhanced the vitality of the undergraduate experience, it has also underscored the economic benefits of producing global citizens for the world of tomorrow. While a similar commitment can be found at the nation’s publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), the internationalization of their curriculum, classrooms and campuses has been less than marginal, due to the less than marginal funding from public and private sources. In response to this challenge, in 2009, TMCF renewed its commitment to building partnerships between member-schools and world-class institutions of higher education in Asia, Africa and beyond.
In 2013, TMCF created the Payne Global Initiative (PGI) to create new and innovative education, research and extension programs designed to bolster human capital for tomorrow’s workforce. The PGI is one of several TMCF programs aimed at increasing the production of students in Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture and Mathematics, commonly referred to as STEAM.
GOALS
- To serve as a source of new ideas, best practices, and innovative policies and programs in the field of global education.
- To increase more opportunities for students to study abroad, to strengthen bilateral student and faculty exchanges, and to create strategic relationships in education and research.
- To devote greater attention to collaborating with other organizations to produce information that will provoke critical thinking and policy, with respect to global programs at publicly-supported HBCUs.
PGI PARTNERS & OPPORTUNITIES
- Programs
Partner Programs
Georgetown University Master of Science in Foreign Service
The Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) is a two-year full-time professional master’s degree program with a distinguished faculty, and a curriculum that integrates multidisciplinary core requirements with skills training, internships, and field experience. The goal is to prepare creative leaders for professional careers in international affairs in the public, private, and non-profit sectors in the U.S. and beyond. Georgetown University is private and the oldest Catholic University. In the 2019 edition of Best Colleges National Universities, it ranked 22 in the nation. The Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University is offering an application fee waiver for graduates of HBCUs. For more information, msfs.georgetown.edu.
Summer Intensive Session at the United Nations
Through the Humpty Dumpty Institute (HDI) Higher Education Alliance (HEA), the Summer Intensive Session at the United Nations is a week-long immersion study program that gives graduate and advanced undergraduate students the opportunity to explore, examine and experience the inner workings of world’s premier global governance body—the United Nations. Students affiliated with HEA members enjoy early registration, discounted tuition, and may enroll for course credit if offered by their institution.
United Nations Orientation Session & Conference
Through the HDI’s Higher Education Alliance (HEA), a special three-day program at the United Nations HQ is organized in New York City for international HEA member schools. This program will begin with a one-day orientation session, followed by a customized, intensive two-day fact-finding mission to gain first-hand knowledge of how multilateral diplomacy is crafted and implemented. Universities are limited to sending 20 students and 4 faculty members.
International Lecture Series
Through the HDI’s Higher Education Alliance (HEA), two lectures are arranged per academic year by a senior UN official for each HEA member school, on a topic of their choosing. Topics include conflict resolution, peacekeeping and peace building, climate change, women’s empowerment, sustainable development, and other international issues.
- Study Abroad
Study Abroad
Southern University + TMCF Partnership
Southern University Baton Rouge has collaborated with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), select land-grant HBCUs, and state agencies to develop the “1890’s Institutions Initiative” to forge global partnership to create the production of human capital in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, and Mathematics (STEAM). Read more about the partnership
HEA Abroad
The HDI’s Higher Education Alliance (HEA) facilitates student and faculty exchanges, and specialized institutional “twinning programs” between American and international HEA member schools, in order to create strong international networks and experiences for all participating members. In the summer of 2015, several TMCF students enjoyed an HEA-sponsored experience. Read about their journey >
Schwarzman Scholars
This elite and generously endowed international scholarship program is designed to create the next generation of global leaders in response to the geopolitical landscape of the twenty-first century with respect to the role of China. Schwarzman will inaugurate its first class in 2016 and will give the world’s best and brightest students the opportunity to develop their leadership skills through a one-year Master’s Degree at Tsinghua University in Beijing, one of China’s most prestigious universities.
With support from Schwarzman, TMCF will host information forums on a select group of member-school campuses. The primary intent is to introduce students to the program, guide them through the application process, and help them understand the essential elements of a highly competitive process in the selection of scholars.
Institute of International Education (IIE) – Generation Study Abroad
Over the next 5 years, Generation Study Abroad will reach out to educators at all levels and stakeholders in the public and private sectors to encourage purposeful, innovative action to get more Americans to undertake an international experience. Putting IIE’s resources behind this campaign highlights the commitment to increasing study abroad that has been so much a part of the Institute’s mission for our first 95 years.
IIE hosted a reception at the TMCF’s annual Leadership Institute in 2014 and TMCF recently joined other prominent higher education associations and universities in IIE’s “Generation Study Abroad” Partner Network. The primary purpose of the Network is to double U.S. study abroad participation through collaborative and robust relationships across the academic spectrum. As a member of the Network, TMCF and its member-schools will have greater access to IIE’s resources, toolkits and exclusive opportunities to enhance the undergraduate experience through international education.
- About Our Partners
PGI Partners
Humpty Dumpty Institute
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) and the Humpty Dumpty Institute (HDI) established a partnership three years ago to increase international opportunities for HBCUs and the students they serve. In 2010, the Humpty Dumpty Institute launched the “Higher Education Alliance” (HEA) to help create the next generation of global leaders by building bridges between academic institutions and the United Nations. HEA provides member institutions with an in-depth introduction to the UN and the information they need to foster and instill global awareness on campus. Membership in the Alliance is open to all institutions of higher learning around the world. In the US, Humpty Dumpty is particularly interested in collaborating with underserved academic communities, such as the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), Tribal and American Indian colleges and universities, and various community colleges.
Current TMCF member-schools that are a part of the alliance are: University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Alcorn State University, Morgan State University, Virginia State University, and Texas Southern University.
The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University
The School of Foreign Service was founded in 1919 as a direct response to the involvement of the United States in the First World War. “Having entered upon the stage of world politics and world commerce, we assume world-wide obligations. Our viewpoint can never be the same again,” wrote Edmund A. Walsh, S.J., the School’s first dean. SFS predates the U.S. Foreign Service by six years.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
Following a series of meetings with key officials at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, and as a result of key meetings with government officials and higher education leaders in Taiwan, TMCF established a number of highly promising partnerships with the Ministry of Education and several world-class universities in Taiwan. These partnerships led to the MOE awarding TMCF four “Huayu Enrichment Scholarships (HES)” for foreign Mandarin/Chinese learners to study Mandarin.
Institute of International Education (IIE)
TMCF has maintained a long-term and mutually beneficial partnership with the Institute of International Education (IIE). IIE is a prominent international education and training organization dedicated to delivering program excellence to a diverse range of participants, sponsors, and donors. IIE’s mission is to advance access to education worldwide by managing international programs, conducting research and facilitating policy dialogue on consequential issues around global higher education.
Schwarzman Scholars
Designed to prepare the next generation of global leaders, Schwarzman Scholars is the first scholarship created to respond to the geopolitical landscape of the 21st Century. Whether in politics, business or science, the success of future leaders around the world will depend upon an understanding of China’s role in global trends.
The 100,000 Strong Foundation
TMCF is a “Signature Partner” with The 100,000 Strong Foundation. The mission of the Foundation is to encourage students of diverse backgrounds in the U.S. to learn Mandarin and better understand the Chinese culture. The Foundation believes that its best ambassadors are the American students who have studied in China and have experienced the people, language and culture firsthand. As a Signature Partner, the Foundation played a major role in facilitating TMCF’s mission to China in 2014, which included a series of high-level meetings with key government, industry and higher education leaders, including the Vice Minister of Education and the senior leadership at the U.S. Embassy and American Chamber of Commerce. This mission to China was made possible with the support of a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense designed to produce a new generation of human capital in Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture and Mathematics (STEAM) through partnerships with world-class universities that have demonstrated success in the production of students in the sciences.
Perfect World
In 2014, TMCF hosted a reception on Capitol Hill to announce a new partnership with Perfect World Entertainment. Founded in 2008, Perfect World Entertainment is a leading North American online games publisher specializing in immersive free-to-play games. TMCF plans to sign an agreement with Perfect World to send 10 academically exemplary students to China in 2015 and beyond to study for the summer or longer at flagship universities.
This program will be designed to enhance the students’ academic interests and produce fluency in Mandarin and the Chinese culture. TMCF envisions sending students and faculty to China over the next three to six years. While the primary responsibility of faculty is to support the needs of the students, they will also engage in joint research projects or other collaborative endeavors that enhance the pedagogy of teaching and learning.
United Nation’s Academic Impact
In supporting global education, TMCF joined the UN’s Academic Impact initiative, which is designed to encourage participating universities to actively demonstrate support of at least one of ten universally accepted “Impact Principles” each year– in the areas of human rights, literacy, sustainability and conflict resolution. TMCF promotes participation among member-schools and encourages directors of international programs and TMCF campus coordinators to engage in promoting the UN’s Millennium Development Goals and to serve as a viable point of contact for ideas and proposals relevant to the UN mandate.
Learn More
For more information about the Payne Global Initiative, contact:
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