The Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) has awarded Denison University a Global Crossroads Initiative/Mellon Foundation Grand Challenge grant in the amount of $16,357. The proposal, “Challenging Borders: Refugees, Displacement and Migration,” is authored by Professor of Art History and Visual Culture Joanna Grabski. The proposal is a series of 11 collaborations between Denison University and Allegheny, Hope, Kenyon and Wooster colleges, the American University of Beirut and the Ashesi University of Ghana.

“Our Grand Challenge proposal for the Challenging Borders theme encompasses a constellation of activities and events focusing on issues relating to refugees, displacement, and migration,” said Grabski. “Our proposal includes both curricular and co-curricular collaboration as well as campus wide and inter-campus, shared programming. The activities and events have grown out of faculty teaching and research expertise, just as they link to and deepen relationships with other Global Liberal Arts Alliance institutions. Our proposal also builds on conversations with student groups, including the African Studies Association, the Asian Students Association and Sustained Dialogue.”

The activities range from public fora and faculty panels to course collaborations and author visits. These events will begin in 2016 and continue through 2017. Two of the events are wholly sponsored by Denison; the International Human Rights Film Festival and a Campus Wide Faculty Panel for Refugee Awareness Week.

“We are thrilled that the GLCA has funded these remarkable opportunities to expand learning and deepen appreciation and knowledge of the global landscape,” said Denison Provost Kim Coplin. “As a result of the “Challenging Borders” Program, our students and faculty will collaborate with their counterparts from across the United States, Africa and the Middle East. We are grateful for the positive outcomes we all will experience through this work.”

The proposal pairs several GLCA colleges with their sister colleges of the Global Liberal Arts Alliance (GLAA). The GLAA is an international, multilateral partnership of American style liberal arts institutions with the goal of supporting excellence in liberal arts education on a transnational basis. The GLCA administers and coordinates the activities and projects of the Alliance and was instrumental in its formation. Presently, there are 29 institutions representing 17 nations in the Alliance membership.

Denison faculty participating in the grant include: Gary Baker, Grabski, Catalina Hunt, Veve Lele, Isis Nusair and Taku Suzuki.