U-M/UPR Outreach Collaboration
As part of the effort to create sustainable links with institutions serving underrepresented populations, the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Michigan built a partnership with the Colleges of Education, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico. There are no Title VI National Resources Centers on the island of Puerto Rico; there are also no Hispanic serving institutions in the State of Michigan. Thanks to deep existing ties between our institutions we are able to expand access to the area studies and language resources at UM to the faculty and students at the UPR, to in-service teachers in the region around UPR, and to their K-12 students.
The collaboration is now shared by the area studies Centers comprising the International Institute (II) and funded by Title VI grants from the US Department of Education. Each year, the II sends mixed delegations of area studies experts to the UPR for a K-16 professional and curriculum development symposium and workshop organized around topics that cross multiple disciplines and allow representation from different world regions. In addition to the annual symposium, LACS supports short residencies on U-M’s campus for UPR faculty members to use library resources to develop new courses on Latin American and/or Caribbean topics, and also supports travel for pre- and in-service teachers in Puerto Rico to attend the II’s annual World History & Literature Initiative workshop.
Please visit the U-M/UPR Outreach Collaboration website for more information on past workshops and a collection of free resources for educators and members of the public.
World History and Literature Initiative (WHaLI)
WHaLI is a unique collaboration between area studies Centers in the International Institute and the U-M School of Education (SOE), funded in part by Title VI grants from the US Department of Education, with additional funding from the International Institute and the Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies. Since 2009, WHaLI has provided over 500 K-12 teachers in the fields of History, Social Studies, and English Language Arts with area studies curriculum content and professional development. Held each year in June, WHaLI is a three-day workshop designed to improve teachers’ capacity to teach world history and literature by providing them with area studies resources and content. New initiatives to broaden the reach of WHaLI include opportunities for early career or beginning teachers to work with experienced teachers and scholars, and the use of livestream webcasting technology and on-site facilitators to reach teachers outside the Ann Arbor area.
Please visit the World History & Literature Initiative (WHaLI) website for more information »
Midwest Institute for International/Intercultural Education (MIIIE)
Several area studies centers at the International Institute are are engaged in a collaboration with MIIIE, a consortium of two-year colleges based in the Midwest region that has expanded across the country. The MIIIE is dedicated to improving international studies and foreign language training at each member campus. II’s area studies centers are co-sponsors of the MIIIE’s annual August curriculum development workshops on global thematic topics, helping CC faculty develop area studies curriculum modules, which are shared with other MIIIE member institution faculty as well as other educators and members of the general public (upon request).
Please visit the MIIIE website for more information on past and upcoming workshops.
San Diego State University - University of Michigan Global Migration and Education Initiative (GMEI)
This collaborative project between San Diego State University (SDSU) and the University of Michigan (U-M) aims to provide innovative professional development opportunities for K-12 and Community College Educators in Michigan and California. The collaboration’s keystone project, the Global Migration and Inclusive Pedagogy workshop series is an annual event that brings educators from Michigan and California to the US-Mexico border at the San Diego-Tijuana artery in order to better understand global migration flows and inclusive strategies for teaching in increasingly diverse classrooms.
This project is supported by a Title VI National Resource Center Grant from the US Department of Education. It is administered by the U-M Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the SDSU Center for Latin American Studies, the SDSU College of Education, the SDSU Office of International Affairs, and the SDSU Center for Equity, Bilingualism, Biliteracy, and Binational Education Research (CEBER).
Please visit our PROJECT WEBSITE for more information on our upcoming activities and to access resources.
Are you a Michigan or California educator or school/district administrator that would like to be involved in this project?
Please contact: Alana Rodriguez at alanarod@umich.edu or Alexandra Fox at anfox@sdsu.edu for details.
