Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities 3030964892, 9783030964894

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Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities Edited by Krishna Bista · Anthony L. Pinder

Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Krishna Bista  •  Anthony L. Pinder Editors

Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Editors Krishna Bista Morgan State University Baltimore, MD, USA

Anthony L. Pinder Emerson College Boston, MA, USA

ISBN 978-3-030-96489-4    ISBN 978-3-030-96490-0 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96490-0 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the ­publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and ­institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: John Lund/GettyImages This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Foreword

Leveraging the HBCU Experience Globally Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have evolved their own deep legacy of global engagement over the nearly two centuries since their founding. Black educators and educational institutions, closely interwoven with Black religious institutions, have long connected with the African continent, the Caribbean, and even Europe as fertile, foreign spaces for collaboration and partnership. Today’s HBCU cross-cultural programs and collaborations are rooted in the cosmopolitan connections that emerged in the periods of forced migration, enslavement, and colonization. This global element of the Black experience has been too often discounted and overlooked generally and, certainly, with respect to HBCUs that have consistently challenged the notion that they are exclusively local and domestic in their context and aspirations. By the late 19th century, for example, the Fisk Jubilee Singers and Tuskegee Institute’s founder Booker T. Washington alike were touring Europe and even taking tea with Queen Victoria. Black college students and graduates were studying abroad and Black students from abroad were studying at Black colleges and universities. Strict racial segregation intended to restrict and limit Black colleges, but Black colleges developed expansively as globally influenced and influential institutions. Though discriminated against, disparaged, and starved of resources, Black colleges and universities have been resilient. Material and social constraints have not been enough to destroy their ingenuity nor stifle their entrepreneurial spirit. Instead, even in the global education sphere, they have made their way out of no way. Thus, HBCUs have pioneered in v

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transferring Black culture, language, and heritage through determined multi-directional commerce with people and institutions internationally. For believers and doubters alike, this volume is strong evidence of the global dimensions of Black colleges and universities. From our contemporary perspective, we should be excited to read about and appreciate instances of the exemplary practices of international exchange and collaboration that keep our HBCUs at the forefront of campus internationalization. As a former president of Dillard University in New Orleans and as the current president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), I applaud the remarkable contribution of Krishna Bista and Anthony Pinder in editing this important Volume, Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Both the editors of and the contributors to this volume present their lived experiences, highlight Black American values, and interact with the world through insider/outsider (local/global) perspectives. Indeed, they are successful at documenting and providing evidence that HBCUs are quite successful in expanding their international footprints and creating opportunities for their predominantly black yet consistently diverse students and faculty. This book represents the values, legacies, and global engagements of HBCUs in particular. Still, importantly, it also emphasizes the excellence in internationalization of American higher education in general. I am proud of these scholars, Krishna and Anthony, for their leadership in promoting HBCUs’ shared cultural values, educational collaborations, powers of resilience, and their innovations. The contributors showcase innovation and excellence in international student enrollment, education abroad programming, foreign-born faculty contribution, and global engagement at the selected institutions—Bowie State University, Elizabeth City State University, Morgan State University, Spelman College, Texas Southern University, Norfolk State University, and the Xavier University of Louisiana. All of the carefully curated chapters in this book offer greater insights in the rich diversity as well as the global programs and initiatives that are intended to connect the too-often marginalized communities here and abroad. HBCUs are proven institutions of higher learning expanding their international partnerships and producing new generations of global leaders, including heads of state, academic leaders, scholars, health professionals, and so many others. In our interconnected world, HBCUs are visionary

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institutions that are expanding their global projects, enriching their teaching and scholarly research, and addressing global issues and challenges. I am delighted that this book has arrived as tangible evidence of the long-overlooked internationalization of the HBCU landscape. This volume provides a much-needed insight into and analysis of the rich history of internationalization at HBCUs and the methods and strategies these institutions are employing to globalize their campuses now. This is a must read for all thought leaders in higher education. Michael L.  Lomax is the president and CEO of UNCF, the nation’s largest private provider of scholarships and other educational support to African-American students to its 37 member historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Previously Lomax was the president of Dillard University in New Orleans and a professor at UNCF-member institutions Morehouse and Spelman Colleges. He is a founding member of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and served as chairman of the Fulton County Commission in Atlanta, the first African American elected to that post. Michael L. Lomax President and CEO United Negro College Fund, USA

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to our colleagues who supported our projects particularly at the STAR Scholars Network, Morgan State University, and Emerson College. We also appreciate the support of colleagues whom we worked with over the years at the Open Journals in Education, a consortium of the professional journals, the Comparative and International Education Society’s Study Abroad and International Students SIG, and the Journal of International Students. We would also like to acknowledge the help of all the scholars who were involved in this project and, more specifically, the authors and reviewers that took part in the review process. Without their support, this book would not have become a reality. At Morgan State University, Dr. Krishna Bista would like to thank President David Wilson, Assistant Vice President for International Affairs Yacob Astatke, and Dean Glenda Prime for their institutional priority in international and global education, and particularly his colleagues Dr. Uttam Gaulee, Dr. Benjamin Welsh, Dr. Sean Robinson, Dr. Vanessa Dodo Seriki, and Dr. Omari Jackson for their encouragement and support including graduate students and graduate assistants in the Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership and Policy. Dr. Pinder would like to thank his colleagues at Emerson College. Special thanks to our book proposal reviewers as well as the following scholars who assisted us in reviewing individual chapters for this book, Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. It could not be possible to finalize the selected chapters without their evaluations and constructive feedback. ix

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Acknowledgments

Individual Chapter Reviewers: Special thanks to all of the following reviewers who contributed quality reviews to improve the chapters considered in this book, Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Chapter Reviewers Andrea Shelton, Texas Southern University, USA Anne Maree Payne, University of Technology Sydney, USA Anthony L. Pinder, Emerson College, USA Charity Clay, Xavier University of Louisiana, USA Deepak Gopinath, University of the West of England, UK ‘Dimeji Togunde, Spelman College, USA Elizabeth More, StudyGroup, UK Felecia Williams, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA Harvey Charles, University at Albany—SUNY, USA Joshua McKeown, SUNY Oswego, USA Kelber Tozini, George Washington University, USA Kimberly Warren, Morgan State University, USA Krishna Bista, Morgan State University, USA Ling Gao LeBeau, Syracuse University, USA María Álvarez, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, México Metrice Harris-Weedman, Lancaster University, UK Michael Smithee, Smithee Associates, USA Mohamed Nur-Awaleh, Illinois State University, USA Pamela Browne, Morgan State University, USA Roger Anderson, Central State University, USA Rosa Acevedo, University of Minnesota, USA Sharmila Udyavar, Fayetteville State University, USA Soji Akomolafe, Norfolk State University, USA Susan Boafo-Arthur, Mississippi State University, USA Tirtha Raj Timsina, Tribhuvan University, Nepal We would like to thank the following colleagues for their feedback on the early draft of this book as well for their endorsements: • JoAnn W. Haysbert, Chancellor and Provost, Hampton University, Virginia (USA) • Freeman A. Hrabowski, President, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (USA)

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• Gerard A. Postiglione, Emeritus Professor of Higher Education, The University of Hong Kong (HK) • Roger Anderson, Assistant Professor of International Languages & Cultures, Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio (USA) • Mary McConner, American Council on Education Fellow, Grand Valley State University, Michigan (USA) • Marybeth Gasman, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education & Distinguished Professor, Rutgers University, New Jersey (USA) • Nneka Nora Osakwe, Professor of English, former Director of International Education, Albany State University, Georgia (USA) • Dafina Blacksher Diabate, Director, Office of International Programs, Lincoln University, Pennsylvania (USA) • Ross Lewin, Associate Vice President for International Affairs, University of Maryland, Maryland (USA) • Michael Lomax, President, United Negro College Fund, Washington, D.C. (USA)

Praise for Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities “A must-read for all interested in the quality of higher education at an HBCU. Internationalization has long been an integral part of the HBCU history at institutions like Hampton University. This is a timely platform to share the unique ways that the HBCUs have built their institutions on the value of the inclusion of a global population.” —JoAnn W. Haysbert, Chancellor and Provost, Hampton University, Virginia (USA) “This timely book explores the outstanding legacy of global engagement to be found at the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities. Higher education leaders at all types of institutions will find the discussion of best practices for internationalization and international initiatives at HBCUs to be both useful and inspiring.” —Freeman A. Hrabowski, President, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (USA) “This book brings out a unique advantage of HBCUs for engaging internationally in an interdependent world undergoing transformative globalization and structural realignment. It contains scholarship showing that HBCUs are indispensable for providing the world with a much fuller education/understanding of the United States, with its complex history, its current issues, and its future possibilities for unity and international engagement.” —Gerard A. Postiglione, Emeritus Professor of Higher Education, The University of Hong Kong (HK) “Examining within HBCU’s the three critical tools of internationalization—study abroad, international student enrollment, and integration of the global throughout an institution—this book offers invaluable theoretical and practical insights to those of us aspiring to institutionalize our HBCUs.” —Roger Anderson, Assistant Professor of International Languages & Cultures, Central State University—Wilberforce, Ohio (USA)

“Historically Black Colleges and Universities are uniquely positioned to teach students from historically marginalized communities about the importance of global citizenship. This book provides a clear pathway for establishing robust internationalization initiatives and international education programming at HBCUs.” —Mary McConner, American Council on Education Fellow, Grand Valley State University, Michigan (USA) “HBCU students deserve the best opportunities and internationalization of the curriculum and campus is essential to their growth and future opportunities. In Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Bista and Pinder provide a road map for rethinking internationalization at HBCUs and doing it with purpose, a nod to culture, and an innovative spirit.” —Marybeth Gasman, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education & Distinguished Professor, Rutgers University, New Jersey (USA) “With much excitement, I endorse this book, which fills an existing literature gap in the field of Curriculum Internationalization and International initiatives at Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). It draws a wealth of knowledge from highly experienced and astute scholars in the field, covering cogent critical topics, including the peculiar impact of COVID-19 on HBCUs. This volume is a great resource for international education researchers and scholars.” —Nneka Nora Osakwe, Professor of English, former Director of International Education, Albany State University, Georgia (USA) “Through expert research and scholarship this compilation shines light on a vital sector of international education in the United States. This timely publication serves as a testament to the persistent efforts toward comprehensive internationalization on HBCU campuses across the country, broadening access and inclusion for African Americans, and expanding the context for global learning.” —Dafina Blacksher Diabate, Director, Office of International Programs, Lincoln University, Pennsylvania (USA) “Reckoning with the racial inequalities within International Education is long overdue, and Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities has taken an important step in that direction. This book is the first to bring together and analyze all of the data around international education among HBCUs in one place, along with offering inspiring examples and recommendations on how to increase participation among students

of color. I believe this book will spur leaders and practitioners of international education across all institutions within the United States to set new goals, objectives and metrics to account for and remedy the inequities on their own campuses.” —Ross Lewin, Associate Vice President for International Affairs, University of Maryland, Maryland (USA)

Contents

Part I Internationalization at Historically Black Colleges and Universities   1 1 A New Day Begun: Rethinking Internationalization and International Initiatives at HBCUs  3 Krishna Bista and Anthony L. Pinder 2 Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Internationalization Efforts 27 Samson Chama and Ling Gao LeBeau 3 What Counts as Internationalization and for Whom: Comprehensive Internationalization at Historically Black Colleges and Universities 45 Harvey Charles and ‘Dimeji Togunde Part II Internationalization Programs and Strategies at HBCUs  61 4 Universalizing Internationalization at Historically Black Colleges and Universities Through Virtual Learning 63 ‘Dimeji Togunde and Harvey Charles

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5 Study Abroad Program Development at One Historically Black College and University: A Success Story 73 Andrea J. Shelton, Alvia J. Wardlaw, Leamon L. Green, and Gregory H. Maddox 6 Minority Students’ Perspectives on Study Abroad: One Case Within the Historically Black College and University Community 91 Ella Carter 7 Rethinking Faculty Readiness in Internationalization Plans at Historically Black Colleges and Universities111 Karlin Burks 8 Abroad Program for HBCU Undergraduates: Experiential Learning Program in Guatemala121 Kimberly R. Warren Part III Internationalization Experiences and Reflections 139 9 Advancing Internationalization Through Faculty Publication of Their Experiences in Internationalizing the Curriculum at Historically Black Colleges and Universities141 Michael B. Smithee 10 Reassessing the Debate on African Studies at Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Why African Studies Matter159 Soji Akomolafe 11 It Takes a Village: Holistic Emancipatory Framework for Students of Color in Study Abroad173 Metrice Harris-Weedman

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12 International Students and Study Abroad at Historically Black Colleges and Universities: New Trends and Directions189 Julie Baer and Krishna Bista 13 Unpacking Deficit Based views of low Black Student Participation in Study Abroad and Understanding the importance of Culturally Relevant Study Abroad programs for HBCU students205 Charity Clay Index221

About the Editors

Krishna  Bista is Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership and Policy at Morgan State University, Maryland (USA). Bista is the founding editor of the Journal of International Students, a quarterly publication in international education. He is also the founding chair of the Study Abroad and International Students SIG at the Comparative and International Education Society. He has published more than 75 articles and book chapters as well as 15 books. His latest books are Inequalities in Study Abroad and Student Mobility (2021), Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education during COVID-19 (2021), International Students at US Community Colleges (2022), and The Experiences of International Faculty in Higher Education (2022). Anthony L. Pinder  is Vice Provost of Internationalization and Equity— Academic Affairs at Emerson College in Boston, MA (USA). He is responsible for managing and building on all of the College’s global operations. Notably, he manages the academic, fiscal, and programmatic operations of the Emerson European Center at Kasteel Well, the Netherlands. He manages all global partnerships/agreements, including the Academy of Performing Arts for Film and Television (Czech Republic), Paris College of Art (PCA), Franklin University—Switzerland, Blanquerna University— Barcelona (Spain), AFDA Film School (South Africa), and nearly 15 additional deep and strategic partnerships around the world. Pinder established Emerson’s Global Pathways Program, which features 30 faculty-led education abroad summer programs. In 2014, he launched the College’s faculty development program Curriculum Internationalization & Inclusive xxi

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Pedagogy Studio, which has facilitated the development of over 25 new highly internationalized courses across disciplines. Under Pinder’s auspices is oversight of the offices of International Student Affairs (OISA); Education Abroad & Domestic Programs; English Language Learning (ELL); and units that support International Fellowships & Awards, International Visitors & Scholars, and International Faculty Support Services. His research and professional interests focus on the international dimensions of higher education at the institutional, system, national, and international levels; student learning outcomes/assessment; and minorityserving institutions. He has served as the senior international officer at two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs; Morehouse College and Dillard University respectively). As a result, he has written and presented extensively on the internationalization of HBCUs. Prior to academia, he served as the National Director for Minority Recruitment with the US Peace Corps (Washington, DC); Peace Corps Country Director in Equatorial Guinea, Central Africa; and Small Enterprise Developer in Ecuador, South America. He held senior administrative appointments with the United Negro College Fund; the African American Institute; and the grain-trading conglomerate, Cargill, Inc. in Minneapolis, MN. Recently, Pinder led Emerson College to win the prestigious 2020 Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization, awarded by NAFSA, the largest leading association worldwide for international educators in higher education.

List of Figures

Fig. 7.1 Fig. 9.1

Fig. 9.2 Fig. 12.1 Fig. 12.2 Fig. 12.3 Fig. 12.4 Fig. 12.5 Fig. 12.6 Fig. 12.7 Fig. 12.8

A model of faculty readiness in internationalization plans 116 Count of instructional design process components for HBCU compared to non-HBCU articles in the search of literature on internationalization between July and September 2020 (N = 192)146 Number of listings by year by non-HBCUs and HBCUs for the search of literature on internationalization between July and September 2020 (N = 192)147 International students at HBCUs, 2015/2016–2019/2020 191 Academic level of international students at HBCUs and at all institutional types, 2019/2020 192 Top ten places of origin of international students at HBCUs, 2019/2020193 Primary source of funding for international students at HBCUs, 2019/2020 196 U.S. study abroad for academic credit from HBCUs, 2014/2015–2018/2019197 U.S. study abroad for academic credit by race and ethnicity from HBCUs and all institutional types, 2018/2019 198 U.S. study abroad for academic credit by duration from HBCUs, 2018/2019 199 Top ten destinations for U.S. study abroad for academic credit from HBCUs, 2018/2019 201

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List of Tables

Table 1.1 Table 6.1 Table 6.2 Table 8.1 Table 8.2 Table 8.3 Table 8.4 Table 8.5 Table 12.1

List of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States Reasons for not participating in a study abroad program Reasons why students are interested in participating in a study abroad program Sample itinerary for an eight-day program Demographic backgrounds of student travelers (N = 36) College majors and cohorts of student travelers (N = 36) Frequency data from the pre- and post-International Awareness Survey (n = 8) Trip Evaluation Survey from the January 2020 trip (n=15) Fields of study of international students at HBCUs and at all institutional types, 2019/2020

12 102 103 129 130 130 130 131 195

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PART I

Internationalization at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

CHAPTER 1

A New Day Begun: Rethinking Internationalization and International Initiatives at HBCUs Krishna Bista and Anthony L. Pinder

The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class—it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity. —Anna Julia Cooper, U.S. Passport, pp. 26–27

Introduction Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and indeed universities everywhere, are undergoing unprecedented change and confronting multiple challenges brought on by the vast and complex processes of

K. Bista (*) Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD, USA e-mail: [email protected] A. L. Pinder Emerson College, Boston, MA, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 K. Bista, A. L. Pinder (eds.), Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96490-0_1

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globalization, technological change, and most recently a COVID-19 global pandemic. Powerful internal and external forces—political, economic, and pragmatic—are reconfiguring all aspects of the academic life and mission of institutions from teaching and research to service (Zeleza & Olukoshi, 2004). The need for redefining the role and defending the importance of HBCUs has never been greater. Proponents of HBCUs are hopeful that these institutions can successfully balance the demands of autonomy and accountability, expansion and excellence, equity and efficiency, diversity and differentiation, internationalization, and scarce resources, as they address the new challenges of the knowledge economy and globalization. In this chapter, we examine internationalization policy and successful programs and initiatives at HBCUs in the United States. Internationalization, as American Council on Education (2021) defines, is “a strategic, coordinated framework that integrates policies, programs, initiatives, and individuals to make colleges and universities globally oriented and internationally connected” (online). Although global competence is an important American value and educational priority, it can be difficult for individuals to have sufficient perspective about many dimensions of internationalization. The task is especially difficult when encountering educational environments that have not strategically invested in creating institutional cultures that challenge the campus community to think globally and think beyond what it has already learned to recognize. It is critical that American higher education strive to produce globally competent graduates that are not only sensitive to human needs globally, but who will anticipate and respond effectively to the changing world. Quite frankly, education should enlarge, enrich, and deepen the vision of all students.

Historical Context and Future Trends In the United States, there are 104 HBCUs (53 public and 51 private nonprofit institutions) located in 19 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Of these HBCUs, 27 offer doctoral programs, 52 offer master’s programs, 83 offer bachelor’s degree programs, and 38 offer associate degrees. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2017), the number of students enrolled at HBCUs rose by 32% between 1976 and 2015, from 223,000 to 293,000. Of this, 12,000 were international students pursuing degrees in various disciplines and programs. HBCUs are global institutions, and their global footprints are recognized as they

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allow African-American students to engage internationally (Willis, 2016). In recent years, these institutions have had to develop aggressive programs to compete with better resourced, predominately White institutions (PWIs) for future students, faculty, and staff. Among HBCUs, there are several historically Black community colleges (two-year institutions) with locations in Alabama (e.g., Bishop State Community College), Mississippi (e.g., Coahoma Community College), South Carolina (e.g., Denmark Technical College), Arkansas (e.g., Shorter College), Texas (e.g., Southwestern Christian College), and Alabama (e.g., Trenholm State Community College) which are popular for the HBCU experience (Bista, 2022). HBCUs are distinctive institutions of learning in American higher education because of their strong historical mission to the marginalized and underserved student population. Most HBCUs began as religious missionary organizations after the American Civil War (1861–1865) primarily serving the African-American community. In fact, HBCUs were founded on a dual purpose of producing literate, humane individuals, and helping motivated, and occasionally less prepared, students overcome earlier educational deficits. Especially critical has been the historical concern of HBCUs to demonstrate to the status quo that Black undergraduates develop best when the environment supports their attempts at intellectual endeavors and extracurricular involvement. However, despite these imperatives, little research has been undertaken at HBCUs to document and analyze institutional policies and practices that promote internationalization or hinder progressive change (Gasman, 2007; Gasman & Commodore, 2014). The mission of HBCUs in the United States is complex, and uncommon demands have often been made on their administrations to keep them financially afloat. Historically, HBCUs have had to satisfy the often-­ conflicting objectives of the philanthropists who financed them, the students who attended them, and a society that offered limited opportunities to their graduates. Yet, many of these institutions have survived for more than a century (Jones & Weathersby, 1978). Much of the research on internationalization has been applied to the vast majority of PWIs in the United States. If HBCUs represent the largest education consortium of minority-serving institutions in the United States, then without a doubt these centers of intellectual thought and activism also represent a resource for transforming the collective status of African Americans. African Americans have always believed in education as transformative, redemptive, and liberating. Even in the dark and desolate circumstances of forced

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servitude, African Americans understood that there was an intrinsic power in knowledge. Perhaps because a cultural system of customs, laws, attitudes, and behaviors conspired to prevent African Americans from the act of knowledge, they ached for the opportunity (Pinkard, 2000). The story of HBCUs is continuously evolving. However, internationalization is one of the critical factors in the United States maintaining its position as a world force in the twenty-first century and beyond. HBCU’s full ascendancy and future survival depend on their ability to adopt the best practices in comprehensive internationalization and retain the uniqueness of their historical mission. And, while quantitative data may obfuscate the current internationalization efforts of HBCUs, their collective history underscores a legacy of a robust production of globally competent graduates. The story of HBCUs begins with internationalization at the very core of their academic enterprises. For example, their long deep history of academic exchanges with Africa and African universities ranges from the highly practical facilitation of economic and technological development to the intensely intellectual. Many of the international programs established at HBCUs have long histories such as those at Howard, Lincoln, Tuskegee, and Wilberforce Universities, whose international programs are just as old as their institutions. Often springing from the missionary work of religious groups, HBCUs utilized their meager resources to establish, broaden, and strengthen linkages with Africa and Africans long before the Title VI and Fulbright-Hays programs were ever created. As early as 1899, Tuskegee Institute (now University), under the leadership of Booker T. Washington, was instrumental in establishing academic linkages with Africa by sending a team of agricultural experts to improve cotton production in the former German African colony of Togo. As the colonial rule was being consolidated throughout the continent, it was virtually impossible for Africans to receive a college education there. Yet, word traveled steadily to Africa of the well-spring of HBCUs being established in the United States. Cheyney University (Pennsylvania) was the first in 1837, followed by Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) in 1854, Wilberforce University (Ohio) in 1856, Fisk University (Tennessee) in 1866, Howard University (Washington, DC), and Morehouse College (Georgia), both in 1867, Hampton University (Virginia) in 1870, and Tuskegee University (Alabama) and Spelman College (Georgia) in 1881. The world of learning and scholarship has often aspired to transcend national boundaries throughout history, and universities have traditionally

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been international institutions (Macready & Tucker, 2011). Here again, the historical experiences of HBCUs can serve as a pivotal reminder of their rich tradition with internationalization in general, and international student matriculation specifically. By the 1880s, under the auspices of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, strategic international student recruitment began at HBCUs, with the arrival of Southern African men and women to U.S. institutions, mostly to the all-Black Wilberforce University (Ohio). The noted South African feminist Charlotte Makgomo Manye was one of the first (international students) to be admitted to and graduated from Wilberforce with a BS degree in 1901—the first Black African woman graduated from an American university. Lincoln University in Pennsylvania began providing education to students from Africa in 1896 when their first two South African students were admitted. From 1896 to 1923, twenty-three South Africans had graduated. By the early 1930s, Lincoln was a small liberal arts college, with roughly 270 Black students, most of them from the eastern states. In 1939, there were 319 students, of whom 15 were from Africa (Pinder, 2012). West African attendance (international students/exchange students) at Lincoln was initiated by Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe (the first President of Nigeria, 1963–1966), who received his bachelor’s degree from Lincoln in 1930 and his master’s degree in 1933 from the University of Pennsylvania. It was Azikiwe who inspired Kwame Nkrumah (the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana) and other West Africans to study in the United States and particularly at Lincoln, where African students received a great deal of financial assistance (Sherwood, 1996). African students studying at U.S.  Black colleges during pre-independence were different from their African colleagues pursuing degrees in British universities. Africans at British institutions were encouraged to join the small, educated elite on their return home. However, African students attending Lincoln had different ideas. As Ghanaian Ako Adjei (a Lincoln colleague of Nkrumah) explained, “Those going to England had no nationalist spirit, but looked upon England as their home… Our idea was complete independence… It was schools like Lincoln that trained Black young men and women to stand on their own feet” (Sherwood, 1996, p. 30). African students at HBCUs during the 1930s were doing much more than merely standing on their feet. They were standing tall enough to lead nations one day. For example, Nnamdi Azikiwe, a Lincoln classmate of poet Langston Hughes (1929), Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall

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(1930), and musician Cab Calloway (1930), would become the first president of Nigeria on October 1, 1963. Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, a graduate of Wilberforce Institute (now Central State University) in 1928 and Meharry Medical College in 1937 became the first president of Malawi on July 6, 1966. Kwame Nkrumah, a 1939 graduate of Lincoln University earned his Master of Science in education from the University of Pennsylvania (1942), would go on to become the first president of Ghana on July 1, 1960 (Biney, 2007). These achievements of African HBCU alumni should not be viewed as purely anecdotal but used instead to underscore evidence of the charter missions of HBCUs, which was to produce the most profound intellectual and creative achievements of the Black people period. Their early charters strategically emphasized social justice for Black people everywhere. The charge of HBCUs was so resounding and revolutionary that young idealists, even from pre-­ independent Africa, came to their hollow halls seeking human fulfillment and, subsequently, contributed to the internationalization of Black folks’ legacy of triumph over adversity. An unmistakable global vision aggressively sprouted from the charter missions of HBCUs. As these institutions came into being against a backdrop of horrific hatred and racial brutality (Pinkard, 2000), the student learning goals HBCUs crafted were the results of Blacks folks’ triumph over struggle and a richness of racial pride borne of deprivation. A natural progression from these institutions’ early establishment was the production of graduates who were concerned with global engagement and social justice, interested in diverse cultures, in possession of intercultural skills, and preparing for local and global citizenship. The emphasis and orientation of HBCUs have always been a direct result of the unique experiences and perceptions of African Americans. The orientation of HBCUs is derived from the contradictions, ambiguities, tensions, and ambivalence of African-American life in the United States. A pervasive assumption is that students of HBCUs will acquire a set of values, a spirit of social service, moral sensitivity, and a sense of social and moral responsibility that will remain with them after graduation. One notable and early example of this HBCU aspirational goal was Ana Julia Cooper. She became the first Black female to earn “a world-class education and prestige,” receiving a PhD (History) from the University of Paris-Sorbonne in France (1924), and only the fourth African-American woman to earn a doctoral degree. Cooper’s early education began at the North Carolina HBCU, St. Augustine’s College, before becoming one of

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the most prominent African-American scholars in U.S. history. So revered is her intellectual contribution that today on pages 26 and 27 of every U.S. passport contains the following Dr. Cooper quote, “The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party, or a class—it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity (U.S.  Passport, pp. 26–27).” In 2009, the U.S. Postal Service released a commemorative stamp in Cooper’s honor. To be competitive, HBCUs have had to consider aligning their general mission with PWIs, but the majority have held firm to their unique historical purpose. Collectively, their academic missions consist of the development of human excellence, superior education, and training, nourishing creative imagination, and leadership. Coupled with that mission is the commitment to developing moral character and producing better graduates with a passion for social justice and righteousness everywhere in the world. Ana Julia Cooper (St. Augustine’s College), W.E.B. Dubois (Fisk University), Kwame Nkrumah (Lincoln University), Booker T. Washington (Hampton University), Martin Luther King, Jr. (Morehouse College), and U.S.  Vice President Kamala Harris (Howard University) were not accidents. They were the purposeful creations of the leadership development centers that have always been HBCUs. The purposes of HBCUs are the products of many historical currents, some of which flowed together quietly, while others erupted in agonizing public controversy. Thus, Gregory Kannerstein, former Dean of Students at Haverford College wrote: Black colleges have grappled with the demands of inculcating academic values while not neglecting ethical and moral values, of serving educational goals while serving the community, of being open to all while remaining committed to a specific constituency, of responding to the pathology while promoting health, and of combating social injustice while never swerving in allegiance to American society. (1978, p. 30)

This socio-ethical responsibility has been inherent to the mission of HBCUs and is a direct result of the emphasis, orientation, vision, and the climate for social morality that have always given the Black college its raison d’être. Yet, there is no substitute for excellence. Black colleges, therefore, must reject as false all counsel to pursue other priorities in the place of academic excellence, including cheap and vulgar conceptions of “relevance” (Cook, 1978). HBCUs aim to reinforce and deepen certain

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K. BISTA AND A. L. PINDER

socio-­ethical impulses of their students, which should be inherent in a globally competent citizen. These socio-ethical impulses were evident in HBCU alum, Oliver John Golden (1887–1940), a former Tuskegee student and mentee of renowned biochemist George Washington Carver. Golden led the first delegation (1924) of five African Americans to Moscow to study at the Communist University for Oriental Workers in Russia. After the completion of his studies and subsequent return to the United States in 1927, Golden lead a subsequent delegation of 13 Black specialists (a list approved by George Washington Carver) with practical experience in the creation of cotton industries back to Russia. Among that number was 34-year-old Jarvis Christian College professor John Sutton, an agricultural chemist with degrees from Tuskegee, the University of Iowa, Drake, and Columbia. Another of Carver’s recommendations was George Tynes, a 25-year-old graduate of Wilberforce University and a specialist in breeding fowl. Golden’s example of international migration was duplicated by Langston Hughes (Lincoln University ’29) and many other HBCU graduates of the day. The inclusion of these true historical anecdotes suggests organically formed internationalization efforts at HBCUs—giving space and opportunities for local and international students and preparing global citizenship. First, it is imperative that any exploration of the current state of HBCUs carefully examine their unique history and mission. Second, history underscores that internationalization had a fixed place within the standard practices of HBCUs since their inception. Currently, HBCUs across the country are reimagining their self-concepts and missions. The resurgence of global learning in higher education and the global challenges that flood our news has all but forced HBCUs to revisit their dual academic missions and seek ways to globalize their campuses.

Rethinking Internationalization at HBCUs Today, HBCUs are global institutions, and their global footprints are recognized as they allow African-American students to engage internationally (Bista, 2022; Willis, 2016). For instance, Spelman College in Atlanta launched the Spelman Going Global! initiatives in 2009, which has established 15 partnerships with overseas institutions and increased more than 450 international students. Recently, Morgan State University ranked number one among HBCUs in student Fulbright winners. HBCUs have been constantly expanding their programs and resources to all students,

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including international students and study abroad/exchange students as well as their local mission to serve African-American populations (Redden 2019; Winn, 2020). Today, students and faculty demographics at HBCUs are constantly shifting in the last decades. For instance, Bishop State Community college (HBCC) in Alabama enrolled 2860 students in 2018 out of which 36.75% were minority students, 59.56% were female, and 49.83% were full time (Bishop State, 2020). HBCUs serve as the foundation of Black education and drive the social and economic advancement of the Black community, social justice, and leadership development in the community (Cole, 2021; Matthews & Jones, 2021). International student recruitment and matriculation continue to be a priority for many HBCUs, and they have been developing diverse strategic approaches to “attract international students as well as students of other races and ethnicities, especially Latinos” (Oguntoyinbo, 2015). The number of international students at HBCUs has gradually increased in recent years. According to the U.S. Homeland Security (2014), there are 98 Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)-certified HBCUs with 8327 international students, and today more than 12,000 international students (F-1 visa holders) study at HBCUs. Table  1.1 presents a list of HBCUs, their status, student enrollment trends, and full-time faculty. Although HBCUs are small institutions in terms of enrollment, more than half of them have an active presence in international programs and initiatives for both students and faculty members. International students come from over 140 countries to pursue educational opportunities at HBCUs and have a unique profile compared to the national landscape of international students in the United States. International students at HBCUs had much higher proportions of international students from Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa, and a smaller percentage of students from Asia. In 2019/2020, the top ten places of origin for international students at HBCUs were Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Jamaica, Bahamas, India, Dominica, Kuwait, Nepal, Kenya, and Ghana, whereas a significant percentage of HBCUs’ students (98% were American American) pursued study abroad at least eight weeks or less at various destinations including Europe, Latin American, the Caribbean, Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa (see, chapter 13, Bear & Bista, 2022). Faculty at HBCUs teach diverse student populations in terms of student age, ethnicity, experience, family background, socio-economic status, and nationality. So is the case of faculty and staff. Through such events and

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K. BISTA AND A. L. PINDER

Table 1.1  List of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States Institution

Location

Status

Howard University

District of Columbia Florida

Private 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 2-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Private 4-Year Public 4-Year Private 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 2-Year

Florida A&M University Prairie View A&M University North Carolina A&T University Morgan State University

Texas North Carolina Maryland

Hinds Community College Tennessee State University Texas Southern University Southern University and A&M College North Carolina Central University Jackson State University

Mississippi

North Carolina Mississippi

Virginia State University

Virginia

Morehouse School of Medicine Fayetteville State University Tuskegee University

Georgia

Tennessee Texas Louisiana

North Carolina Alabama

Alabama A&M University Winston-Salem State University Norfolk State University

Alabama North Carolina Virginia

St. Philip’s College

Texas

Established Student enrollment

Full-­ time faculty

1867

10,859

929

1887

9600

600

1876

9248

513

1891

12,753

492

1867

7634

461

1917

11,181

426

1912

7615

395

1927

7015

395

1890

6917

379

1909

8078

369

1877

6921

327

1882

4020

306

1975

528

294

1867

6726

266

1881

2747

263

1875

5977

262

1892

5169

250

1935

5457

242

1898

12,696

238 (continued)

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Table 1.1 (continued) Institution

Location

Status

Xavier University of Louisiana Bowie State University

Louisiana

Private 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 2-Year Private 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Private 4-Year Public 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year

Maryland

Alabama State University Alabama University of the District of Columbia University of Maryland Eastern Shore Delaware State University Shelton State Community College Hampton University

District of Columbia Maryland

Virginia

Lincoln University

Missouri

Albany State University

Georgia

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Meharry Medical College South Carolina State University Spelman College

Arkansas

South Carolina Georgia

Clark Atlanta University

Georgia

Morehouse College

Georgia

Savannah State University Grambling State University Alcorn State University

Georgia

Delaware Alabama

Tennessee

Louisiana Mississippi

Established Student enrollment

Full-­ time faculty

1915

3384

236

1865

6250

227

1867

4072

226

1851

3725

223

1886

2646

220

1891

5054

214

1979

4201

214

1868

3516

214

1866

2012

212

1903

6509

203

1873

2668

201

1876

944

200

1890

2339

180

1881

2207

179

1988

3920

177

1867

2152

162

1890

3488

155

1901

5438

152

1871

3230

152 (continued)

14 

K. BISTA AND A. L. PINDER

Table 1.1 (continued) Institution

Location

Status

Bethune Cookman University Oakwood University

Florida Alabama

Miles College

Alabama

Miles School of Lawa

Alabama

Gadsden State Community College University of the Virgin Islands Coppin State University

Alabama

Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Public 2-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Private 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 4-Year Private 4-Year Private— cert. Public 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year

Kentucky State University Claflin University

US Virgin Islands Maryland Kentucky

Langston University

South Carolina Oklahoma

Central State University

Ohio

Mississippi Valley State University Lincoln University

Mississippi Pennsylvania

Fort Valley State Georgia University Charles Drew Universitya California Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminarya Elizabeth City State University Benedict College Johnson C. Smith University

Georgia North Carolina South Carolina North Carolina

Established Student enrollment

Full-­ time faculty

1904

2845

152

1896

1526

145

1898

1700

135

1898

1700

135

1925

3993

129

1962

1838

128

1900

2348

123

1886

2290

119

1869

2048

119

1897

2038

117

1887

4021

115

1946

2032

105

1854

2077

103

1895

3079

102

1966

872

95

1867

1306

91

1891

2002

88

1870

1731

88

1867

1307

85 (continued)

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Table 1.1 (continued) Institution

Location

Status

Southern University at Shreveport Lawson State Community College Southern University at New Orleans Coahoma Community College Virginia Union University Dillard University

Louisiana

Louisiana

Fisk University

Tennessee

Bluefield State College

West Virginia

Saint Augustine’s University Livingstone College

North Carolina North Carolina North Carolina Florida

Public 2-Year Public 2-Year Public 4-Year Public 2-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Public 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Public 2-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Public 4-Year Public 2-Year Private 4-Year

Shaw University Florida Memorial University Tougaloo College

Alabama Louisiana Mississippi Virginia

Mississippi

Bishop State Community Alabama College Lane College Tennessee Edward Waters College

Florida

West Virginia State College Trenholm State Community College Philander Smith College

West Virginia Alabama Arkansas

Established Student enrollment

Full-­ time faculty

1964

3013

79

1947

2823

79

1956

2264

78

1924

1612

76

1865

1516

70

1869

1215

67

1866

911

64

1895

1243

63

1867

1110

62

1879

845

62

1865

1283

61

1879

928

61

1869

775

60

1927

2176

59

1882

1095

57

1886

2273

55

1890

1193

53

2000

1526

51

1877

799

46 (continued)

16 

K. BISTA AND A. L. PINDER

Table 1.1 (continued) Institution

Location

Status

Selma University

Alabama

Huston-Tillotson University Rust College

Texas Mississippi

Stillman College

Alabama

Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Public 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Public 4-Year Private 4-Year Public 2-Year Private 4-Year Public 2-Year Private 4-Year

LeMoyne-Owen College Tennessee Talladega College

Alabama

Jarvis Christian College

Texas

Allen University

South Carolina Missouri

Harris-Stowe State University Knoxville College

Tennessee

Texas College

Texas

Voorhees College

South Carolina Georgia

Paine College Cheyney University of Pennsylvania Wiley College Denmark Technical College Bennett College J. F. Drake State Technical College Wilberforce University

Pennsylvania Texas South Carolina North Carolina Alabama Ohio

Established Student enrollment

Full-­ time faculty

1878

155

46

1952

1058

44

1866

623

44

1875

712

43

1862

654

42

1867

1156

41

1912

719

41

1870

705

41

1857

1400

40

1875

11

35

1894

764

33

1897

368

33

1869

189

32

1837

623

31

1873

615

27

1947

491

25

1873

232

25

1961

825

24

1856

453

24 (continued)

17

1  A NEW DAY BEGUN: RETHINKING INTERNATIONALIZATION… 

Table 1.1 (continued) Institution

Location

Status

Morris College Paul Quinn College

South Carolina Texas

Shorter College

Arkansas

Interdenominational Theological Center Simmons College of Kentucky Arkansas Baptist College

Georgia

Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 2-Year Private Graduate Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year Private 4-Year

Clinton College Southwestern Christian College Barber-Scotia Collegeb

Kentucky Arkansas South Carolina Texas North Carolina Virginia

Virginia University of Lynchburg Hood Theological North Seminary Carolina American Baptist College Tennessee Morris Brown Collegeb

Georgia

Carver Collegea

Georgia

Birmingham-Easonian Baptist Bible Collegea

Alabama

Established Student enrollment

Full-­ time faculty

1908

395

22

1872

468

13

1886

223

13

1958

285

12

1879

140

11

1884

468

10

1894

119

10

1865

84

9

1867

120

6

1886

244

5

1879

142

4

1924

55

4

1881

52

4

1943

37

2

1904

–

–

Source: National Center for Education Statistics/College Navigator, 2021 Not recognized by U.S. Department of Education as an HBCU Not currently accredited

a

b

programs at HBCUs, both faculty and students receive an opportunity to collaborate with each other, develop new skills beyond the classroom setting, and sharpen their twenty-first-century skills. To expand campus diversity and internationalization, study abroad opportunities also

18 

K. BISTA AND A. L. PINDER

expanded with the largest number of students studying abroad at HBCUs. For instance, Morgan State University is one of the champions of international initiatives including study abroad, exchange programs, Fulbright programs, and programs for international students. Morgan has made an agreement with the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education, as a result of which there were 355 Saudi international students at Morgan in 2015 along with several studies abroad programs for local students. Starting from the Fall of 2021, Morgan State University has also collaborated with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (an agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria) to host 70 Nigerian doctoral students and 15 postdocs as part of its global mission (Morgan State, 2021). The faculty is one of the strongest assets that Black institutions have in their efforts to internationalize their schools. Morgan State University, as Present David Wilson (2018) describes, has “a well-credentialed and racially and ethnically diverse faculty with significant international representation, and its faculty is perhaps the most diverse in the state and mirrors the demographics of the emerging student population” (online). These faculty should not just be considered for their academic expertise but be strategically tapped in to develop international programs or to help internationalize the curriculum. Wilson (2018) said, “We are growing the future, and globalization is critical in preparing our students to be competitive with anyone, anywhere” (online). Internationalization initiatives are rapidly increasing at contemporary HBCUs like their counterparts PWIs across the country. HBCUs bring unique history, legacy, and identity which has the power of drawing global connections, which has already started with the Black Lives Matter movement across the planet. Educators at HBCU have extended a long legacy of international engagement in political, business, and scientific innovation. There are hundreds of notable graduates and alumni of HBCUs which include prominent African leaders like Nnamdi Azikiwe, former president of Nigeria, who went to Lincoln University; and Hastings Kamuzu Banda, former president of Malawi, who went to Meharry Medical College (Oguntoyinbo, 2013); as well as recent graduates who worked in the world’s leading multinational companies. The main rationale driving internationalization at HBCUs, as in any institution, is intercultural transformation and socio-economic transformation, particularly keeping institutions “globally oriented and internationally connected” (American Council on Education, 2021). Institutions, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, are further encouraged to strengthen existing resources and develop new innovative international

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programs to reimagine the potential of internationalization in the postCOVID world. Stein (2018) reported a case of study abroad and international students to expand the need for internationalization to understand the ongoing legacies of indigenous colonization, and racialized regimes of personhood, citizenship, and immigration in the higher education landscape. Watkins and Smith (2018) suggested focusing on the delivery of appreciating programs and initiatives to all students of an internationally focused curriculum and the embedding of intercultural communication. This can be expanded to include extracurricular activities and build relationships with local cultural and ethnic community groups. Take and Shoraku (2018) recommended that university policies should support the internationalization of higher education through mandatory study abroad programs. They argued that study abroad programs provide students with opportunities to attain knowledge and skills. In the last two decades, internationalization has geared toward student needs and support structures as well as moving from the institutional to the transnational context of internationalization (Bedenlier et al., 2018; Kommers & Bista, 2021). When the university fosters a culture in its strategic plan, the internationalization programs are sustained. Utilizing effective leadership skills, presidents of HBCUs will increasingly seek ways to infuse international perspectives, experiences, and awareness into the campus ethos (Esters & Strayhorn, 2013) ensuring that HBCUs’ benefit from the best of what comprehensive, sustained, values-driven internationalization has to offer will take a great deal of creativity, substantial resources, and sheer hard work. For instance, the African Language Study Abroad Programs at Howard University offers seven critical African languages (Amharic, Arabic, Somali, Swahili, Wolof, Yoruba, and Zulu) and area studies coursework, where every semester over 200 students studied these languages and over 400 students enrolled in a wide range of African Studies courses (Language programs, 2021). Charles and Togunde (2020) mentioned that some HBCUs have already started the mission-driven focus on internationalization, foreign language requirement, and international initiatives which might bring an institutional transformation after the COVID-19 pandemic. Some HBCUs including Boise State University, Arkansas Baptist College, Clark Atlanta University, and Albany State University have also participated in the internationalization laboratory, a specialized program at American Council on Education to expand the resources and programs for campus internationalization goals (Laboratory, 2021). Bista (2022) mentioned that HBCUs:

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K. BISTA AND A. L. PINDER

are centers of attraction for international students and scholars because they can relate to their cultural identities or learn about minority cultures and traditions. Internationalization initiatives begin from the highlights of local attractions for the people and countries who never had such experiences before. Therein academic mobility of students and faculty brings a meaningful discourse on examining their assumptions and values, and re-assessing skills to work globally. Indigenous worldviews and frames of reference are equally important to explore global issues such as war, hunger, climate change. HBCUs are in such good positions to expand their programs to the entire world despite their limited resources at present. (p. 230)

Organization of Book and Major Themes This book is an attempt to explore the internationalization policy, programs, and initiatives at HBCUs in the United States. The bigger questions we wanted to explore included these: What does internationalization mean for HBCUs? How can internationalization be leveraged as a tool for social justice and diversity thus moving students who are often placed at the periphery of society to the center? Are HBCUs catching up or leading the way? How do we embed internationalization in the ethos of HBCUs’ institutional culture? To answer these questions, the book is organized into 3 parts and 13 chapters. The first part explores theoretical constructs to explore internationalization at HBCUs. The second part investigates programs and strategies related to internationalization at HBCUs and the third part shares experiences and reflections of faculty and institutional leaders related to internationalization initiatives and programs at HBCUs. In Part I “Internationalization at Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” Bista and Pinder (Chap. 1) document the history and status of international education and internationalization initiatives at HBCUs. In Chap. 2, Chama and LeBeau shed light on the history of HBCUs and highlight important hallmarks that make these institutions particularly significant to the African-American community. In Chap. 3, Charles and Togunde argue that comprehensive internationalization is the only strategy that allows HBCUs to respond to globalization and modern workforce development. They suggest a need of making internationalization a core priority in institutional strategic planning processes. In Part II “Internationalization Programs and Strategies at HBCUs,” Togunde and Charles (Chap. 4) present virtual strategic initiatives that HBCUs can adopt to advance internationalization and global learning in

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general. In the context of COVID-19, they share current virtual projects on college and university campuses to demonstrate that HBCUs can exploit the greater credibility and visibility that virtual learning has recently acquired to launch affordable global learning opportunities for their students that can help prepare them to be globally competent. In Chap. 5, Shelton, Wardlaw, Green, and Maddox describe the development of a study abroad program at Texas Southern University (TSU), which is an HBCU, and how it created opportunities for minority students to explore the history and culture of countries outside the United States. Pioneered in 1997, the study abroad program at TSU created momentum among both faculty and students that led to a rapid expansion of international study opportunities on campus and the institutionalization of support for study abroad programs. In Chap. 6, Carter investigates minority students’ perspectives on study abroad programs from HBCUs in study abroad programs to explain its importance to the entire campus community. She also lists recommendations on how to address challenges and issues including language barriers, cost, fear, and anxiety while participating in study abroad. In Chap. 7, Burks provides questions for HBCUs to consider around faculty readiness and provides a faculty readiness model to guide universities in their internationalization efforts. She recommends that faculty readiness needs to be at the top of the internationalization discussion. In Chap. 8, Warren presents a case study of an affordable and appealing semester abroad program to promote study abroad among Black students at an HBCU in Baltimore, Maryland. In Part III “Internationalization Experiences and Reflections,” Smithee (Chap. 9) investigates how higher education institutions and faculty members at HBCUs have advanced internationalization of the curriculum and publication of HBCU faculty experiences in internationalization, particularly as a unique strength. He argues that their publications show that international and global learning goals and outcomes can potentially serve their students in the global employment marketplace. In Chap. 10, Akomolafe presents problems and prospects of Africanizing HBCUs. In particular, he suggested how the development of a well-crafted comprehensive African Studies program, ubiquitously offered at HBCUs, can help mitigate the “social distance” that currently characterizes the relationship between Africans and African Americans. In Chap. 11, Harris-­ Weedman identifies multiple consciousnesses, identity intersections, and power structures in the context of study abroad programs particularly for

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K. BISTA AND A. L. PINDER

underrepresented students (including Latino and African-American students). In Chap. 12 Bear and Bista, drawing data from Open Doors®, offer insights into both inbound international students attending HBCUs and outbound students studying abroad for academic credit from HBCUs. They provide statistical insights on the profile of international exchange at HBCUs compared to national trends, such as international students’ academic levels, place of origin, the field of study, and primary funding source as well as U.S. study abroad students’ destination, duration of study abroad, and student characteristics. In the final Chap. 13, Clay presents the experiences of Black students from study abroad participation at HBCUs.

Summing Up The COVID-19 pandemic has given another critical lesson to the institutions of higher education when they moved their classes completely online, although connecting with students and faculty globally. Technology has connected these institutional leaders and their students with each other despite the pandemic. Becoming borderless and out of choices, institutions recognize a need to address the bigger challenges (e.g., inequalities, health, and safety crisis; global warming, food insecurity, war, and refugees; and now the pandemic) and how to work and engage with others in highly competitive environments. Given the resources and institutional priorities, HBCUs are global institutions to leverage their legacy, identity, and culture to promote and expand global programs for all students and faculty members. We hope that the resources found in this book will help educators, researchers, and policymakers to expand and focus on internationalization initiatives and programs at their institutions and beyond. Acknowledgment  We would like to thank two experts: Dr. Rosalind L. Raby and Rosemary Gillett-Karam for their valuable suggestions and constructive feedback to the earlier draft of this chapter. Some information listed in this chapter might be available or cross-listed in other recent and previously published chapters or publications of the authors.

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References American Council on Education. (2021). What is comprehensive internationalization? https://www.acenet.edu/Research-­Insights/Pages/Internationali zation/CIGE-­Model-­for-­Comprehensive-­Internationalization.aspx Bear, J., & Bista, K. (2022). International students and study abroad at historically Black colleges and universities: New trends and directions. In K.  Bista & A. L. Pinder (Eds.), Reimagining internationalization and international initiatives at historically Black colleges and universities (pp. 189–204). Palgrave Macmillan. Bedenlier, S., Kondakci, Y., & Zawacki-Richter, O. (2018). Two decades of research into the internationalization of higher education: Major themes in the Journal of Studies in International Education (1997–2016). Journal of Studies in International Education, 22(2), 108–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 1028315317710093 Biney, A. B. (2007). Kwame Nkrumah: An intellectual biography. https://eprints. soas.ac.uk/28819/1/10672987.pdf Bishop State a glance. (2020). https://www.bishop.edu/about-­us/bscc-­at-­a­glance Bista, K. (2022). Global begins from local: International students and international programs at historically Black community colleges and tribal community colleges. In G.  F. Malveaux & K.  Bista (Eds.), International students at US community colleges: Opportunities, challenges, and success (pp.  215–227). Routledge. Charles, H., & Togunde, D. (2020). Historically Black colleges and universities: A 2020 perspective. International Educator. https://www.nafsa.org/ie-­ magazine/2020/12/8/historically-­b lack-­c olleges-­a nd-­u niversities-­ 2020-­perspective Cole, D. (2021). Understanding Muslim college students’ sense of belonging and mattering at HBCUs. Journal of College and Character, 22(2), 163–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/2194587X.2021.1898986 Cook, S. D. (1978). The socio-ethical role and responsibility of the black-college graduate. In C. V. Willie & R. R. Edmonds (Eds.), Black colleges in America (pp. 51–67). Teachers College Press. Esters, L., & Strayhorn, T. (2013). Demystifying the contributions of public land-­ grant historically Black colleges and universities: Voices of HBCU presidents. Negro Educational Review, 64(1), 119–134. Gasman, G. (2007). Envisioning Black colleges: A history of the United Negro College Fund. Johns Hopkins University Press. Gasman, G., & Commodore, F. (2014). Opportunities and challenges at historically Black colleges and universities. Palgrave Macmillan.

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Jones, S.  J., & Weathersby, G.  B. (1978). Financing the Black college. In C.  V. Willie & R.  R. Edmonds (Eds.), Black colleges in America: Challenge, development, survival (pp. 100–131). Teachers College Press. Kommers, S., & Bista, K. (2021). Inequalities in study abroad and student mobility: Navigating challenges and future directions. Routledge. Laboratory. (2021). ACE Internationalization laboratory. https://www.acenet. edu/Programs-­Services/Pages/professional-­learning/ACE-­Internationali zation-­Laboratory.aspx Language programs. (2021). Howard University. https://cfas.howard.edu/academics/language-­programs Macready, C., & Tucker, C. (2011). Who goes where and why? An overview and analysis of global educational mobility. The Institute of International Education. Matthews, D. Y., & Jones, T. B. (2021). HBCUs: The foundation and future of social justice, leadership, and leadership development. In G.  B. Crosby, K. A. White, M. A. Chanay, & A. A. Hilton (Eds.), Reimagining historically Black colleges and universities (pp.  41–51). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-­1-­80043-­664-­020211005 Morgan State doctoral program. (2021, July 21). Morgan State doctoral program gets boosts from Nigerian partnership. https://www.morgan.edu/news/ morgan-­state-­doctoral-­program-­gets-­boost-­from-­nigerian-­partnership National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2017). Historically Black colleges and universities. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=667 Oguntoyinbo, L. (2013). HBCUs produce leaders not only domestically, but also abroad. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. https://www.diverseeducation. c o m / d e m o g r a p h i c s / a f r i c a n -­a m e r i c a n / a r t i c l e / 1 5 0 9 2 8 0 8 / hbcus-­produce-­leaders-­not-­only-­domestically-­but-­also-­abroad Oguntoyinbo, L. (2015). The influx of Latino students at historically Black colleges. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/ 09/hbcus-­more-­latino-­students/407953/ Pinder, A. L. (2012). Internationalizing the Black college: An investigation of the stage of readiness of private Black colleges as it relates to select benchmarks for comprehensive internationalization (Doctoral dissertation). Clark Atlanta University. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.68 0.655&rep=rep1&type=pdf Pinkard, E. A. (2000). The third century: Historically black colleges and universities and the challenge of maturity. Dillard Today (pp. 10–13). Dillard University. Redden, E. (2019, September 11). HBCU students abroad. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/09/11/hbcus-­seek-­grow-­ study-­abroad-­participation Sherwood, M. (1996). Kwame Nkrumah: The years abroad 1935–1947. Freedom Publications. Stein, S. (2018). National exceptionalism in the ‘EduCanada’ brand: Unpacking the ethics of internationalization marketing in Canada. Discourse: Studies in the

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Cultural Politics of Education, 39(3), 461–477. https://doi.org/10.108 0/01596306.2016.1276884 Take, H., & Shoraku, A. (2018). Universities’ expectations for study-abroad programs fostering internationalization: Educational policies. Journal of Studies in International Education, 22(1), 37–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/10283 15317724557 U.S. Homeland Security. (2014). International student overview for historically Black colleges and universities. https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/sites/ default/files/HBCU%20International%20Student%20Webinar.pdf Watkins, H., & Smith, R. (2018). Thinking globally, working locally: Employability and internationalization at home. Journal of Studies in International Education, 22(3), 210–224. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315317751686 Willis, K. (2016, April 7). HBCUs see growing enrollment. Thanks to international appeal. Atlanta Black Star. https://atlantablackstar.com/2016/04/07/ hbcus-­see-­growing-­enrollment-­thanks-­to-­international-­appeal/ Wilson, D. (2018, January 10). Despite obstacles, Morgan State University soars. The Baltimore Sun. https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-­ed/bs-­ed-­ op-­0115-­morgan-­legacy-­20180111-­story.html Winn, J. (2020, August 6). From research to practice—Building study abroad support at MSIs [Conference Presentation]. Diversity Abroad Annual Conference, Virtual Conference. https://opendoorsdata.org/wp-­content/uploads/2021/ 06/2020-­Diversity-­Abroad-­Presentation-­MSIs-­Print.pdf Zeleza, P. T., & Olukoshi, A. (Eds.). (2004). African universities in the 21st century. Liberalization and internationalization. University of South Africa Press. Krishna Bista  is Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership and Policy at Morgan State University, Maryland. Bista is the founding editor of the Journal of International Students, a quarterly publication in international education. His latest books are Inequalities in Study Abroad and Student Mobility (2021), Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education during COVID-19 (2021), International Students at US Community Colleges (2022). Anthony L.  Pinder is Vice Provost of Internationalization and Equity— Academic Affairs at Emerson College in Boston, MA (USA). He is responsible for managing and building on all of the College’s global operations. Notably, he manages the academic, fiscal, and programmatic operations of the Emerson European Center at Kasteel Well, the Netherlands.

CHAPTER 2

Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Internationalization Efforts Samson Chama and Ling Gao LeBeau

HBCUs’ Historical Background Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-­American community (Jones & Collier, 2020). The Higher Education Act of 1965 designated HBCUs as “accredited institutions of higher education founded before 1964 whose primary mission was, and continues to be, the education of Black Americans” (Ricard & Brown, 2008, p. 1). The nation’s HBCUs play a key role within American higher education. It is worth noting that there are several types of institutions

S. Chama (*) Alabama A & M University, Harvest, AL, USA e-mail: [email protected] L. G. LeBeau Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 K. Bista, A. L. Pinder (eds.), Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96490-0_2

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such as research universities, liberal arts colleges, and community colleges under this designation. What they all share is their unique and historic mission of access to higher education and racial uplift for African Americans. Though this group constitutes less than 5 percent of the nation’s higher education institutions, they produce approximately 25 percent of African-­ American college graduates. HBCUs provide more access to higher education for the first-generation Black students than any other group of institutions. They are also successful at creating nurturing environments that lead to degree attainment and have been instrumental in building the African-American middle class (Legon & Schexnider, 2018). Most HBCUs were founded in the years after the American Civil War and are concentrated in the southern United States. They were established with the assistance of religious missionary organizations based in the northern United States. Further, as early as 1837, these Black institutions demonstrated a remarkable capacity for resilience and survival, serving as hubs of learning and cultural and intellectual domains for African Americans (Anya, 2020). During the decade following the Emancipation Proclamation it became increasingly clear that a system of formal education was needed to meet the increasing and relevant needs and conditions of the newly freed Black citizens (White et al., 2019). It can be stated that education, then, was driven by more liberal and dominant segments of missionary philanthropists which were intended to prepare a college-bred Black leadership that would uplift the Black masses from the legacy of slavery and the restraints of the postbellum caste system (Logan & Temin, 2020). Consequently, in the ensuing years it became obvious that HBCUs were best placed to serve the central and critical role of uplifting Black people (LeBeau, 2017). HBCUs that were established prior to the American Civil War included Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, which was established in 1837, and Lincoln in 1854 (Logan & Temin, 2020). Wilberforce University was also established prior to the American Civil War and was founded in 1856 through a collaboration between the African Methodist Episcopal Church of Ohio and the Methodist Episcopal Church. The latter was a predominantly White denomination. Wilberforce was the third college to be established in the state of Ohio (Logan & Temin, 2020). Exactly three months after the end of the Civil War, Atlanta University, and now Clark Atlanta University, was founded on September 19, 1865, as the first HBCU in the southern United States. Atlanta University was the nation’s first graduate institution to award degrees to African Americans in the nation and the

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first to award bachelor’s degrees to African Americans in the south. Shaw University, founded December 1, 1865, was the second HBCU to be established in the south. The year 1865 also saw the foundation of Storer College, established in 1865 to 1955  in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. Storer’s former campus and buildings have since been incorporated into Harper’s Ferry National Park (Logan & Temin, 2020). There are currently 103 institutions with the HBCU designation, and they are located primarily in the southeast, southwest, and northeast areas of the United States (Evans, 2020). It is important to point out that during the period of segregation in the United States prior to the Civil Rights Act, the overwhelming majority of higher education institutions were predominantly White and completely disqualified or limited African-American enrollment. For a century after the end of slavery in the United States in 1865, most colleges and universities in the southern United States prohibited all African Americans from attending, while institutions in other parts of the country regularly employed quotas to limit admissions of African Americans. Thus when the first African-American colleges were founded over 150  years ago, they served as an important conduit of education for African Americans (Clayton, 2019). African Americans were limited in their access to higher education institutions. This is because most African Americans of college age resided in the south, where segregation barriers were widespread. Two events dramatically changed the number of African Americans and their geographic distribution throughout American higher education institutions (Williams et al., 2019). The first was the G.I. Bill, also known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, which made it possible for World War II (WWII) African-American veterans to increase their investment in college education. The second was the Civil Rights Act of 1964 mentioned previously, which increased opportunities of African Americans to select mainstream colleges including predominantly White schools. Over the years HBCUs have exhibited an extraordinary tenacity in their pursuit of education for African Americans. They have produced an impressive cadre of African-American leaders in the face of considerable barriers such as discriminatory public funding, hostility of the White power structure, including minimal response from the White philanthropic community (Alford, 2020).

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HBCU Significance In spite of their relative lack of resources, HBCUs are significant as they continue to provide a supportive social environment and an inclusive learning model conducive to academic development (Anya, 2020; Hah-­ neef, 2020). HBCUs continue to be powerhouses of access and opportunity, educating generations of Black students and establishing themselves as indispensable drivers of uplift to a community that has long been marginalized in the United States (Arroyo & Gasman, 2014). African-­ American students, more than any other group, face incalculable barriers to higher education participation and attainment (Brown & Davis, 2001). Therefore, no other group of institutions is more responsible for providing first-generation African-American students access to higher education (Legon & Schexnider, 2018). Allen and Jewell have posited that HBCUs have operated as multifaceted institutions that provide not only education, but also social, political, and religious leadership for the African-­American community. HBCUs provide low student faculty ratios and higher rates of student and faculty interaction (Kim & Conrad, 2006). The literature highlights that Black students at HBCUs report higher academic achievement and levels of social involvement, while possessing higher educational aspirations due to more positive social and psychological environments. A study by Kim examined the learning experiences of Black students at HBCUs in comparison to those attending predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Using longitudinal data the investigator found that African-American students attending HBCUs were more involved within the academic community and had more informal contact with faculty (Kim & Conrad, 2006). The majority of students served by HBCUs are less prepared and are from less wealthy parents and with fewer institutional resources at their disposal in comparison to PWIs. Yet HBCUs provide a positive or neutral impact on the intellectual and academic development of Black students. They also assume responsibility for providing remedial instruction for academically underprepared African-­American students. In recent years this has been evidenced in high levels of African-­ American student achievement, as measured by their student persistence, graduation rates, and student satisfaction (Yeboah, 2019). The literature does corroborate that African-American students at HBCUs demonstrate higher academic achievement, greater college satisfaction, and have more satisfying relationships with faculty than students elsewhere (Anya, 2020;

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Palmer & Young, 2009). Elsewhere, McCorristin has noted that student satisfaction at HBCUs is one element that has contributed to an overall higher achievement. HBCUs also provide a supportive environment, and they offer remediation for students who need it. Gasman and Commodore have argued that HBCUs use an Afrocentric approach on teaching and learning, and they apply a blended approach to learning. This allows them to preserve African-American historical and cultural tradition and to develop key leadership and role models for the Black community. Thus HBCUs are generally responsible for producing over half of all AfricanAmerican middle-class and white-collar professionals (Nichols, 2004). Further, the percentages of bachelor’s and master’s degrees awarded to Black students by HBCUs have recorded impressive figures over time. For example, HBCUs awarded 35 percent of the bachelor’s degrees and 21 percent of the master’s degrees earned by African Americans in 2014 through 2017, compared with the 14 percent and 6 percent respectively of bachelor’s and master’s degrees earned by African Americans in 2014 through 2015. Additionally, the percentage of African-American doctoral degree recipients who received their degrees from HBCUs has been on the rise (Williams et al., 2019). These institutions have continued to be the primary undergraduate home of not only many African-American PhD recipients, but army officers, federal judges, and medical doctors. Despite their resource limitations HBCUs have continued to attract students. For example, a California Post-secondary Education Commission recognized that there had been a significant student out-of-state migration to HBCUs (Freeman & Gasman, 2014). The commission reported that 20 percent of first-year students at HBCUs traveled at least 500 miles from home to attend college compared to 12.4 percent of college freshmen generally (Freeman & Gasman, 2014). Other studies confirm that African-American students are more likely to travel to attend college than other ethnic groups. Teichler looked at the migration of African Americans specifically to HBCUs, and citing statistics from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program, he found that 52 percent of African Americans in such states as California matriculated at HBCUs. In summary, this shows the significance of HBCUs and their capacity to attract, train, and graduate a growing number of African Americans. Even in the area of diversity HBCUs have demonstrated an impressive record. Although they were originally founded on the premise of educating African Americans, their diversity has increased over time. For example, in 2015, students who were either Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian or

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Pacific Islander, or Native American made up 22 percent of total enrollment at HBCUs, compared with 15 percent in 2006 (Marinoni, 2019). In another area of diversity, an array of opportunities have been made possible to HBCUs through recruitment efforts by various corporations. In 2007, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund published a study of minority recruiting practices by Fortune 400 companies and by government agencies. This study reported that 13 percent of minority college graduates recruited by Fortune 400 companies were recruited from HBCUs. This was a good showing given that HBCUs only make up a 5 percent of America’s education landscape. In a related report the National Center for Education Statistics report of 2010 released a study showing that HBCUs had a $10.2  billion positive impact on the nation’s economy (Varghese, 2009). Morrill Act The Morrill Act was an important piece of legislation that impacted and shaped HBCUs. Sponsored by Vermont Congressman Justin Morrill of Vermont, the Morrill Act was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on July 2, 1862. This piece of legislation made it possible for new Western states to establish colleges for their citizens. The federal government passed the first Morrill Act in 1859 to advance agricultural sciences in the United States, and it then extended it to Confederate states in 1862. Further, the Morrill Act implemented a non-sectarian foundation and approach which helped to separate religious doctrine from higher education (Freeman & Gasman, 2014). In addition, the Act required states with racially segregated public higher education systems to provide a land-grant institution for African-­ American students whenever a land-grant institution was established and restricted for Caucasian students (Minor, 2004). Under the Act each state was to receive 30,000 acres of land for each representative, both senators and members of the House. That would be sold, and the proceeds go to funding higher education in those states. As such each state was to receive a minimum of 90,000 acres of land to be sold (Clayton, 2019). The proceeds from the sales were to go to establishing institutions of higher education in the agricultural and mechanical arts. The bill also included the promotion of military and traditional learning institutions (Evans, 2020). A second Morrill Act was established in 1890, and this addressed discriminatory admission practices in the formerly Confederate states,

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granting land-grant HBCUs the same legal status as the 1862 institutions (Keels, 2004). Altogether, 69 land-grant schools were founded, offering programs in agriculture, engineering, veterinary medicine, and other technical subjects. Cornell University in New  York, Purdue University in Indiana, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ohio State University, the University of Illinois in Urbana, and the University of Wisconsin in Madison are among the best-known land-grant schools (De Wit & Merkx, 2012). The University of California system is the largest of the land-grant universities and has an enrollment of 150,000 students (Sorber, 2019). With the second Morrill Act of 1890, Congress began to make regular appropriations for the support of HBCUs, and these appropriations were increased through subsequent legislation. Since the Morrill Act withheld funds from states that refused to admit non-White students unless those states provided separate but equal facilities, it encouraged the foundation of 17 HBCUs (Palmer & Young, 2009). Florida A & M University, Tennessee State University in Nashville, Alcorn State University in Mississippi, and North Carolina A&T in Greensboro are among the best-­ known African-American land-grant institutions. Separate funding was officially ended by the 1954 Supreme Court decision, which declared separate but equal schools to be unconstitutional (Hudzik, 2015). In 1994 the Morrill Land Grants were expanded once more when the National Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching Act Reauthorization was passed. More than 150  years later, the Morrill Act has proven to be a transformative piece of legislation, which, as noted above, founded many HBCUs. Although HBCUs have historically fared very well in training and graduating African Americans in an array of disciplines, they have not done well in internationalization. What Is Internationalization? Internationalization has been a component of American higher education system for centuries (Wilcox et al., 2014). For example, one of the first international exchanges involved 20–30 students from Indiana University, who in 1879 took part in what would become annual “Summer Tramps” through Europe (Marinoni, 2019). Noted as the first faculty-initiated international program and involving traveling over 250  miles by foot through Europe, the program recognized the importance for faculty and students to know and teach about other societies, to learn languages, to acquire new knowledge through direct experiences, and to be sensitive to

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other cultures (Stuart, 2007). Yet these opportunities were mainly available to White American privileged or wealthy college students and not African-American students in HBCUs. By the 1920s, alongside a growing number of faculty-led study abroad tours, Junior Year Abroad (JYA) programs and the Institute of International Education (IIE) were established (Bolen, 2001). The latter became a central coordinating hub to establish political, economic, and cultural collaboration between students, scholars, and institutions worldwide. The IIE was one of the first institutes to advocate for international exchange, pioneering some of the earliest scholar and student exchanges between the United States and countries around the world (Bhandari & Belyavina, 2011). As more and more universities began incorporating international programs at their institutions, diversity challenges among participants and limited opportunities for travel just to Europe remained (Bhandari & Belyavina, 2011). After a brief suspension in international study during World War II, international programs later resumed with a revised focus to promote peaceful coexistence between nations by establishing the first programs in Russia, Asia, and South America. Further, financial support increased as well, with the Higher Education Assistance Act of 1965 allowing students to use financial aid for international programs and the Gilman International Scholarship providing assistance to Pell grant recipients (Brown, 2002). Many research studies confirm that international programs provide a rewarding and long-lasting experience that impacts personal growth, cultural development, intellectual capacity, and educational and career attainment (Brown, 2002; Brown & Davis, 2001). A survey of college alumni conducted by the International Education of Students concluded that international program benefits can even be sustained over a period as long as 50 years. The advantages are also more immediate, and this is reflected in a quantitative study of 19,100 students who participated in international programs. Results reflected that fouryear graduation rates for African-American students who studied abroad were 31 percent higher than those who did not study abroad and 18 percent higher for other non-White students (Brown & Davis, 2001). In 1990 the National Task Force on Undergraduate Education Abroad, the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), and IIE published A National Mandate for Education Abroad: Getting on with the Task. This position paper recommended that “by the year 2000, 10

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percent of American college and university students should have a significant educational experience abroad during their undergraduate year” (Dessoff, 2010, p. 14). The aggregate number of students studying abroad has increased dramatically since then, with a 232 percent increase from 1985–86 through 2001–02. In 2000 President Bill Clinton issued an Executive Memorandum in support of international education and directed the Departments of State and Education to recognize and celebrate International Education Week. This action resulted in an additional 250 percent increase in U.S. students participating in study abroad programs between 2005 and 2015 (Dessoff, 2010). However, over the years the picture painted above of the increasing appeal of internationalization is not uniformly felt by all college students. African-American students in particular have lagged behind (Dessoff, 2010). The picture gets more complicated when one looks closer at HBCUs, with only slightly more than half of them even offering study abroad programs.

Internationalization and HBCUs Globalization has significantly influenced higher education and the role of colleges and universities. Now more than ever before, institutions are expected to provide their students with the learning experiences and skills to thrive within a global context. Morris writes that, “Universities are being asked to help meet major international challenges, to educate students in their disciplines with a sense of global competence and engagement, and to contribute to local and national economic competitiveness. Many have adopted mission and vision statements that link their degrees to successful preparation for a complex, globally interconnected world” (p. 3). Internationalization is an imperative for contemporary colleges and universities to be successful and meet their full potential. As an industry, higher education must internationalize to meet the demands of an interconnected society and respond to a myriad of environmental pressures. Knight (2004) highlights the increasing importance and complexity of higher education’s international dimension due to key drivers of change such as “the development of advanced communication and technological services, increased international labor mobility, more emphasis on the market economy and the trade liberalization, focus on the knowledge society, increased levels of private investment and decreased public support for education, and lifelong learning” (p.  7). Internationalization is

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not an easy or short-term task. Fernandez (2011) advocates for a data-­ driven approach and cautions that establishing priorities and goals is critical. Identifying areas of weaknesses and developing solutions is a time-consuming task, but time and money invested into gathering and interpreting data almost always moves the needle in the right direction. Hudzik (2011) described internationalization as a means rather than the end, and the correct approach to internationalization depends on a particular institution’s end goal. Hudzik goes on to emphasize that institutions will have different starting points and focuses for internationalization such as student mobility involving study abroad and international students, integrating global content into the curriculum, or developing global partnerships. Knight (2004) identifies six elements of internationalization (curriculum development, international exchanges, external partnerships, recruitment of international students, study abroad and faculty exchanges, and community involvement). Potts advised institutions to view the internationalization cycle (awareness, commitment, planning, operationalization, review, and reinforcement) as a series of flexible and interconnected steps (2015). Although generally HBCUs have had a long legacy of international engagement, overall they do face significant challenges in regard to internationalization. Their international engagement has resulted in educated generations of political, business, and scientific leaders, from Africa as well as from other countries such as India (Potts, 2015). Some of the notable graduates and alumni of HBCUs include prominent African leaders like Nnamdi Azikiwe, former president of Nigeria, who went to Lincoln University; Kwame Nkrumah, former prime minister of Ghana, who went to Lincoln University; and Hastings Kamuzu Banda, former president of Malawi, who went to Meharry Medical College. A few HBCUs such as Morgan State’s Center for Global Studies & Exchange and Spelman College’s Gordon-Zeto Center for Global Education serve as institutional efforts to promote, enhance, and lead global strategic initiatives. However, the “dearth” of African-American students in international study abroad programs has been noted both by academics (Tensley, 2015) and by the national media (Tensley, 2015). Except for marginal improvements at a few universities, HBCUs’ participation in international opportunities has remained painfully low (Murty, 2020). Unfortunately, this creates a failure that deprives HBCUs of opportunities to expose African-American students to international field opportunities (Dessoff, 2010). Many HBCUs, except for a limited few mentioned

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above, do not have solid international programs. For those who do their international programs are sidelined, underfunded, understaffed, and saddled with financial limitations that constrain international travel (Anya, 2020; Alvira-Watson, 2019). One exploratory study by the Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions (Gasman, 2013) pointed out three main barriers to internationalization at HBCUs, these being financial burdens, fear of anticipated racism, and racist encounters. In addition, a qualitative study conducted by Chama et  al. (2018), at a small HBCU in the south, pointed out lack of funding, administrative support, supportive faculty, and family support as barriers to HBCU internationalization efforts. Similarly, Roach pointed out some internationalization efforts fail because they are developed with little institutional support, and eventually they become isolated, making it difficult to manage and foster international partnerships and exchange programs. Similarly, Fischer (2019) reported that constituents in HBCUs view internationalization as a threat to the core mission of HBCUs, which seems to emphasize local training. It has been noted that HBCUs struggle to create programs that are both appealing and affordable to African-­ American students. HBCUs also suffer from a challenge of generating and promoting interest among students about study abroad opportunities, since Black students are less informed about study abroad, are less likely to understand the benefits, and are less likely to have role models who support study abroad (Brown, 2002; Freeman & Gasman, 2014). Further, Tensley (2015) has highlighted the current lack of Black representation in study abroad, which limits the number of African Americans moving into international careers. Despite the barriers to internationalization discussed previously, research shows that African-American students are keen to engage in international opportunities (Gearhart, 2005; Wekullo, 2019).

Way Forward for HBCU Internationalization HBCUs represent an important sector of institutions providing educational opportunities and access for students. As globalization forces colleges to equip their graduates with the skills to successfully navigate an increasingly interconnected world, HBCUs must respond to remain relevant. Utilizing effective leadership skills, presidents of HBCUs will increasingly seek ways to infuse international perspectives, experiences, and awareness into the campus ethos (Esters & Strayhorn, 2013).

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HBCUs should have a vested interest in effectively meeting the complex array of challenges and opportunities presented by the globalized context of the twenty-first century. In this regard they do craft coherent approaches to internationalization and make it as an enterprise that takes priority (Mullen, 2014). They should deliberately understand the unique challenges and opportunities of our time. HBCUs as an education community must now collectively and energetically embrace the fundamental question of how best to respond to the call to internationalize in ways that are coherent and mutually reinforcing across the large and diverse landscape of higher education institutions and stakeholders around the world (Kim & Conrad, 2006). They need to create time and energy, as well as galvanize resources that can be devoted to the development of higher education internationalization policies and programs. HBCUs’ institutional leaders would be wise to pay careful and ongoing attention to the efforts being undertaken by colleagues across the globe. They should constantly be seeking innovative and sustainable ways to improve higher education as an academic enterprise and as a key driver of economic development and social well-being through internationalization initiatives. We operate in an era of intense competition for all manner of resources, and all signs point to an ongoing global dynamic in which competition is a given (Legon & Schexnider, 2018). However, international collaboration is also a hallmark of our time, with the potential to deliver enormous dividends, and HBCUs should capitalize on this by using already existing networks. Inherent in the global interconnectivity is the reality of our era and the abundant promise and opportunity, not just for colleges and universities in the United States but indeed for institutions of higher learning around the world (Childress, 2009). Now is the time for HBCUs, and the constituents they serve, to do all they can to seize those opportunities. Now is the time for them to collaborate and cooperate toward common goals that capitalize fully on the rich possibilities of global engagement and that, ultimately, will help build a better world for all. To capitalize meaningfully on the promise of internationalization there is a clear need for HBCUs to ensure that policies, programs, and strategies for internationalization are themselves effectively “internationalized.” Further, approaches to internationalization should be firmly rooted in the needs of each HBCUs with a goal to address specific institutional goals and objectives. It is also vital that conversations on internationalization be promoted across the HBCU landscape; these should not occur in a

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vacuum. Insularity in this area would be particularly self-defeating and counterproductive (Winn et  al., 2018). Awareness about the ways that internationalization is being discussed and operationalized around the country should be complemented by a genuine openness to weaving good practices from other institutions (Winn et al., 2018). In addition, it may be time for HBCUs broadly to embrace a more expansive notion of internationalization as a phenomenon that transcends the institutional and the national (Ricard & Brown, 2008). Further, it might be time for HBCUs to re-conceive comprehensive internationalization as requiring a more internationalized form of internationalization, one that positions global engagement, collaboration, goals, and responsibilities (Ricard & Brown, 2008). Within this context the internationalization of HBCUs must also be increasingly situated in a global context. This applies not only to the ways in which they might consider developing and implementing their approaches, but also in terms of the focus areas that might command their attention. Ultimately, HBCU institutional policies and practices need to position themselves in a set of core values that resonate with the higher education institutions and stakeholders who will carry them out. In this vein, it is important to realize that a commitment to such values as quality, equity, and accountability ought to be increasingly on the agenda for many HBCUs. Similarly, the Nelson Mandela Bay Declaration (2014) on the Future of Internationalization of Higher Education articulates a similar vision for those actively engaged in internationalization activities around the world to commit themselves to promote international higher education and research that recognizes the richness and diversity offered by all regions for a global higher education agenda which is equitable, ethical, socially responsible, accessible, and accountable. HBCUs should build purposefully on core values when engaging internationally and should consider internationalization as something distinctly different from a zero-sum game (Arroyo & Gasman, 2014). This can be in the best spirit of international diplomacy and internationalization of higher education. If done well, it can be a rising tide that could lift all HBCUs (Anya, 2020). Ultimately, ensuring that HBCUs benefit from the best of what comprehensive, sustained, values-driven internationalization has to offer will take a great deal of creativity, substantial resources, and sheer hard work. It will require what some have termed intelligent internationalization. This requires that the full range of stakeholder researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and academics at HBCUs work closely together, on an

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ongoing basis, to make sense of the imperatives and opportunities, possibilities, and pitfalls inherent in this complex but crucially important agenda for the twenty-first century. As noted previously, there is also a fundamental need to shift the focus of internationalization toward the non-mobile majority of students in HBCUs. The notion of “global competence for all” has the potential to anchor a vital new generation of internationalization policies and programs rooted in the reality of the higher education experience (Alford, 2020). To ascertain that the future for internationalization of HBCUs holds considerable promise and opportunity is a correct preposition. However, in order for this to be realized, a sustained commitment by HBCUs to expand and enhance meaningful, workable policies and programs that support internationalization should be a top priority (Buckner & Stein, 2020).

References Alford, J. E., Jr. (2020). Black students matter. In Campus uprisings: How student activists and collegiate leaders resist racism and create hope (p. 14). Alvira-Watson, L. (2019). International readiness at historically Black colleges and universities: A qualitative multiple case study of faculty and administrators’ perspectives. Doctoral dissertation, North Central University. Anya, U. (2020). African Americans in world language study: The forged path and future directions. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 40, 97–112. Arroyo, A. T., & Gasman, M. (2014). An HBCU-based educational approach for Black college student success: Toward a framework with implications for all institutions. American Journal of Education, 121(1), 57–85. Bhandari, R., & Belyavina, R. (2011). Evaluating and measuring the impact of citizen diplomacy: Current status and future directions. Institute of International Education. Bolen, M. (2001). Consumerism and U.S. study abroad. Journal of Studies in International Education, 5(3), 182–200. Brown, L. M. (2002). Going global. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 19(6), 28. Brown, M. C., & Davis, J. E. (2001). The historically Black college as social contract, social capital, and social equalizer. Peabody Journal of Education, 76(1), 31–49. Buckner, E., & Stein, S. (2020). What counts as internationalization? Deconstructing the internationalization imperative. Journal of Studies in International Education, 24(2), 151–166. Chama, S., Ramirez, O., & Mutepa, R. (2018). Perceived barriers to interning abroad: Perceptions from African American social work students. Journal of

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Student Affairs Research and Practice, 55(3), 321–333. https://doi.org/1 0.1080/19496591.2018.1474751 Childress, L.  K. (2009). Internationalization plans for higher education institutions. Journal of Studies in International Education, 13, 289–309. https://doi. org/10.1177/1028315308329804 Clayton, K. (2019). Black-White biracial students’ evaluations of blackness: The role of college in shaping racial regard. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 5(1), 70–84. De Wit, H., & Merkx, G. (2012). The history of internationalization of higher education. In D. K. Deardorff, H. de Wit, J. D. Heyl, & T. Adams (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of international higher education (pp. 43–59). Sage. Dessoff, A. (2010). The rise of senior international officers. International Educator, 19(1), 45–49. Esters, L. T., & Strayhorn, T. (2013). Demystifying the contributions of public land-grant historically Black colleges and universities: Voices of HBCU presidents. Negro Educational Review, 64, 119–134. Evans, A. C. (2020). The Black butterfly initiative: Addressing the underrepresentation of African American students in study abroad programs (SAP). Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/ handle/2142/106065 Fernandez, K. (2011). Making the numbers work. NAFSA International Educator, 10274–15087. Fischer, K. (2019, May). How international education’s golden age lost is sheen. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved December 5, 2020, from https:// www.chronicle.com/interactives/2019-­03-­28-­golden-­age Freeman, S., Jr., & Gasman, M. (2014). The characteristics of historically Black college and university presidents and their role in grooming the next generation of leaders. Teachers College Record, 116(7), 1–34. Gearhart, R. (2005). Taking American race relations on the road … to Africa. African Studies Quarterly, 8(2), 70. Hah-neef, M. M. (2020). Deciding while Black: Perceptions of racial climate and the factors that Influence African American students’ college choice. Doctoral dissertation, New York University. Hudzik, J. K. (2011). Comprehensive internationalization. From concept to action. Association of International Educators. Hudzik, J. K. (2015). Comprehensive internationalization: Institutional pathways to success. Routledge. Jones, A.  L., & Collier, R.  M. (2020). Implementing and evaluating culturally responsive teaching for historical Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) through study abroad programs: Effective culturally responsive teaching strategies suitable for HBCUs. In Culturally responsive teaching and learning in higher education (pp. 53–82). IGI Global.

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Keels, C. (2004). Investing in HBCU leadership. Black Issues in Higher Education, 21(15), 30–31. Kim, M. M., & Conrad, C. F. (2006). The impact of historically Black colleges and universities on the academic success of African-American students. Research in Higher Education, 47(4), 399–427. Knight, J. (2004). Internationalization remodeled: Definition, approaches, and rationales. Journal of Studies in International Education, 8(1), 5–31. https:// doi.org/10.1177/1028315303260832 LeBeau, L. G. (2017). Exploring the comprehensive internationalization process of a U.S. higher education institution: A case study of an urban research university in the Midwest. Doctoral Dissertation. Retrieved November 18, 2020, from ProQuest LLC. Legon, R., & Schexnider, A. (2018, July 18). Black colleges, teetering on the brink, must chart a new path. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Logan, T., & Temin, P. (2020). Inclusive American economic history: Containing slaves, freedmen, Jim Crow laws, and the great migration. Institute for New Economic Thinking Working Paper Series, 110. Marinoni, G. (2019). Internationalization of higher education: An evolving landscape, locally and globally  – IAU 5th global survey report. International Association of Universities. Marmolejo, F. (2020, June). We need to reimagine higher education, not just repair it. University World News. Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https:// www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200612100902318 Minor, J. T. (2004). Decision making in historically Black colleges and universities: Defining the governance context. Journal of Negro Education, 73, 40–52. https://doi.org/10.2307/3211258 Mullen, S. (2014). Study abroad at HBCUs: Challenges, trends, and best practices. Palgrave Macmillan. Murty, K. S. (2020). Minority student participation in international programs. In Developments in demography in the 21st century (pp. 269–287). Springer. Nichols, J. C. (2004). Unique characteristics, leadership styles, and management of historically Black colleges and universities. Innovative Higher Education, 28(3), 219–229. Palmer, R. T., & Young, E. M. (2009). Determined to succeed: Salient factors that foster academic success for academically unprepared Black males at a Black college. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 10(4), 465–482. Potts, D. (2015). Understanding the early career benefits of learning abroad programs. Journal of Studies in International Education, 19(5), 459. Ricard, R. B., & Brown, M. C. (2008). Ebony towers in higher education: The evolution, mission, and presidency of historically Black colleges and universities. Stylus Publishing.

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Sorber, N.  M. (2019). A history of the American land-grant universities and regional development. In Handbook of universities and regional development. Edward Elgar Publishing. Stuart, R. (2007). Stepping up to study abroad. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 24(19), 16–19. Tensley, B. (2015). What’s keeping Black students from studying abroad? The Atlantic, 13. Varghese, N. V. (2009). GATS and transnational mobility in higher education. In R. Bhandari & S. Laughlin (Eds.), Higher education on the move: New developments in global mobility (pp. 17–29). Institute of International Education. Wekullo, C.  S. (2019). International undergraduate student engagement: Implications for higher education administrators. Journal of International Students, 9(1), 320–337. White, A. M., DeCuir-Gunby, J. T., & Kim, S. (2019). A mixed methods exploration of the relationships between the racial identity, science identity, science self-efficacy, and science achievement of African American students at HBCUs. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 57, 54–71. Wilcox, C., Wells, J., Haddad, G., & Wilcox, J. K. (2014). The changing democratic functions of historically Black colleges and universities. New Political Science, 36(4), 556–572. Williams, K. L., Burt, B. A., Clay, K. L., & Bridges, B. K. (2019). Stories untold: Counter-narratives to anti-blackness and deficit-oriented discourse concerning HBCUs. American Educational Research Journal, 56(2), 556–599. Winn, J., Bryan, K. C., & Tyler, A. L. (2018). The role of HBCUs in tackling issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In Underserved populations at historically Black colleges and universities. Emerald Publishing Limited. Yeboah, A. (2019). Reconceptualizing Black students going abroad: Heritage experiences in theory and practice. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Higher Education, 4(1), 1–21. Samson Chama  is Professor of Social Work at Alabama A & M University. He is a scholar, researcher, and practitioner. He has worked and collaborated with several international organizations including the World Bank, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), International Labor Organization (ILO), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on issues pertaining to global development such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, economic and social development, health equity, and environmental justice. He has also been actively engaged in creating pathways for internationalization of schools where students, particularly those from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), are provided with opportunities to participate in global development. He holds a PhD in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.

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Ling Gao LeBeau  is Associate Director of International Student Success at Syracuse University. LeBeau is a scholar practitioner in the field of international higher education with many years of experience in teaching, research, and administration. She has served in various roles in international education at five universities. Her work experiences range from teaching undergraduate and graduate students, advising international students and scholars, directing study abroad programs, developing international partnerships, to leading and implementing campus internationalization initiatives. She was Senior International Officer at Western Carolina University for five years prior to Syracuse University. LeBeau serves on various leadership committees of AIEA (Association of International Education Administrators) and NAFSA (Association of International Educators), and frequently presents and publishes on issues of international higher education. LeBeau’s research interests include global learning, curriculum internationalization, international partnerships, assessment, and student and faculty mobility. LeBeau holds a PhD in Higher Education and MS in Language Education from Indiana University Bloomington.

CHAPTER 3

What Counts as Internationalization and for Whom: Comprehensive Internationalization at Historically Black Colleges and Universities Harvey Charles and ‘Dimeji Togunde

Introduction The history of HBCUs has been one of struggle, and the immense political, social, and economic upheaval across the globe, ongoing at the time of the writing of this chapter, is the latest instance in this fraught narrative. Throughout their history, these institutions have found ways to manage the challenges they faced, adjusting and adapting to the circumstances that have arisen as they sought to stay true to their mission to educate African

H. Charles (*) Department of Educational Policy and Leadership, School of Education, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, NY, USA ‘D. Togunde Gordon-Zeto Center for Global Education, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA, USA © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 K. Bista, A. L. Pinder (eds.), Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96490-0_3

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Americans to meet the needs of society. The rise of globalization has created challenges as much as it has created opportunities for HBCUs. In this regard, the multifaceted catastrophes of 2020 have not helped. Yet, as HBCUs survey the damage that has been wrought, there is now an opening for them to seriously and critically examine how they will respond to globalization as they position themselves to remain viable and effective institutions for the remainder of the twenty-first century and beyond. As it stands, globalization is the most important factor shaping the internationalization of higher education (Egron-Polak, 2012). It is for this reason that comprehensive internationalization is the only strategy that the academy, and by extension HBCUs, can leverage to navigate globalization. This chapter will explore how HBCUs can embrace this objective as they seek to position themselves within the landscape of higher education in this most turbulent and unforgiving historical moment. It will discuss the need for HBCUs to be intentional about enhancing students’ knowledge of global issues, developing their interest in becoming civically engaged and socially responsible for local and global communities while simultaneously providing students with intercultural skills necessary to navigate the diverse global cultural landscapes.

HBCUs Savaged by the Catastrophes of 2020 It is impossible to avoid a conversation about internationalization at HBCUs without situating it within the broader context of the trifecta of calamities that the world endured in 2020. The novel coronavirus, with its global reach, has sickened and killed hundreds of thousands. The economic ramifications of the pandemic have been nothing short of devastating, impoverishing millions, arresting economic activity, and imperiling the vision for unlimited and unfettered economic growth. As if these conflagrations were not enough, the global protests precipitated by the police killing of George Floyd have laid bare and shone a light on racism and inequality with a fury and a consensus barely seen in recent memory. It is not insignificant that each of these catastrophes is global in scope and impact. COVID-19 has disproportionately affected African Americans who have shown morbidity rates more than twice that of White Americans (Tai et al., 2020). It is therefore reasonable to infer that significant numbers of

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students, faculty, and administrators at HBCUs may have been touched in one way or another by this virus. HBCU institutions are faced with the unenviable task of trying to gauge the risk of remaining closed and hemorrhaging millions of dollars in tuition and room and board revenues or opening for on-campus instruction while risking spikes in COVID-19 infections, quarantine, and possibly deaths of students and faculty. Unemployment has erupted like a mushroom cloud, affecting millions in the service industries, positions that are disproportionately held by people of color. This means that the families of students and faculty at HBCUs have felt the brunt of the widespread economic dislocation, a development that could impact enrollments, institutional staffing, and the ability of new and returning students to afford the cost of their college education. The killing of George Floyd, an act of police brutality, resonates in vivid and visceral ways in the HBCU communities especially, as many students of color at these institutions have had personal experience with this form of racism. Indeed, two innocent students enrolled at HBCUs in Atlanta, and stuck in traffic due to social justice protests in the area, became victims themselves of police brutality (Anderson, 2020).

The Challenge of Internationalization at HBCUs Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been pivotal to the education of thousands of African Americans and others in the United States. Indeed, “until the mid-1960s, HBCUs were, with very few exceptions, the only higher education option for most African Americans” (Gasman, 2013, p. 5). With a multitude of formal and informal barriers to higher education for these students, HBCUs emerged from the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with greater higher education opportunities for an entire class of people who were deemed unworthy, unprepared, and undeserving simply on the basis of the color of their skin. With fierce determination to succeed against all odds, HBCUs continue to play a pivotal role in serving African-American students and others. Not only do HBCUs educate 11% of the Black student population, but they contribute to groundbreaking research in a variety of fields, as reflected in the many patents awarded to faculty at HBCUs (Lee & Keys, 2013), among many other accomplishments. The important role of HBCUs in American life has not diminished, notwithstanding the formal elimination of barriers to college based on race. If the anti-racism protests of 2020 are any indication, however,

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structural racism remains part of the lived experience in the United States. In this sense, HBCUs continue to have a relevance to African-American education, in spite of the financial inadequacies that have plagued these institutions. This central challenge has touched practically every aspect of institutional operations at HBCUs, including internationalization. Davis (2014) notes that “resource constraints are a significant inhibitor to internationalization efforts at HBCUs” (p. 10). Pinder’s (2012) study reveals that four critical dimensions of internationalization (assessment of global learning outcomes, international student enrollment, an internationalization review, and an internationalized curriculum) were the least utilized at private HBCUs, thereby impeding their efforts at comprehensive internationalization. With respect to the task of creating global citizens, the Gasman (2013) study references only two dimensions, possibly the most significant ones at HBCUs: studying abroad and speaking new languages. In regard to study abroad, only 58% of HBCUs offer such opportunities to their students, and indeed Gasman (2013) acknowledges that “black students study abroad at significantly lower rates nationally than white students and students from upper middle class families” (p. 8). In terms of speaking new languages, only 41% of HBCUs offer Spanish as a major (Gasman, 2013). The fact that more than half of all HBCUs do not offer a major in any language is disappointing and even alarming. Spanish is the language most commonly taught at HBCUs; it is the most commonly spoken second language in the United States; and it is also the most commonly spoken language in regions closest to the United States, namely, Central and South America. Beyond this, however, is the fact that language study goes way beyond merely acquiring skills that allow us to communicate information and thought. It is “a complex multifunctional phenomenon that links an individual to other individuals, to communities, and to national cultures” (Modern Language Association, 2007). In effect, the implications of this study (except for a few noteworthy exceptions) suggests that HBCUs as an institutional category have struggled around issues of internationalization. Naturally, there is a great deal of unevenness in the manner with which HBCUs engage with comprehensive internationalization, as would be true throughout higher education. However, the imperative has never been greater and the stakes have never been higher for preparing students to meet the exacting demands of a globalized world. Success in achieving these goals may very well determine institutional viability.

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What Internationalization Is and Is Not Internationalization is not solely study abroad. Too often this is used as a synonym for internationalization and results in a narrow focus on student mobility, which is itself only one among six elements of comprehensive internationalization. Nor is internationalization defined only in terms of international student enrollment. This is the other half of student mobility, and while international students make a range of valuable contributions to the life of colleges and universities, internationalization is not limited to international student enrollment. Similarly, internationalization is not intensive English language training alone nor a one-course requirement in the core curriculum focused on global issues. These perspectives about internationalization, although quite pervasive, are much too narrow to provide any meaningful basis for substantive engagement relative to institutional transformation. With this in mind, what then is comprehensive internationalization? Hudzik (2011) defines it as “a commitment, confirmed through action, to infuse international and comparative perspectives throughout the teaching, research, and service missions of higher education. It shapes institutional ethos and values and touches the entire higher education enterprise. It is essential that it be embraced by institutional leadership, governance, faculty, students, and all academic service and support units. It is an institutional imperative, not just a desirable possibility” (p. 10). In effect, the work of comprehensive internationalization is intentional, strategic, and transformational, and it takes institutions to places they have not been before.

Comprehensive Internationalization and HBCUs The six elements of comprehensive internationalization developed by the American Council on Education (2012) provide a road map for establishing institutional arrangements that will ensure the necessary alignment between institutional practice and the changes being wrought by globalization. The term “comprehensive” implies that institutions must undertake this work with an eye to transforming the entire institution, engaging as many sectors of the institution in the process, and ensuring that not just some but all students are touched. The work of internationalization is therefore intentional, strategic, and transformational.

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1. Articulated Institutional Commitment. The first element in the effort toward internationalization addresses an explicit institutional commitment. Comprehensive internationalization requires that HBCUs express such a commitment in its foundational documents such as its mission and vision statements, so that all members of the university community understand that internationalization is an institutional priority. The intentionality of the institutional commitment should foster an opportunity for the campus to “embrace the wider world, while modeling for students the importance of thinking globally and understanding the world through more international connections” (Togunde & Fall, 2019). A commitment to internationalization needs to be enshrined in the institution’s strategic plan but must also be the focus of its actual strategic planning. 2. Administrative Structure and Staffing. HBCUs must ensure that there is an office or center to coordinate international initiatives for the entire campus and that such an office is appropriately staffed. One adviser serving international students does not constitute adequate leadership for comprehensive internationalization. Similarly, an office that reports to the vice provost for undergraduate studies, or to the dean of a college, for example, restricts the purview of this position to only one dimension of the institution. Leadership for comprehensive internationalization is just as important. The senior international officer (SIO) is generally understood to be the appropriate individual to provide leadership of this agenda. This is someone who must have a title that affords parity with academic deans in order to command respect regarding issues of campus internationalization and also to ensure that s/he has a seat at the table where decisions are being made about the academic leadership of the institution. Assigning a faculty member to play this role in exchange for a one- or two-­ course release is a strategy doomed to fail. A full-time administrator with a background in international education leadership who reports to the provost is the optimal arrangement for providing the suitable level of leadership. There is no denying that implementing or expanding such a structure will require resources. The institution stands to gain substantially, however, if it has the appropriate capacity and leadership to exploit opportunities that arise related to internationalization in terms of teaching, research, and service. 3. The Curriculum, Co-curriculum, and Learning Outcomes. At the very heart of comprehensive internationalization lie the twin aims of the academy: to prepare students with the skills, knowledge, and

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dispositions to thrive and succeed in a globalized world, and to push the boundaries of knowledge. It is for these reasons that the curriculum, co-­ curriculum, and learning outcomes constitute another element in comprehensive internationalization, aimed at facilitating transformative global learning experiences for students. Landorf et  al. (2020) define global learning as “a process that prepares students for active global citizenship by involving them in collaborative global problem-solving as a central part of the college experience” (p. 32). There is no more direct way to prepare students for careers, for further study, and for life in a globalized context than through the curriculum. From our perspective, it would be ideal if every course is taught from a global perspective and students supported in navigating their respective disciplines within a global context. The co-­ curriculum, which covers learning outside the classroom, is just as important a locus for learning as the curriculum and can include programs such as Model United Nations, Engineers Without Borders, and student organizations. Faculty would do well to make use of the learning possibilities afforded by the co-curriculum to facilitate new and stimulating engagement with global perspectives for students. The most practical way that HBCUs can keep faculty accountable for fostering global learning is by ensuring that global learning outcomes are developed for courses, academic programs of study, and academic divisions, and are institution-wide. Periodic and systematic assessment to determine the extent to which these outcomes are being realized must be part of this strategy as well. We argue that it is the curriculum (understood as primarily the core curriculum and the disciplines) and the co-curriculum that together can ensure that all students are prepared with the skills, knowledge, and dispositions to succeed in a globalized world. Indeed, given the small percentage of Black students who studied abroad in 2018, only 6.1% (Institute for International Education, 2019), “an internationalized curriculum is the primary means by which all undergraduate students can be encouraged to expand their horizons beyond traditional, nationally focused boundaries and concerns” (Brewer & Leask, 2012, p. 245). Olson et al. (2005) have defined an internationalized curriculum as one “with an international orientation in content and/or form, aimed at preparing students for performing (professionally/socially) in an international and multicultural context and designed for domestic and/or foreign students” (p.  9). Achieving curriculum integration therefore requires a great deal of intentionality, recognizing that it is both a concept and a process, that it focuses

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on teaching and learning, and that it requires the integration of knowledge rather than merely adding on content (Brewer & Leask, 2012). HBCUs can also consider strategically structuring global learning experiences in the four-year progression plan of study in order to achieve closer integration between these experiences and academic objectives, as well as to support students in pursuing the most efficient path to degree completion. There are a number of models that combine additional language study (more than what is ordinarily required for graduation) with study, internship, and/or research abroad, and globally focused coursework as part of one or two distinct degrees that students can ultimately earn. The International Engineering Program (IEP) at the University of Rhode Island, the Project-Based Learning initiative at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the International Plan at Georgia Institute of Technology, and the Integrated Global Program at Northern Arizona University are all good examples of how such opportunities can work. Language study is a critical aspect of this approach because language is the portal through which culture can be best understood. The General Education curriculum can be a site where students are required to complete one or two globally focused courses as a graduation requirement. No one course will teach students all they need to know to become globally competent, but a designation such as this sends an important signal to faculty and students as to the kind of knowledge that the institution believes all students must have, and it creates one among many other sites for global learning. Gateway courses in all disciplines can be internationalized and all capstone courses can be required to have a global dimension, work that falls within the domain of what faculty are expected to do. In effect, it is possible to internationalize all learning, including all disciplines and most courses at HBCUs, and this does not necessarily constitute a strain on the institutional budget. Finally, the major challenges facing humanity today are global in nature and require global collaboration to find answers and solutions. The COVID-19 pandemic is merely one among many global challenges, providing a global tutorial, in real time, of the incomprehensible magnitude of loss humanity can suffer without appropriate intervention and management. No nation on earth has been spared this virus, no economy has been left untouched, and millions of lives have been upended by the stealthy and lethal character of the virus. Thousands of scientists around the world are collaborating on hundreds of studies to better understand this disease and to find a vaccine (The World Staff, 2020). This paradigm of

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collaboration is the most sensible and most efficient approach to meeting and overcoming the global challenges we face. It is for this reason that as part of their commitment to internationalizing the curriculum, HBCUs would be well served to encourage faculty to design projects focused on the grand global problems in which they can partner with students to contribute to the search for answers. The Grand Challenges Exploration initiative at the University of Texas Austin offers a good model in this regard. HBCUs that chose to pursue this path would quickly realize that there is much wisdom in the intentional practice of preparing as many students as possible, including “engineers and scientists that are able to collaborate effectively across national, cultural and linguistic borders, and that are able to understand the preferences, constraints, and cultural habits of potential consumers in the modern global marketplace” (Charles & Doerry, 2013, p. 41). 4. Faculty Policies and Practices. As the principal agents in facilitating a globalized curriculum, faculty are front and center in this effort. The signals that HBCUs send to their faculty about the importance of internationalization must therefore be loud, consistent, and clear. Beyond the messaging in the institution’s strategic documents, policies and practices must be put in place to support faculty who engage in this work. From the hiring of faculty to the provision of opportunities for international teaching and research experiences, to the granting of tenure and promotion, faculty at HBCUs must understand that all of their professional endeavors need to advance internationalization in meeting their commitments to the university and to their students. And it is precisely because “the work of international education involves changing institutional culture” (Charles, 2014. p. 2) that HBCUs must work diligently to ensure that faculty are rewarded in other ways for their contributions to this project. 5. Student Mobility. Among the six elements, student mobility is the most easily recognizable one as being an integral part of comprehensive internationalization. It’s not good enough that students of color have an opportunity to pursue a wide variety of programs of study at HBCUs. They need to do so in as diverse a learning environment as possible. Strategic efforts must also be made to address the barriers to study abroad: cost, culture, curriculum, and lack of champions. For instance, Togunde and Fall (2019) found that initiatives at Spelman College such as workshops for parents and students during campus visits, first-year student orientations, targeted scholarships, and testimonials from study abroad returnees all tended to promote the culture of study abroad, reduce the

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cost barrier, ease parental fears, and create champions. In addition to this, Sutton and Rubin’s (2004) study demonstrates that study abroad confers upon participants strong critical thinking skills, facilitates personal growth and development, allows them to reflect upon their society with fresh eyes, and provides them knowledge of global interdependence and cultural relativism. The presence of international students brings valuable diversity to the academic milieu, and all students benefit as a result (Farnsworth, 2018). The strategies employed to recruit international students to HBCUs would vary depending on institutional history, specific opportunities that can easily be exploited, institutional relationships, and leadership for this particular activity. Whatever the strategies adopted, however, HBCUs that actively integrate international students into the fabric of their campus provide a great service to all of their students. 6. International Collaboration and Partnerships. The final element of comprehensive internationalization is international collaboration and partnerships. As Jonathan Adams (2013) asserts, we now live in the international age with respect to research. No longer is the individual or the institution or even the nation the dominant context driving research; rather, it is the international. The best science, according to Freeman and Huang (2014), comes from teams that are diverse in terms of ethnicity and geographic origin, making international collaboration and partnership indispensable to effective scholarly work. Institutional partnerships allow for the pooling of strengths to afford students and faculty the best possible learning and scholarly opportunities. Research activity led by faculty can be the inspiration for vibrant partnerships between and among institutions, and this phenomenon will grow only as faculty at HBCUs expand their collaborations with colleagues at various institutions around the world. Developing bilateral exchange programs is a useful way of making education abroad opportunities available at an affordable cost to students because the tuition the students pay stays on the home campus. In addition, HBCUs can leverage their own strengths with those of partner institutions abroad to develop dual-degree programs that would confer two degrees in two different areas of specialization within approximately the same time that it would take to earn a single degree. These experiences, while providing enriching opportunities for HBCU students, will also bring students from the collaborating partner institutions abroad to spend time on the home campus. Their presence will enhance the diversity at

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these institutions and enrich the learning experience for all. Yet it is important that the cultivation and nurturing of these partnerships produce mutual benefits for the partnering institutions, whether the collaboration is initiated by faculty, senior administration, or an external institution. Equally important is the need for the senior international officer to establish a process of managing and tracking/assessing the success of these collaborations.

Financing Comprehensive Internationalization at HBCUs Ultimately, what counts as internationalization is a reflection of what actually happens on the ground. Internationalization can happen only when questions about financing can be addressed and resolved. The recent struggles around racial justice have put a spotlight on the financial challenges that HBCUs have historically faced. Indeed, this was the inspiration for a $100M gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies (Burt, 2020) to four medical schools at HBCUs. Citing the fact that there is a shortage of Black doctors in the United States, that COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on African Americans, and that Black patients may experience better outcomes when treated by Black doctors, this gift was intended to support the production of more African-American doctors. Earlier in the year, a $120M gift was made by Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, and his wife to two HBCUs (Spelman College and Morehouse College) and the United Negro College Fund for student scholarships (Mangar, 2020). Soon after, it was reported (Freiman, 2020; Cramer, 2020) that four HBCUs (Howard University, Hampton University, Xavier University, and Tuskegee University) received the largest gifts in their respective histories from MacKenzie Scott, dubbed the world’s richest woman, to support their efforts at providing the best possible education for the students they serve. These are significant gifts by any measure, and they model the kind of philanthropy that must be directed at HBCUs if they are to deliver the highest quality of education that their students deserve. However, the long-term viability of HBCUs cannot be assured on the generosity of wealthy benefactors. Rather, the U.S. government has a moral responsibility to finance both public and private HBCUs because “as the federal authority, [it] bears responsibility for sanctioning, maintaining, and

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enabling slavery, legal segregation, and continued racial inequality” (Darity & Mullen, 2020, p.  257). It is only through public policy that structural racism can be dismantled. Indeed, HBCUs have a unique chance to seize the opportunities of this moment when a cultural shift in racial attitudes seems to be underway and press for more strategic and systematic federal and state support to ensure their long-term viability.

Perspectives on the Affordability of Comprehensive Internationalization Notwithstanding the moral clarity on the question of federal responsibility for supporting HBCUs, the question still remains regarding what HBCUs can do in the near term to adequately finance internationalization. While internationalization, like any other institutional commitment, will have associated costs, this ought not to be taken as a reason for non-­engagement. When carefully considered, there are many aspects of comprehensive internationalization that are free of costs. For example, strategic planning is a necessary process to launch comprehensive internationalization, and this is cost free. HBCUs can hire faculty who are already committed to internationalization, encourage faculty to teach from a global perspective, and reward faculty for advancing campus internationalization through tenure and promotion policies, activities that make no new demands on the budget. Additionally faculty engagement in developing global learning outcomes for courses, programs of study, the General Education curriculum, or the institution as a whole, while critical aspects of curriculum internationalization, requires no additional expenditure. Institutionalizing this work ultimately means that the values associated with global learning become part of the fabric of all aspects of the institution, and this can be accomplished with minimal, if any, resources. The costs of comprehensive internationalization are more imagined than real, and HBCUs that embrace this work will be impressed with how much they can achieve with relatively low financial investment.

Conclusion In this chapter, we have argued that what counts as internationalization should be evaluated by the elements of comprehensive internationalization. We have also established that the principal beneficiaries of

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internationalization are students who must be prepared to thrive and succeed in a globalized world, and faculty, who through their scholarship, position the institutions they serve to be active participants in the global enterprise of innovation and discovery. Institutions themselves are also beneficiaries, as comprehensive internationalization marks them as highly responsive to the demands of an interconnected and interdependent world, therefore, providing a product that is most relevant to the needs of students. While some HBCUs are sending students around the world, hosting international students and scholars, entering into international partnerships, engaging in joint research, and implementing strategic plans for internationalization (Lee, 2014), more work still needs to be done. Olson et  al. (2005) caution that comprehensive internationalization will take time to become institutionalized, require multiple and interrelated changes that will lead to other adjustments, and necessitate the involvement of many people. In the end, comprehensive internationalization promises a more vibrant learning environment, more engaged faculty, more productive international partnerships, and graduates who are appropriately prepared to pursue their professional ambitions in a globalized world.

References Adams, J. (2013). Collaborations: The fourth age of research. Nature, 497, 557–560. American Council on Education. (2012, June 12). Mapping internationalization on U.S. campuses: 2012 edition. American Council on Education. http://www. acenet.edu/news-­room/Documents/Mapping-­Internationalizationon-­US-­ Campuses-­2012-­full.pdf Anderson, G. (2020). Police fired for injuring spelman and more house students. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2020/06/03/police-­fired-­injuring-­spelman-­and-­morehouse-­students Brewer, B., & Leask, B. (2012). Internationalization of the curriculum. In D. Deardorff, H. de Wit, J. Heyl, & T. Adams (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of international higher education. SAGE Publications, Inc. Burt, C. (2020). Black medical schools receive $100M from bloomberg philanthropies. University Business. https://universitybusiness.com/black-­medical-­ schools-­receive-­100m-­gift-­from-­bloomberg philanthropies/?eml=20200904& oly_enc_id=9463D9024034F1T

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Charles, H. (2014). A shared agenda for SIOs. Association of International Education Administrators Newsletter. http://www.aieaworld.org/assets/ docs/Newsletters/126031%20aiea%20nl%20fall%202014_web.pdf Charles, H., & Doerry, E. (2013). Essential elements for internationalizing science, technology, engineering and math education: Lessons from an American perspective. Internationalization of Higher Education: EAIE Handbook, 3, 37–60. Cramer, M. (2020). MacKenzie scott gives $1.7 billion to historically Black colleges and other groups. The New  York Times. https://www.nytimes. com/2020/07/29/us/mackenzie-­scott-­billion-­fortune-­bezos.html Darity, W., Jr., & Mullen, A. (2020). From here to equality. The University of North Carolina Press. Davis, G.  P. (2014). Creating global citizens: Challenges and opportunities for internationalization at HBCUs. American Council on Education. http:// www.acenet.edu/news-­room/Documents/Creating-­Global-­Citizens.pdf Egron-Polak, E. (2012). Higher education internationalization: Seeking a new balance of values. Trends & Insights for International Education Leaders. https://www.nafsa.org/professional-­r esources/research-­a nd-­t rends/ higher-­education-­internationalization-­seeking-­new-­balance-­values Farnsworth, B. (2018). Enhancing the quality of international student experience. Higher Education Today. https://www.higheredtoday.org/2018/07/02/ enhancing-­quality-­international-­student-­experience/ Freeman, R., & Huang, W. (2014). Collaborating with people like me: Ethnic co-­ authorship within the US. No. w19905; p. w19905. National Bureau of Economic Research. http://www.nber.org/papers/19905 Freiman, J. (2020). Three HBCUs announced they received the largest donations in the schools’ histories. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ hbcu-­record-­donations-­schools-­histories-­howard-­hampton-­xavier/ Gasman, M. (2013). The changing face of historically Black colleges and universities. Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania. http://www.gse. upenn.edu/pdf/cmsi/Changing_Face_HBCUs.pdf Hawkins, D.  B. (2013). After 125 years of service, St. Paul’s College shutting down June 30. Diverse Issues in Higher Education. http://diverseeducation. com/article/53664/ Hudzik, J. (2011). Comprehensive internationalization: From concept to action. NAFSA: Association of International Educators. http://ecahe.eu/w/ images/1/1f/Comprehensive_Internationalization_-­_NAFSA.pdf Institute for International Education. (2019). Opendoors 2010 fast facts. Available for retrieval at: https://opendoorsdata.org/wp-content/uploads/ 2020/11/Open-Doors-Fast-Facts-2010-2019.pdf Landorf, H., Doscher, S., & Hardrick, J. (2020). Making global learning universal. Stylus.

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Lee, T. (2014). In response to: Black colleges face challenges in their global efforts, report says. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Message posted to http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/hbcus-­face-­challenges-­in-­their-­global-­ efforts-­report finds/86063 Lee, J. M., & Keys, S. W. (2013). Repositioning HBCUs for the future: Access, success, research & innovation. APLU Office of Access and Success Discussion Paper 2013-01. Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. https:// www.aplu.org/library/repositioning-­h bcus-­f or-­t he-­f uture-­a ccess-­s uccess-­ research-­and-­innovation/file Mangar, K. (2020). 2 Historically Black Colleges and UNCF will Share $120-­million gift. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle. com/article/2-­historically-­black-­colleges-­and-­uncf-­will-­share-­120-­million-­gift Modern Language Association Ad Hoc Committee on Foreign Languages. (2007). Foreign languages and higher education: New structures for a changed world. The Modern Language Association of America. https://files.eric.ed. gov/fulltext/ED500460.pdf Olson, C. L., Green, M. F., & Hill, B. A. (2005). Building a strategic framework for comprehensive internationalization. American Council on Education. Pinder, A. L. (2012). Internationalizing the Black college: An investigation of the stage of readiness of private Black colleges as it relates to select benchmarks for comprehensive internationalization. Doctoral dissertation, Clark Atlanta University. Sutton, R., & Rubin, D. (2004). The GLOSSARI project: Initial findings from a system-wide research initiative on study abroad learning outcomes. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 10, 65–82. Tai, D.B., Shah, A., Doubeni, C. A., Sia, I. G., & Weiland, M. L. (2020). The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. Clinical Infectious Diseases. Retrieved from: https://academic. oup.com/cid/advance-­article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaa815/5860249 The World Staff. (2020). Research on COVID-19 vaccine shows unique global collaboration, says Ebola vaccine scientist. The World. https://www.pri. org/stories/2020-­04-­07/research-­covid-­19-­vaccine-­shows-­unique-­global-­ collaboration-­says-­ebola-­vaccine Togunde, D., & Fall, R. (2019). Success in campus internationalization at Spelman College: Lessons for other institutions. In C. Colon, A. Gristwood, & M. Woolf (Eds.), Borders, mobility, and migration (pp.  169–181). CAPA: The Global Education Network Occasional Publication No. 8. Harvey Charles,  PhD, is Professor of International Education in the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership, School of Education, at the University at Albany, SUNY. His major research interests lie in international education leadership, comprehensive internationalization, and global learning.

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‘Dimeji Togunde,  PhD, is Vice Provost for Global Education and Professor of International Studies at the Gordon-Zeto Center for Global Education, Spelman College. His roles include providing leadership for the design and implementation of the College’s Strategic Planning on campus internationalization (2017–2022) and the institutionalization of the recently concluded and successful Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP 2016), also known as Spelman Going Global!, which is the centerpiece of the College’s reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC).

PART II

Internationalization Programs and Strategies at HBCUs

CHAPTER 4

Universalizing Internationalization at Historically Black Colleges and Universities Through Virtual Learning ‘Dimeji Togunde and Harvey Charles

Introduction Toward the end of 2019, the entire world was caught by the surprise announcement of a new virus, COVID-19, on several media outlets. First identified in Wuhan, China, its infectious and lethal impact on human respiratory organs was alarming. By the middle of March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a pandemic. The global economy and international education have still not recovered as the entire world continues to battle the challenges created by this disease. The

‘D. Togunde (*) Gordon-Zeto Center for Global Education, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA, USA H. Charles Department of Educational Leadership, School of Education, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, NY, USA © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 K. Bista, A. L. Pinder (eds.), Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96490-0_4

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COVID-19 pandemic has brought death, sickness, and fear. Death tolls have continued to rise in several countries. According to the John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center (2022), by late March 2022, global coronavirus cases are close to surpassing 500 million, more than 6 million people have died globally, and the US is on pace to record 1 million deaths by early summer, 2022. The pandemic has induced unemployment, homelessness, and destitution. These challenges, not limited by nation, region, or hemisphere, have been global in scope and reach, meaning that there has been no place to hide. Yet, in the middle of the pandemic, the spate of social justice protests have given unprecedented visibility to calls for an end to police brutality, racism, and inequality. Higher education has not been spared this upheaval. International travel for study and research has been halted. The majority of classes offered at colleges and university have gone online or hybrid or distance learning. Institutional budgets have been decimated (Sultan, 2020). The uncertainties as to when a new normal may return and how institutions might be able to dig themselves out of this increasingly untenable situation inhibit the ability to engage in realistic planning or to even know what viability might look like on the other end of this crisis. In all of this, the work of the academy, including that of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), remains as important as ever. African-American students continue to need access to higher education opportunities, and communities of color continue to need skilled professionals and talented graduates to provide services to communities that might otherwise be neglected. More than this, however, HBCUs must be able to contend with the rapidly changing landscape precipitated by globalization and ensure that its graduates are adequately prepared to participate in the global process of innovation and discovery that increasingly must be directed at resolving the grand global challenges affecting humanity, including the ones currently laying waste to human life and national economies. In this context, this chapter highlights viable and accessible virtual strategic initiatives that HBCUs can adopt to advance internationalization in general, and global learning in particular. It draws on practical examples of projects on various campuses to demonstrate the feasibility of virtual learning as panacea to the financial and other challenges besetting global learning in many Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

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Over the past decades, HBCUs have achieved overwhelming success in educating thousands of African-American men and women for professional positions in practically every walk of life. For example, HBCUs are responsible for graduating approximately 80% of black judges and 50% of black doctors and lawyers in the United States (Harris, 2019). They have achieved this phenomenal record in spite of the dire financial circumstances they face, circumstances substantially worsened by the pandemic. Compared to non-HBCUs, HBCUs reflect a greater reliance on federal state and local funding; greater tuition dependence; less revenue in terms of gifts, grants, and contracts; steeper declines in federal funding; and significantly less in endowments (Williams & Davis, 2019). It is no surprise to learn, then, that financial challenges have significantly hindered internationalization efforts at HBCUs (Davis, 2014). Yet, in a harsher, more competitive, and less resourced post-pandemic environment, HBCUs will not get a pass. The imperative for them to deliver on their core mission of preparing their students to meet the demands of an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world will be even greater. HBCUs will not be able to build overnight the traditional structures in support of internationalization that their better resourced non-HBCU counterparts have been able to do over decades. For the most part, they will not be able to call on a global network of relationships to advance research and academic initiatives. They may not even have the luxury of imitating what other non-­ HBCUs are doing in every regard. Rather, they will have to become more keenly attuned to the evolving paradigm for higher education, quickly assessing the emerging priorities, and taking inventory of their strengths and opportunities. They will have to engage in strategic planning that recalibrates and reorients their focus and commitments that more deftly foregrounds internationalization relative to their institutional trajectories.

Opportunity in Calamity The pandemic has imposed limitations on every institution bar none. Virtual engagement has become the coin of the realm and the principal medium through which a host of interactions now occur. Teaching, research, service, workshops, orientation, and tutoring now occur online. Even internships and study abroad activity have developed virtual forms. This presents huge opportunities, particularly for most HBCUs and other institutions that are especially under-resourced yet must remain viable and continue to deliver the best educational opportunities for their students.

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As sure as necessity is the mother of invention, international educators have had to explore new or underutilized approaches to continue and even expand their engagement with global learning. While many of these new virtual approaches require a period of adjustment and are certainly nothing like what the experience would be in a face-to-face context, they represent approaches to internationalization that previously would not have been possible or deemed worthwhile. Like some developing nations that were able to leapfrog directly into cellular technology even though they lacked the infrastructure for landlines, HBCUs are now able to make global learning experiences more affordable for a broader cross-section of students, even though many of them lack the traditional infrastructure for international education. In so doing, they are better able to engage in internationalization efforts. The following are some virtual learning initiatives that may be explored by HBCUs as a way to extend momentum around global learning in the difficult set of circumstances currently being faced.

Virtual Global Learning Virtual Global Internships Career-focused internships occur during the semester or summer as a non-­ credit or credit-bearing experience (three to six credits). Through an opportunity to navigate a virtual workspace, students gain critical knowledge about the range of activities involved in the work in question, but in addition gain insights into global issues, intercultural understanding, networking, communication, and collaboration skills. As a career readiness initiative and value-added professional experience, it puts students ahead in terms of their familiarity with the workplace, and it has the potential to increase the proportion of students who are able to quickly land a job upon graduation. It could also enhance prospects for admission to graduate or professional school. The websites of many international study abroad providers like CAPA: The Global Education Network, IFSA: Institute for Study Abroad, CIEE: Council on International Education Exchange, SIT: School for International Training, IES: Institute for the International Education of Students, and Arcadia University in Glendale, Pennsylvania, USA, indicated that these international organizations have pivoted to providing virtual internship services and offering job placement services to students. To

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achieve the goals of remote internship, the lack of infrastructure, partnerships, or personnel to do it on their own, however, suggests the need for HBCUs to enter into partnerships with these reputable study abroad providers to help interested students find placements that align with their academic interests and career goals. According to the Vice President of Global Internships at CAPA, internships through CAPA, for instance, range from 6 to 14 weeks at 20 hours per week. As part of the application process, the CAPA internship team will match student applications with organizations deemed to provide the best fit. They will then share with the applicants the position description that includes a brief profile of the organization, the type of duties the internship will involve, and any specific skills or experience required. If there is a mutual agreement on the fit between the student and the organization, CAPA will proceed to set up an interview to determine whether an internship placement would be offered or whether an alternative organization might be more suitable to meet the student’s interest/background. Students who are matched to internship sites are coached and guided by CAPA when partnerships are established to ensure a successful onboarding process. This is necessary to support effective, open, and continued avenues of communication, feedback, and portals for support for all the stakeholders. Once an internship placement has been successfully made, internship classes meet synchronously online at least once a week for 1 to 1.5 hours. This arrangement creates a community of learners who can share their remote internship experiences in different cultural contexts with classmates from various backgrounds and locations. Students also have an opportunity to meet individually for brief “tutorials” with their faculty and/or staff mentors for one-on-one guidance and support. Tutorials with faculty are scheduled at regular intervals, and staff meetings are done by appointment. Students from two HBCUs, Alabama State University and Spelman College, are currently enrolled for fall virtual global internships, while other HBCUs including Morehouse College, Jackson State, Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University, and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University are considering remote internship options for students for spring and summer 2021. HBCUs would be well served to plan on assessing the impact of this initiative by tracking the post-­ graduation activities of participants.

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Virtual Exchange With this initiative, faculty create an opportunity for students to interact or engage with students or guest speakers in another country on a theme/ topic, project, or module embedded in a globally focused course. Its flexibility enables faculty to develop creative ways of fostering global engagement within the curriculum while promoting students’ intercultural understanding, enhancing language proficiency, and promoting dialogue that may generate comparative perspectives. The Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) initiative offers a pedagogical strategy that is used within the context of virtual exchange. Typically, it involves connecting two or more classes of similar content offered at two universities in two different countries. One or more course modules are designed in a way that connects the two different student populations. The two groups of students are generally expected to work together to discuss course materials, solve a problem of practice, or produce another type of grade-­ able product. Faculty have the option of running COIL courses synchronously (in real time) or asynchronously (not in real time), and students may connect through a variety of media including email, voice, video, or in some combination (Wojenski, 2020). It is a tried-and-true model and is being adopted by an increasing number of institutions around the world, including HBCUs. The information obtained from a survey directed to the Director of Study Abroad at Morgan State University indicated that 20 students at Morgan State University are enrolled in fall 2020 in a COIL pilot partnership with Kansai University, Japan. Operationalizing COIL on a campus will depend on faculty interest in participating, but at a time when online classes are ubiquitous, a circumstance that will probably last way beyond the pandemic, it may be easier to generate interest among faculty in using this pedagogical tool. Not only are faculty able to teach what they ordinarily teach in a face-to-face format, but by engaging students in a different cultural context around similar material, students can also learn from the perspectives shared by their counterparts. Several predominantly White institutions (PWIs) such as the University of Maryland, the University of Florida, the University at Albany, SUNY, and John Hopkins University teach COIL courses. Stevens Initiative at the Aspen Institute has awarded several grants to selected universities in support of virtual exchange. Spelman College, one of the leading Historically Black College and University in the nation, has just started this initiative on its campus, as a

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pilot. Led by its vice-provost for global education, faculty are invited to respond to a call for course development in global studies that not only includes the two learning outcomes of the College’s global learning curriculum, but would also provide an opportunity for students and/or guest speakers in another country to engage with Spelman students on a project or a topic of global significance. One of the goals of this course would be to foster comparative analysis and global engagement across cultures, virtually. The initial plan was to offer $1500 each as a course development grant to four faculty who will teach the courses after they have been approved by the Curriculum Committee and who plan on teaching these courses the following semester. Faculty enthusiasm has led to the approval of ten virtual exchange courses (seven in spring 2021 and three in fall 2022). A recent addition to the resources on virtual exchange is the Virtual Exchange Guide for Senior International Officers (Stevens Institute, 2020) just released by the Stevens Initiative. This resource explores the nuts and bolts of virtual exchange. It covers a great deal of terrain, from managing the successful launch of virtual exchange initiatives, to providing a range of models that HBCUs can consider, to exploring how best to sustain and grow such programs. Connecting Globally While Grounded at Home (Global at Home) Premised on the interconnectedness and interdependence of contemporary society, this approach takes different forms. First, faculty may pursue a research activity virtually on a global problem/topic that has a local connection or, conversely, address a local problem that has a global dimension. Second, this approach can enhance globally focused courses by fostering connections with entities like immigrant group and cross-­cultural activities in the local community. Faculty can establish relationships with NGOs and multi-national companies in order to facilitate extra-curricular projects for students in their courses. It could be developed independently within an HBCU institution as Spelman College has done or jointly initiated by a consortium. For instance, the Atlanta Global Research and Education Collaborative (AGREC), launched under the aegis of the Atlanta Global Studies Center, is a consortium of six Atlanta-based universities—Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Emory University, Kennessaw State University, Spelman College, and Agnes Scott College. It aims to promote “Global at Home” on thematic areas such as peace building/conflict resolution, migration and population, linguistic

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diversity, race and justice/inequities, income inequality, and one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. AGREC plans to grow this initiative after the 2020–2021 pilot year to include other colleges and universities, thus allowing other HBCUs in the Atlanta area such as Morehouse and Clark Atlanta University to join. This initiative is fundamentally collaborative and, as such, requires that each team includes two faculty members from two different member institutions and one community partner. The multi-institutional teams may apply for funding for any “innovative, transformative and collaborative research and education projects in global engagement with significant emphasis on their potential to develop new and strategic sustainable relations among partners—colleges/universities, companies, NGOs, community organizations—and their impact on Atlanta communities.” A review committee from diverse organizations will evaluate the applications on the basis of quality, sustainability, and impact. Given its different facets, this initiative seeks to achieve tangible outcomes aimed at advancing internationalization at participating institutions. In addition to enhancing institutional partnerships and creating a network of scholars and practitioners in global education, it would promote multidisciplinary and collaborative scholarly global research and publication in any of the themes highlighted above. Furthermore, its teaching and programmatic components in the forms of extra-curricular activities, workshops, and seminars would impact students in several ways. First, Spelman students, for instance, would be able to demonstrate the two learning outcomes of the college’s global studies curriculum that seeks to enhance students’ comparative knowledge of the similarities and differences in the socio-economic, political, and cultural values between/ among people of different nationalities. Second, through an engagement with a multiethnic and cosmopolitan community, students would be able to demonstrate an openness to cultural difference. Moreover, this initiative could inspire a greater sense of civic responsibility and commitment to social action by students at the participating institutions as they seek to address some of the challenges or inequities in housing and access to health and food. This in turn may lead to volunteering in organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and the Food Drive Network. With its possibility to teach values like empathy, students would be able to think globally and act locally. This initiative would enable students to explore questions of who they are and how they fit into the local community. It could lead students to reassess their purpose in life and their place

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in the interconnected global village. This consortium-based initiative can be replicated by HBCUs to share cost, leverage expertise, and promote internationalization.

Conclusion and Future of International Education Efforts Many HBCUs may be considered as latecomers to the proverbial party, but the trajectory of our world is one where internationalization will become an increasingly more necessary response to the inexorable forces of globalization. The pandemic and the related disruptions of this year will continue to shake and shuffle many aspects of US higher education in the coming years. However, the perennial questions that HBCUs will need to answer are what must be done to ensure that our students graduate with the skills, knowledge, and dispositions to negotiate a globalized world, and what structures and commitments need to be put in place to ensure that HBCUs can deliver on these ideals. The various forms of virtual engagement discussed above offer important and promising opportunities for HBCUs. They are generally more affordable, and they can engage a broader cross-section of students. Moreover, they provide a pathway for HBCUs that may not have previously embraced internationalization in a more intentional way and to do so in ways that are easy to be implemented. Virtual global learning is a strategy whose time has come, but more importantly it may be the key to universalizing three interrelated elements of comprehensive internationalization at HBCUs. First, virtual internship is well aligned with curricular and co-curricular dimension. Second, virtual exchange fosters partnership building while simultaneously enriching both the faculty and students’ knowledge of global issues and intercultural development without travel abroad. This flexible pedagogical technique seems to fit well with the broader objectives of comprehensive internationalization. Finally, the opportunity for faculty to enrich their teaching and scholarship by tapping into the synergistic relationships between local and global issues bodes well for the clarion call for promoting internationalization at home.

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References Davis, G.  P. (2014). Creating global citizens: Challenges and opportunities for internationalization at HBCUs. American Council on Education. http:// www.acenet.edu/news-­room/Documents/Creating-­Global-­Citizens.pdf Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. (2022). Available for retrieval at: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/united-states Harris, A. (2019, May 16). Why American needs its HBCUs. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/05/howard-­universitys-­ president-­why-­america-­needs-­hbcus/589582/ Sultan, Z. (2020, July 27). Colleges consider layoffs as COVID-19 Wrecks Financial Havoc. US News and World Report. https://www.usnews.com/news/ education-­news/articles/2020-­07-­27/colleges-­move-­to-­lay-­off-­faculty-­as-­covid­19-­decimates-­budgets Stevens Initiative. (2020). Virtual exchange guide for senior international officers. US Department of State. https://www.stevensinitiative.org/wp-­content/ uploads/2020/09/Virtual-­Exchange-­Guide-­for-­SIOs.pdf Williams, K., & Davis, B. (2019). Public and private investments and divestments in historically black colleges and universities. American Council on Education. https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Public-­and-­Private-­Investments-­and-­ Divestments-­in-­HBCUs.pdf Wojenski, C. P. (2020). An introduction to COIL. Unpublished Manuscript. ‘Dimeji Togunde,  PhD, is Vice Provost for Global Education and Professor of International Studies at Spelman College, where he leads the campus internationalization and its assessment. He has over 20 years of strategic leadership experience in developing global studies curriculum, expanding access to international education, student learning outcomes, faculty development, accreditation, and strategic initiatives for diversity and inclusion in global education. Harvey Charles,  PhD, is Professor of International Education in the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership in the School of Education at the University at Albany, SUNY.  His major research interests lie in the area of comprehensive internationalization, global learning, and leadership in international education.

CHAPTER 5

Study Abroad Program Development at One Historically Black College and University: A Success Story Andrea J. Shelton, Alvia J. Wardlaw, Leamon L. Green, and Gregory H. Maddox

Introduction Texas Southern University (TSU), an urban, Historically Black College and University (HBCU), has leveraged a strategic relationship with a premier African university to jump-start its internationalization efforts. The TSU student body, of which over 80% of its undergraduates receive Federal financial aid, had not actively participated in study abroad programs before A. J. Shelton (*) Department of Health Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX, USA e-mail: [email protected] A. J. Wardlaw • L. L. Green Department of Art, College of Liberal and Behavioral Sciences, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX, USA e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 K. Bista, A. L. Pinder (eds.), Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96490-0_5

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the 2000s. Strong collaboration between faculty from TSU and the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) was leveraged to generate external support for internationalization on the TSU campus. The faculty, in turn, used the model for internationalization and study abroad created through the partnership to build further support for internationalization and to develop other study abroad programs. Over the last decade, the number of faculty-led programs sponsored by the university has increased from one to up to ten each year. Now supported by a student fee for international education, internationalization and study abroad programs are integrated into the life of the University. In this chapter, we describe the development and implementation of one outstanding study abroad program from its conception. The level of achievement at the University using the model from its first successful program to create an international education infrastructure can serve as an example for other minority serving institutions. We offer an overview of study abroad programs generally, for African-American students specifically, and outline in some detail the development and administration of the first and subsequent study abroad programs at Texas Southern University.

Overview: Study Abroad and African-American Students Study abroad programs have been developed for students at every academic level (Dwyer & Peters, 2004). Program specifics, including the time of year, and the focus and duration of study can vary by institution to accommodate the student. Numerous benefits of study abroad have been documented, regardless of where the student studies or for how long (Dwyer & Peters, 2004; Dwyer, 2017). The international experience is noted to impact the student not only at the time of participation, but for years afterward. Aside from personal enrichment, other positive outcomes have been noted, including academic, intercultural, and career development (Dwyer & Peters, 2004; Dwyer, 2017).

G. H. Maddox Office of the Dean, Graduate School, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX, USA e-mail: [email protected]

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Most regions of the world host study abroad students from the United States. European countries have historically attracted the largest number, however (National Association for Foreign Student Association, 2018–2019, (2020)). Countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa have become more popular over the years. Other less traditional destinations where English is not the primary language are becoming more attractive. Prior to 2016, the three fields of study were social sciences, business and management, and the humanities (National Association for Foreign Student Association, 2018–2019, (2020)). The order of preference changed during the 2016–2018 academic years to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields; business, social sciences, foreign languages/international studies; and fine or applied arts (National Association for Foreign Student Association, 2018–2019, (2020)). The Institute for International Education reports that 341,751 American students studied overseas in 2017–2018 (Institute of International Education, 2017–2018). All ethnic groups are represented, but the majority of study abroad students are White and female. Of concern is the underrepresentation of African-American students. Although their postsecondary enrollment is 14.3% of the total U.S. student population, African Americans accounted for 4.7% of students who traveled abroad in 2009–2010. The percentage improved to 6.1% in both the 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 academic years (Institute of International Education 2012, 2016, 2018a, 2018b; National Association for Foreign Student Association, 2018–2019, (2020); U.S.  Department of State, n.d.). Figures for African-American travelers increased from 1605  in 2013–2014 to 2036 in 2015–2016 (Institute of International Education, 2015; National Association for Foreign Student Association, 2018–2019, (2020)). For many African-­American students, internationalization begins with study abroad. As evidenced by the statistics, there is an increased interest in study abroad programs among African-American students, but the number of participants is still relatively low. The college level may be the first introduction to internationalization and study abroad for AfricanAmerican students, especially those enrolled at HBCUs.

Development of Study Abroad Programs at HBCUs There are 105 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States, many located in the southern and eastern regions of the country. Websites of the various private and public institutions list course

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offerings in foreign languages, international/global studies, and/or travel abroad opportunities. The focus, destination, and length of the travel/ study abroad programs vary by school. In addition to personal resources, financial assistance for student participants is available either from the sponsoring institution, or a national or private funding source, or the program to which it is connected. A number of strategies have been proposed and employed to facilitate study abroad objectives and internationalization, dependent on resources and personnel at minority serving institutions which include HBCUs (Broussard, 2019; Esmien, et al., 2016; Lu, 2016). Some of the institutions have applied for support through federal agencies to assist faculty in the development and implementation of study abroad programs. International faculty have been engaged to teach specific courses for a designated period of time at the invitation of an HBCU, in some instances, as part of a faculty exchange. HBCUs have taken advantage of the Fulbright Scholar in Residence Program to bring international faculty to their campuses. Faculty at HBCUs have also partnered with preexisting programs at domestic and international agencies and institutions to assist with the creation of a study abroad program. Aside from the cultural enrichment for faculty, the experience of a visiting international faculty can enhance foreign language training and international content offered in courses taught at HBCUs. These programs typically train interested faculty, who may then develop a study abroad program with a service-­learning internship or a thematic focus for students at their respective HBCUs. These initiatives are in alignment with the internationalization of the University. Despite the benefits and opportunities, several barriers for study abroad have been identified for students. The barriers may be more problematic for African-American students at HBCUs, including limited financial resources, apprehension about delayed graduation, fear of racism, and few family or faculty role models who have traveled overseas (Broussard, 2019; Esmien, et al., 2016; Lu, 2016; Monyei, 2011). The Pennsylvania Center for Minority Serving Institutions adds that finding programs or program locations of interest or relevance is also a deterrent to participation in study abroad programs for African Americans (Pennsylvania Center for Minority Serving Institutions, 2019). The length of the program has also been perceived as a restrictive factor, interfering with academic, athletic, and/or work schedules. Compared to White counterparts, African-­ American students are more likely to participate in study abroad programs

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conducted in the summer and in programs of eight weeks or shorter duration (Institute for International Education, 2020). State and national efforts have been instituted to promote the internationalization of the curriculum at U.S. institutions, including HBCUs. In over a decade, from 2004 to 2016, the number of U.S. colleges and universities offering study abroad programs was increased by nearly 23% (Campbell, et al., 2017). The extension of programs has accommodated nearly 10% of students to study abroad at some point in their degree programs (Campbell, et al., 2017). A resolution to support international education has been passed in several states. One federal directive that has garnered more attention to study abroad programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) has been an initiative introduced by one president and supported by each subsequent presidential administration. The White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) was introduced during the Carter administration in 1980 (Executive Order 12232, 1980). A segment added in 2002 under the George W. Bush administration states that HBCUs are “to contribute to the development of human capital and to strengthen America’s economic and technological base” through a number of programs or activities (The White House, 2002). One stated means of achieving these goals is through the offering of “domestic and international faculty and student exchanges and study-abroad opportunities” (The White House, 2002). Congressional Resolution 308 (2006) which passed in 2005, proclaimed 2006 as the Year of Study Abroad, stating: “To educate students internationally is an important way to share values to create goodwill for the United States around the world, to work toward a peaceful global society” (“S. Res 308-109th Congress”, 2005). An executive order strengthening the White House Initiative was signed by President Obama in 2010 (The White House, 2010). The Paul Simon Study Abroad Program Act, which passed in 2019, further strengthened and expanded the previous initiatives (National Association for Foreign Student Association, 2018–2019, (2020)). Years of planning at the faculty level with administrative and student support resulted in the initiation and expansion of the study abroad program at Texas Southern University.

TSU/UDSM Study Abroad Program Development A state resolution to support international education was introduced in the Texas legislature in 2004, and nearly 100 colleges and universities in the state offer a study abroad program (UNIVSTATS, 2020). The TSU

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study abroad program predates the state resolution and in subsequent years has contributed to the number in the state and national census of study abroad participants. Efforts at internationalization began in 1991–1992 when TSU hosted a Fulbright Scholar in Residence from the University of Dar es Salaam. In 1993–1994, a professor of History from TSU taught as a Fulbright Senior Scholar at UDSM. In 1997, that same faculty member, with the support of funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Fulbright Group Project Abroad program, led a group of faculty from TSU to Tanzania. The trip facilitated the collaboration on a project to study education and social welfare in Tanzania with members of the History Department at UDSM. Students were recruited for participation in 1999, and the first group traveled with faculty to Tanzania in the year 2000. In 2002 and 2003 funds received as part of a Title VI Undergraduate International Education and Foreign Language grant were used to support an expansion of the program. In 2004 students again traveled with the faculty, with groups traveling almost every year since then, through 2019. To date a total of over 200 students, faculty, and guests have participated. The ethnically diverse faculty involved also represents a mix of academic expertise. The ratio of students to faculty is about 4:1, and rapport is established during orientation sessions conducted prior to departure. Throughout the experience, students are made to feel at ease discussing the international experience and their future academic and career aspirations with faculty and other participants. Overview of Program TSU co-sponsors the summer study abroad program with the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) in the East African country of Tanzania. Students attend classes at the sister institution and earn academic credits that count toward their TSU degree requirements. Students enroll for one, two, or three semester hour courses at the undergraduate level, usually as a junior and a senior. Currently, students have a choice of courses with a focus on Africa, including history, political science, or art history. Research projects, special topics courses, and internships have also been developed for students from other majors, coordinated with faculty from both the study abroad program and the student’s specific degree program. Graduate students are offered the same courses and options with some modifications to the curricula appropriate for the advanced degree. Faculty

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members from TSU work closely with peers at the UDSM and local experts to offer subject specific lectures, assignments, and culturally enriching activities. Two summer terms are offered at TSU, each approximately five weeks in length, starting in June and extending sequentially into August. Those involved in the travel abroad courses attend classes at TSU for two weeks at the start of the second summer term and continue the course in Tanzania at UDSM for the remaining three weeks (including travel time). This time was considered sufficient by the organizers for the combined travel and classroom instruction. Others who enroll in the same course, but who are not participating in the travel abroad component continue with course requirements on the TSU campus as specified by the instructor of the class. For most participants, costs, extended absence from home and campus, and other personal factors have made the three-week stay in Tanzania the most appealing and practical. In addition to the academic credits students can earn, travel to Tanzania appeals to students for other reasons. Relations between Tanzania and the United States are amicable, with years of political and economic stability, easing concerns about travel within the country. The country offers outlets to explore the East African social and cultural heritage, with a number of historical attractions (i.e., the medieval Swahili ruins), fine arts venues (i.e., textile market) native to the country, cultural displays (i.e., National museums), and natural phenomena in various regions (i.e., Mikumi National Game Reserve and Park and the coast along the Indian Ocean). TSU students also meet peers at USDM and attend various student functions on the campus and in surrounding areas. Participants have been housed in student hostels affiliated with the East African Statistical Training Centre and in a private hostel, adjacent to the campus of the University of Dar es Salaam. Both faculty and students stay in the lodgings, with males and females either in separate buildings or on different floors within the same building. Single and double occupancy rooms are available. Meals are provided at the hostel dining hall. Arrangements are made for the group to eat at restaurants on those days when extended trips away from campus are taken. Transportation to and from the various sites of interest is arranged by program personnel. Group participation is encouraged for all scheduled activities, but an occasional independent outing with a smaller group may be arranged. Students are advised periodically of safety and health precautions and are discouraged

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from traveling alone. Shopping trips to local food, art, and fabric markets are the most popular. Admission Process A Travel Fair held once a semester at TSU that features both faculty-led programs and programs by outside providers has become a well-attended event on campus. Faculty have often accompanied their classes to the event. There, students can acquire an application after listening to the presentations of individuals representing the various programs. This process has become routine, after being established to accommodate the study abroad program to Tanzania. Students submit the completed application, including an essay describing their expectation for the Tanzanian trip, to the program director. In recent years, an interview was added to the application process to further assess a student’s preparedness for international travel. As demonstrated by the narratives, students choose the program for a number of reasons as indicated during the application process. Responses from those traveling outside of the country for the first time differ from those who have had prior overseas experience or who have selected a specific project or research focus before departure. In anticipation of his first trip overseas a student shared that he had never been outside of the country and was looking forward to a “tantalizing experience.” He perceived the trip as “a chance to see a different environment, country, culture and continent.” Another student said of the trip, it is “not only an opportunity of a lifetime, but a privilege.” She was the “first person on either side of her family to go back to the motherland,” and she wanted to “pave the way” for other family members to go at a later time, “to awaken something personal inside of them.” Another student wrote simply: “this is an opportunity of a lifetime.” Aside from these motivating factors, students cite a number of other goals they want to achieve during their visit to Tanzania. One stated that she wanted to see the “difference in the health care systems.” The opportunity was sought by a student to better understand “the many cultures that make up a percentage of America.” Participants are financially responsible for summer tuition at TSU, airfare, room and board, local transportation, fees to the University of Dar es Salaam, and traveler’s insurance. One fee paid to TSU covers these expenses, and payments can be made in increments. Financial assistance is

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available for student participants through the TSU Mickey Leland International Enhancement Program; the balance of fees must be secured by the student. Students are also responsible for obtaining their own passports, health insurance, and required vaccinations and malaria medication. All passports are submitted together, however, to the Consulate, to secure visas. Although the program is designed for TSU students and faculty (current and retired), students and faculty from other institutions and their family members and friends are welcomed. Faculty from the University of Houston and Houston Community College have joined the group in the past, and students from Austin Community College, Morehouse College, Louisiana State University, Prairie View A & M, the University of Texas, Health Science Center, and Duke have also participated. The President of Texas Southern University and his wife joined the group during the trip in 2009 and the TSU debate team, the following year. Although English is spoken at the University of Dar es Salaam, Swahili, the national language of Tanzania is introduced in orientation sessions before departure so that students become familiar with greetings and simple phrases. TSU faculty conduct the orientation sessions, informing students about housing, food, travel arrangements, medical precautions, and currency used in the country. A university mandated safety briefing is also conducted before the trip. Participants meet Tanzanian students attending TSU and other expatriates residing in the Houston area to exchange perceptions of their countries. When it can be arranged, participants also meet a representative of the Tanzanian government who may visit from the embassy in Washington, DC. Program Curriculum Students are assigned a number of projects to be completed while in Tanzania by the respective faculty members of the political science, history, and/or art departments. The projects vary to fulfill course requirements and to reflect the personal interests of the student with the approval of the appropriate faculty member. A photo essay, video, observation of political campaigning, paper critiques, and historical research in the documents collection of the University of Dar es Salaam are examples of the various projects completed in the past. Some students have previous travel experience and others have traveled to Tanzania with the group on more than one trip. Those students who

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have traveled overseas before tend to be more focused with their projects. One student indicated that he wanted to travel to Tanzania to achieve his career goal “to work internationally to help reduce world hunger.” During a prior trip abroad, he was made to realize the hardships endured by many living in developing countries and wanted to improve “the welfare of others.” A second student who had traveled internationally echoed the same sentiment: “one of the most important [goals] to me is educating myself on some of the severe problems that plague the world and its people and doing what I can to help fix them.” She cited famine, disease, and poverty as world problems, and recognized the benefit of “studying in a place where these problems are much more intense.” One other student had a specific research topic for her travel experience: “I would like to examine both the documentation of Tanzanian women in East African history and study [their] roles in the development of an independent Tanzania.” Students may start their individual project before leaving the United States but must submit their work for a grade at the end of the summer term. They are encouraged to utilize all resources at both universities, including Internet, library materials, observations, interviews, and research of other mediums. While in Tanzania, students have access to computer facilities, library, and mail service to complete their work. Although readily available, participants are informed of possible limits to electronic services due namely to temporary disruptions in electrical power. Participating faculty and topics may vary from year to year, but some topics have been presented routinely by the same faculty and guest speakers. A number of historical and political issues in Tanzania are the focus of classroom discussion, including events leading to the country’s independence, subsequent transitions in the government, and international relationships. Students are made aware of the relationship between Tanzania and the United States fostered during the various presidential administrations of each country. Tanzanian political leaders have also been invited to address the group about issues in the various regions of the country. Students are encouraged to read the local newspapers and watch news broadcasts to stay abreast of current events. Aside from the projects and other required classroom assignments, students are expected to accompany the group on visits to various historic sites and other places of cultural and social significance in the city and surrounding areas. To get a better understanding of the history of the region and the country, students typically visit several landmarks, including the ruins at a thirteenth-century trading post in Kaole and the

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nineteenth-­century Swahili port town of Bagamoyo. Exhibits of historical events and displays of national and regional artifacts are studied at the National Museum. The National Museum features several rotating contemporary art exhibitions, a permanent display of traditional art, a chronological natural science exhibit, and a permanent exhibition about modern political history in Tanzania. A tour of the Village Museum is also included to expose students to cultural artifacts and the various housing styles of the 120 ethnic groups in the country. During the 2012 visit, a course on the geography of Africa was offered. Other cultural activities have included attendance at performances of traditional dance and music as part of the fine arts course. The group observes internationally known Mwenge woodcarvers at their work sites and artisans at the Morogoro Stores which house the Tingatinga painting cooperative. Most recently the group visited the NAFASI arts space (https://www.nafasiartspace.org/). The art space hosts artists’ studios, performing artists, exhibitions, and stages for theatrical and musical presentations. The TSU group has been able to speak with and learn about a variety of political, medical, and social issues relevant to Tanzanian artists and audiences. Two trips have featured a cooking class to prepare Tanzanian foods using traditional utensils and cooking methods, hosted at the home of the instructor. Students have also attended local worship services and have been invited to the homes of church members to share a meal. A trip by ferry to the island of Zanzibar is included to explore different industries (i.e., spice cultivation and maritime trade). Visits to island cultural centers and historical landmarks on the island allow for comparisons to the politics, history, and fine arts of the mainland. A particularly emotional response is often the reaction when students learn of and tour the holding cells and slave market that once existed on the island. Additional trips have been arranged to the Mikumi National Park, Mt. Kilimanjaro, and Ngorongoro Crater for those interested. These excursions are unique in that the long drives to the destinations offer participants opportunities to witness rural communities firsthand. Visits to Wamata and Faraja, both social service agencies for HIV positive men, women, and orphaned children, have been added in different years. A representative from the Tanzania AIDS Program has addressed the issue of AIDS surveillance. Arrangements have been made for students to shadow professionals at various agencies, including a private Tanzanian hospital, a major publishing house to review publications procedures, and

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the Office of the Tanzania Railway Corporation. All activities are supervised by the faculty and subject to time in the schedule, the interests of individuals in the group, and availability of Tanzanian hosts and sponsors. Students are encouraged to share photographs and discuss their experiences through informal meetings with the faculty, the group with whom they traveled, alumni of the program, and others on campus, upon their return. Individual stories have been recorded in different media on campus including the student newspaper, campus website, and radio interviews. Students communicate details of the experience and their future academic and career aspirations in these various venues. In 2007, the ten-­ year anniversary was celebrated with student and faculty participants from each year and the general public interested in African culture. A meal of Tanzanian food and music complemented the occasion. A twenty-fifth anniversary will be the next milestone. The experience has been favorable for the majority of participants. Many have expressed willingness to return, as the experience met or exceeded their expectations. One student shared his interest in becoming a citizen of Tanzania after two trips with the group. Those students with the positive experiences can serve as the best recruiters to ensure the longevity of the study abroad program over the years.

Challenges Study abroad offered through TSU is unique in that it integrates the experience into the school curriculum, the first exposure to internationalization for a majority of the students. Students acquire an acuity in their respective academic fields that will make them more competitive in their endeavors after graduation. Participants develop a deeper cultural awareness that can be shared with family, friends, and other students. There are limitations to the program, however, hampering the expansion and threatening the sustainability of the internationalization efforts. Although basic Swahili instruction is given prior to departure, a course for academic credit in the language has not been sustained at Texas Southern University. The program is reliant mainly on student participation and funds from the International Education Fee. As a result of the success of the initial Tanzanian programs, TSU students voted to augment the fee in order to provide more support for international opportunities for students. The increase in funding led to the creation of the International

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Programs Office at the University. In turn, this office created a competitive grant program to support faculty-led study abroad programs. By 2019, the program supported up to ten programs each year, subsidizing the costs to students. The faculty are dedicated to the program, but there are restricted funds available to support their travel and payment for teaching. Financial resources made available to the students are limited to up to half the expense of the trip, based largely on need. Although individuals are successfully recruited to the program by faculty and former participants, ideally, there should be full-time personnel to advertise the program, recruit participants, and manage fund raising for the program. Another responsibility of the designated personnel would be uniform collection of predetermined data on all participants for yearly comparisons and reports. A particular challenge is the recruitment of male students, underrepresented among participants.

Future Directions Plans are underway for an art exhibit of the ancient culture of Tanzania to be sent for display in the museum at TSU.  One TSU faculty member returned in 2008 from the University of Dar es Salaam after completion of an academic year as a Fulbright scholar. It is anticipated that others, including other faculty and students, will apply in the future to take advantage of this unique internationalization opportunity. Most importantly, the success of the program spurred the development of internationalization on the campus of TSU. The expansion of the funding driven by the Tanzania program allowed the University to support an increase in faculty-led study abroad programs. Two have been generated within the Foreign Language Department. The Spanish language program launched an on-going annual trip to Spain. The French language program, in conjunction with faculty from both the Department of Visual and Performing Arts and the Department of Music, launched Paris Noir, a study abroad program based in Paris. The program not only focuses on the rich contributions of African Americans to French culture through African-American music, visual art, and dance, but also celebrates the migration of Africans to Paris. The impact of the migration is in the 11th Arrondissement (or little Africa, as it is locally described) and the rich collections of African art found in museums throughout Paris. At least two TSU students have participated in both TSU Study Abroad in Tanzania and Paris Noir. A veteran of the Tanzania program helped to

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develop the trip and modeled its curriculum on the flexibility and student-­ centered elements of the Tanzania program. Study abroad programs have been initiated in other units on campus. The business faculty developed a business-focused annual trip to China. Science faculty members created a lab-based research program visiting sites across Europe. Faculty from the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences organized trips to islands in the Caribbean to expand the number of types and sites for pharmacy rotations and to complement a global health course, respectively. Participation in the study abroad trip to Tanzania has declined over the years, due to the development of these programs to other international locations. Unfortunately, all trips were suspended during the summer of 2020 and likely in 2021, too, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusions The study abroad trip sponsored by Texas Southern University in conjunction with Dar es Salaam University is interdisciplinary, attracting participants from a number of academic areas. Having a mix of first time and seasoned travelers creates a strong bond for the entire group. Both the University and students benefit from the experience. Observations and casual conversations reveal that students who return from the trip are more self-confident and more mature than others who have not had an overseas experience. The acquired traits are acknowledged when students apply to graduate programs, professional schools, or prospective employers. Former student participants voluntarily serve as ambassadors for the program, assisting with advertising and recruiting. The experience is also noted to improve retention of students at the University. Consistent with the mission and function of White House Initiatives supported by presidential administrations, other advantages of study abroad programs have been recognized. Students learn specific subject content for academic credit and improve foreign language training. Participants enhance career preparation, financial and professional potential and expand employment opportunities. Enrollment in such programs broaden personal experiences and leadership capabilities. Study abroad also allows students to acquire new skills and explore different interests. Other benefits include the opportunity to meet individuals from different backgrounds and cultures, dispel stereotypes, gain a new perspective on his/her own country/culture, and explore his/her heritage. All these

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activities provide outlets for students to develop a personal network of international contacts. These benefits may mirror those reported nationally but have special significance for students attending an HBCU.  The intent of this chapter was to outline steps in developing a successful program at an institution with limited resources for the unique student population it serves, majority low-income and minority. For students at TSU, study abroad is an educational opportunity outside the traditional classroom that exposes them to a meaningful internationalization experience. Located in Houston, one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country, TSU is strategically positioned to lead students to avail themselves of all the outlets for internationalization present in the city. Those opportunities, combined with study abroad, can be an introduction or extension of a cultural emergence or internationalization experience that adds immeasurably to classroom instruction. Typical of many HBCUs, the majority of students are native to the city, state, or surrounding area where the school is located. In the case of TSU students, some have never traveled outside of Houston or the state of Texas, and/or have never flown on a plane. In contrast, other program participants have traveled with their friends or family on vacations or with the military, and/or other school-sponsored trips. Regardless of past exposure, the study abroad travel at TSU is an internationalization experience that can broaden and corroborate the life learning of students. Students became more aligned with other international citizens and the global economy. The journey at TSU for study abroad usually starts with a visit to the Travel Fair. Interested students meet the various program directors and outside vendors who present an overview and/or make available information about the various trips and sources of financial support. The event is widely publicized on campus through campus media outlets, and faculty are encouraged to accompany their classes to the event. Former student travelers engage visitors to consider a trip. Most importantly, the application process can be initiated. This chapter outlined the process used to build the successful study abroad program at TSU, including the recruitment of faculty leaders and student participants. The effort to promote internationalization on campus began with a core group of faculty with international experience and connections in one country in Africa. This group helped build interest among students and faculty through one program to Tanzania and has been extended to include programs to other countries. The additional

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programs have attracted a greater number of students with different perceptions and aspirations for the internationalization experience. Despite which destination is chosen, the trip is intended to add a positive extension to the academic pursuits and personal enrichment of each student. Strategies to initiate and/or strengthen a successful study abroad program include, but are not limited to: • Securing internal, state, and/or federal financial support for students and faculty leaders • Seeking support from faculty, staff, and administrators with international experience and networks • Utilizing existing resources and/or combining/exchanging resources with other institutions • Emphasizing advantages and benefits to students and encouraging involvement in planning and evaluation of the program • Creating a designated office or staff to coordinate study abroad program At TSU, faculty, with support from administrators, have leveraged external support with the development of constituencies on campus to expand the range of study abroad offerings available to the students at TSU.  It may be a long way from Houston to Dar es Salaam, but this effort, built over 20 years, has successfully bridged that gap.

References Broussard, J. (2019, November 13). How do we achieve diversity in study abroad? vertoeducation.org/verto-­e ducation/how-­d o-­w e-­a chieve-­d iversity-­i n­study-­abroa/ Campbell, C. M., Mata, C. S., & Galloway, F. (2017). Meeting today’s higher education goals via the national center for education statistics postsecondary sample surveys. National Post Secondary Education Cooperative. Dwyer, M. M. (2017, January 6). The benefits of study abroad. https://www.iesabroad.org/study-­abroad/news/benefits-­study-­abroad#sthash.ZHeZBNcF. dpbs Dwyer, M. M., & Peters, C. K. (2004). The benefits of study abroad. https://www. iesaboard.org/news/benefits-­study-­abroad Esmien, P., Mullen, S., Samayoa, A.  C., Gasman, M., Perkins, C., Wolff, M., Jimenez, C. D., & Beazley, M. (2016, March 1). Increasing diversity abroad:

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Expanding opportunities for students at minority serving institutions. ciee.org/ sites/default/files/content/documents/college-­study/msi_study_report_pdf Executive Order 12232. (1980, August 8). Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive order 12232-­historica lly-­black-­colleges-­and-­universities Institute of International Education. (2012). Profile of U.S. study abroad students, 2000/01–2010/11. http://www.iie.org/opendoors Institute of International Education. (2015). Profile of U.S. study abroad students, 2003/04–2013/14. http://www.iie.org/opendoors Institute of International Education. (2016). Open doors: Report on international educational exchange. nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d16tables/ dt16_310.10.asp Institute of International Education. (2017). Profile of U.S. study abroad students, 2004/05–2015/16. http://www.iie.org/opendoors Institute of International Education. (2018a). Profile of U.S. study abroad students, 2005/06–2016/17. http://www.iie.org/opendoors Institute of International Education. (2018b). Open doors: Report on international educational exchange. nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/ dt18_310.10.asp Lu, C. (2016, February 23). Putting color onto the white canvas. insidehighered. com/views/2016/02/23/expanding-­opportunities-­minority-­students-­study­aboard-­essay Monyei, A. (2011, February 21). Educators want more minority students to study abroad.http://www.bvblackspin.com/2011/02/21/educators-­want-­more-­minoriyt-­ students-­to-­study-­ National Association for Foreign Student Association, 2018–2019, (2020). Trends in U.S. study abroad. Retrieved December 23, 2020, from nafsa.org/policy-­ and-­advocacy/policy-­resources/trends-­us-­study-­study-­abroad National Association for Foreign Student Association. (2020, March). Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Program Act. nafsa.org/policy-­and-­advocacy/what-­ we-­stand-­for/senator-­paul-­simon-­study-­abroad-­program-­act Pennsylvania Center for Minority Serving Institutions. (2019). The changing face of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. www.ecmcfoundation.org. informed/2019 “S. Res 308-109th Congress”. (2005). A resolution designating 2006 as the ‘Year of Study Abroad’. www.GovTrack.u.s. 2000 https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/109/sres308 The White House. (2002, February 12). President George W. Bush. Advisors for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. georgewbush-­whitehouse. archives.gov/news/releases/2002/02/20020212-­3.html The White House. (2010, February 10). President Obama signs executive order promoting excellence, innovation and sustainability at Historically Black Colleges

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and Universities. obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-­press-­office/present-­ obama-­signs-­executive-­order-­promoting-­exellence-­innovation-­and-­sustainab U.S. Department of State, USA Study Abroad. (n.d.). U.S. study abroad continues to increase and diversify. studyabroad.state.gov/value-­study-­abroad/highlights-­ and-­activities/us-­study-­abroad-­continues-­increase-­and-­diversify UNIVSTATS. (2020). Colleges offering study abroad programs in Texas. univstats. com/academic/college-­offering-­studyabroad-­programs-­in-­the-­state Andrea J.  Shelton is a professor in the Department of Health Sciences, in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (COPHS) at Texas Southern University (TSU). Dr. Shelton teaches an undergraduate global health course and coordinates a study abroad program with a health focus to the Caribbean islands of St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and Nevis.Dr. Shelton has also traveled with study abroad students to Tanzania and China. Alvia J.  Wardlaw is the Director/Curator of the University Museum at Texas Southern University and Professor of Art History in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at Texas Southern University. Dr. Wardlaw was a participant in the first Fulbright African Curriculum for American Educators workshop in Liberia. Dr. Wardlaw has traveled with and taught students in both Tanzania and France on numerous occasions and remains an active supporter of the TSU Tanzania Study Abroad Program and the TSU Paris Noir Program. Leamon L. Green  is an associate professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at Texas Southern University. Professor Green is a visual artist who was a Fulbright Scholar in the Department of Creative Arts at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Mr. Green has traveled and taught students as part of the TSU Tanzania Study Abroad Program for a number of years. Gregory H. Maddox  is Professor of History, Dean of the Graduate School, and Director of International Programs at Texas Southern University. Dr. Maddox was a Fulbright Scholar in the Department of History at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. He is a specialist in Tanzanian and environmental history and has published widely in those fields.

CHAPTER 6

Minority Students’ Perspectives on Study Abroad: One Case Within the Historically Black College and University Community Ella Carter

Introduction The concept of traveling abroad to study is not a new concept. According to some reports, the concept began as early as the Middle Ages. However, according to the University of Delaware’s (n.d.) website, Dr. Raymond Kirkbride is considered a pioneer in U.S. study abroad program development. In the early 1920s, he presented the concept of taking students to France to study but was forced to delay the actual implementation of the program until he secured external funding. On July 7, 1923, eight students traveled to France under what became known as the Delaware Foreign Study Plan ­ (https://www.udel.edu/home/global/study-­ abroad/history/).

E. Carter (*) Department of Marketing, Bowie State University, Bowie, MD, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 K. Bista, A. L. Pinder (eds.), Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96490-0_6

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Since its inception, the U.S. government has placed considerable importance on the expansion of study abroad programs, which included the junior year abroad, faculty-led, and short-term study abroad programs (Hoffa, 2007). Many of these programs provided opportunities for students around the country to travel abroad until World War II began. After the war ended, the U.S. government’s Fulbright-Hayes Program enabled students to study abroad in the late 1940s (Kasravi, 2009). In the following decades, the focus shifted from exchange programs for graduate students, professors, and international students to a more inclusive view that offered students not only the opportunity to understand other cultures but to become the catalyst for change (Goodwin & Nacht, 1988; Obst et al., 2007). Federal legislation such as the National Defense Education and the National Education Security Act, also known as Title VIII, has further enabled institutions to expand international student educational opportunities (Dubois, 1995). These new policy changes coupled with agencies such as the Council of International Exchange Education and The Institute for International Education have been instrumental in providing increased access for students around the nation. In the last decade, colleges and universities around the world have provided a plethora of opportunities for students to travel abroad to explore and better understand different cultures. In an increasingly diverse and highly competitive global market, institutions recognize that it is more important than ever before for students to have a more global perspective of education and the world.

Literature Review Over the last few decades, U.S. educational institutions have worked diligently to design academic programs that offer students an opportunity to study abroad in various fields. According to a 2019 Institute of International Education (IIE) Open Doors report, over 341,751 U.S. students participated in a study abroad opportunity during the 2017/2018 academic year. While this figure represents a 2.7% increase over the previous year, the increase has been significantly lower for non-White or minority students. Most students that are participating in study abroad programs are from three primary fields of study: STEM (25.6%), social sciences (17.1%), and business (20.8%). The remaining 13.9% are from foreign languages and international studies (7.1%), and fine or applied arts (6.8%). Students in fine arts and applied science showed the largest increase (10.8%) in

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participation from the previous year. For most students (64.6%), the duration was eight weeks or less. The remaining 35.4% of students participated in study abroad experience lasting from between a summer and one or two semesters up to a full academic year. The report further states that 70.8% of participants were White, 10.6% were Hispanic, 8.4% were Asian/Pacific Islander, 6.1% were Black/African American, 4.3% were identified Multiracial, and 0.4% were identified as American Indian or Native Alaskan. During the prior year, Whites represented 70%, Hispanic represented 10.2%, Asian Pacific Islanders were 9.2%, and Black/African Americans remained unchanged at 6.1%. In its 2017–2018 annual report, IIE researchers stressed the importance of international education and stated that, “education transcends borders and opens minds.” In an earlier IIE report entitled Meeting America’s Global Education Challenge: Current Trends in U.S.  Study Abroad & The Impact of Strategic Diversity Initiatives (Blumenthal & Gutierrez, 2009), the agency stressed the importance “of international knowledge, cross-cultural communication and intercultural competence.” However, as of 2019 the disparity between minority student participation and that of students at majority institutions remains an enormous concern for administrators, students, faculty, managers, businesses, and policymakers alike. If minority students are to have an equitable chance to compete in today’s highly competitive job market, minority students need increased access to these programs. Despite the implementation of numerous programs and policies, the literature indicates that black and lower socioeconomic status students are severely underrepresented in study abroad programs (Sweeney, 2013). Organizations such as the National Association of International Educators (NAFSA, 2020), IIE, and others have been working to reduce these disparities through policy changes and legislation such as the proposed Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Act, which is designed to encourage participation, increase diversity, and ensure that at least 1,000,000 students are able to study abroad annually (https://www. nafsa.org). At the institutional level, Brux and Fry (2010) cited academic scheduling, program relevancy, and lack of information among the top issues. At the program level, Strange and Gibson (2017) and other scholars (Lewis & Markey, 2020; Sutton et al., 2017) have identified program design, standards, and assessment as essential elements in study abroad program development. Numerous authors have researched the effects of study abroad on U.S. students (Grant, 2020; Norfles, 2006; Jackson, 2006; Kaufman

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et al., 1992; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005; Carlson et al., 1990), and the literature has shown that numerous variables affect the learning outcomes from a study abroad experience. These include age and maturity of the student, length of stay in the host country, language skills, prior knowledge of the host country, as well as their individual expectations of the study abroad experience (Kaufman et  al., 1992; Martin & Rohrlich, 1991). Program outcomes may include the psychosocial, behavioral, or affective factors including, but not limited to, self-efficacy, global competence (Sutton & Rudin, 2004), increased self-confidence, as well as multicultural identity (Sutton et al., 2017). Theoretical Perspectives For decades the study abroad experience has been linked to the fields of cultural studies, anthropology, and business, especially tourism. Based on Chickering & Reisser’s (1993) theory of identity development, study abroad experiences provide students the opportunity to develop an identity, which in turn leads to improved ability to function in the world. According to Chickering, identify development occurs in several key areas or “vectors,” which include the following: • Developing Competence • Managing Emotion • Moving Toward Interdependence • Developing Mature Personal Relationships • Establishing Identity • Developing Purpose • Developing Integrity During the process of moving through the various vectors, the student becomes “more skilled at using the mind,” develops ways to manage emotions, shifts toward interdependence, and may be able to develop more mature relationships which in part contribute to one’s ability to develop identity, purpose, and integrity (Chickering & Reisser, 1993). According to Pietro (2019); Coker et  al. (2018); and others (Potts, 2015; Curtis & Ledgerwood, 2018; Abrams, 1979), the benefits of study abroad include improved language skills, increased employability, and development of a global view of the world. If these theories are correct, how does the lack of participation affect minority students’ abilities to

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develop these important qualities? Does this lack of participation further reduce employment options and one’s ability to develop a global perspective? While this research does not seek to investigate these issues, it should be noted that these issues are of paramount importance as institutions strive to provide more experiential learning opportunities for students. Experiential education is a term that is often used in conjunction with the concept of study abroad. However, the degree to which the study abroad program provides experiential education depends largely on program design (Strange & Gibson, 2017; Katula & Threnhauser, 1999). The concept of experiential learning is rooted in theories of education developed by John Dewey (1997) and applied by numerous other scholars (Bain & Yaklin, 2019; Strange & Gibson, 2017; Itin, 1999; Kolb, 1984), which indicate the experience can be transformative, “liberatory,” or even “mis-educative.” According to Dewey, the goal of experiential learning is to empower and liberate the learner. Almost two decades earlier, Freire (1974) had posited that experiential education helps create a “critical consciousness” which is built on “reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it.” Over four decades later, scholars from across the globe continue to debate the best way to create the most transformative experiences for students. West and Dirkx (2019) argue that students should experience a perspective shift, while others insist students must have opportunities to engage with people for the host country or become totally immersed in the culture. Otherwise, the experience has the potential to be “mis-educative” if students are not provided with opportunities to “move from ethnocentrism through stages of greater recognition and acceptance of difference” (Bennett, 1998). According to Strange and Gibson (2017), study abroad experiences are intentionally designed to be transformative in nature; however, student intention determines the ultimate success of the experience. According to Tarrant (2010), “Most study abroad programs include a travel/field component (either as add-on/incidental to the educational experience or as an integral component of the program itself). However, the degree to which the experiential education affects education outcomes is often unknown.” He further states, “It has often been argued that short-term study abroad programs have limited potential to affect student learning outcomes on the basis that they lack the academic rigor or are of insufficient duration to immerse students in a cultural or linguistic environment or promote gains in country-specific knowledge.” However, other scholars (Bain & Yaklin, 2019; Pike & Sillem, 2018; DeGraaf et al.,

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2013; McKeown, 2009) emphasize the importance of connecting course-­ specific outcomes to the experience and argue that the “first-time effect” is one in which “something profound happens” and students are transformed into global citizens. If this assumption is correct, will minority students have the same opportunities to become global citizens? In 1996, Carroll examined the participation between historically underrepresented students in study abroad programs to determine whether there was a relationship between ethnicity and interest in study abroad programs. African-American students expressed the greatest concern about fears of racism relating specifically to their ethnicity and nationality than participants from other groups. Seventy-one percent of students reported that they considered studying abroad; however, financial concerns were the most frequent barriers to student participation. Additional concerns about graduation and a lack of information were also cited (Carroll, 1996; Kasravi, 2009). In 2002, Clemens examined the perceived barriers to study abroad and found that financial constraints, fears associated with racism, and lack of language competency were also reasons for the lack of minority student participation. More recently, these findings have been further supported and remain largely unchanged as evidenced by numerous contemporary scholars (Blake et al., 2020; Blanton & Roy, 2018; Brux & Fry, 2010). According to Blanton and Roy (2018), 58% of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) offer study abroad programs; however, African-­ American participation remains low. As Norton (2008) indicated, “often the perception is that study abroad programs are for more privileged students from wealthy white families, not low-income minority students.” According to Simon and Ainsworth (2012), the lack of participation may be due to a combination of individual and institutional factors, which include economic factors, social class, culture, as well as the lack of faculty participation and capacity-building resources. Amani and Kim (2018) found many of these factors still remain and expanded the list to include faculty encouragement, group affinity, and personal timing. However, cost remained a key issue.

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Barriers to Study Abroad Participation for Minority Students I nstitutional Challenges to Building Study Abroad Programs Lack of funding and budget cuts are two of the biggest challenges facing minority student educational experiences. According to the 2019 National Center for Education Statistics report, HBCUs conferred 35% of all bachelor’s degrees earned by African-Americans and 21% of all master’s degrees in education earned by African Americans. The report further states that during the period 2000–2010, HBCUs saw significant increases in Asian, Latino, American Indian, and White student enrollment. However, in 2011–2017 many of these gains were lost due to changes in eligibility criteria linked to the Parent PLUS loans. Other challenges include lack of institutional policies and procedures to identify and select vendors, and limited faculty and staff to assist students in obtaining the necessary travel documents and immunizations. Although these are commonly recognized issues, they are not the primary focus of this study. Program Costs According to Norton (2008) and Brux and Fry (2010), cost is one of the key barriers that prevents minority student participation. While financial aid can help increase study abroad participation rates, it also results in higher student debt for a population of students that have more difficulties finding employment after graduation. According to an Economic Policy Institute report (Williams & Wilson, 2019), African-Americans college students are more likely to be unemployed (3.5% vs. 2.2%) or underemployed (40%) than their White counterparts. While these statistics paint a rather bleak picture for many minority students, several studies (Di Pietro, 2019; Gaines, 2012; Trooboff et al., 2007) have shown that employers value study abroad experiences and there are benefits afforded to minority students who participate in study abroad experiences. According to Blanton and Roy (2018), benefits include enhanced career opportunities, global awareness, as well as improved psychosocial skills. This can be extremely important for minority students, and depending on the duration and type of program, it may be well worth the investment. Studies have shown that those who study abroad found their first job within six months of graduation and earned $7000 more in starting salaries than those who did not.

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Apprehension According to Lee and Scott (2017), American Americans have indicated that another key concern related to traveling abroad is the potential for racial discrimination. Dillette et al. (2019) also identified racial incidents and concerns about traveling while Black as recurring themes. Apprehension or anxiety about interaction between other program participants was cited as a concern for some students, although most explained that when prejudice or racism did exist, it did not come from residents of the host country (Sweeney, 2013). Although prior research (Salisbury et al., 2011; Brux & Fry, 2010; Dessoff, 2006; Jackson, 2005) has shown numerous barriers for minority student participation in study abroad programs, fear of racism abroad was identified as a reason for the lack of participation in these programs (Salisbury et  al., 2009; Dessoff, 2006; Perdreau, 2002). More recently, Blake et al. (2020) and Willis (2016) found that concerns about racial discrimination and other microaggressions continue to impact minority students’ willingness to participate in study abroad experiences. Language Barriers Many minority students also lack the ability to speak other languages. Research (Pudelko & Tenzer, 2019; Lassiter, 2003; Holobrow et  al., 1987) has shown that language skills can benefit all students, including socioeconomically disadvantaged students. According to Wiley (1985) students who studied a foreign language in high school were more likely to achieve higher academic scores in college than those of equal academic ability who did not. Watterson (2011) found that African-American students take fewer foreign language courses and participate in fewer study abroad opportunities than their White counterparts. As the world becomes more global, minority student must also achieve a certain level of global competency if they are to be successful in an increasingly diverse, more global environment. Reimers (2009) defines global competency as “the knowledge and skills to help people understand the flat world in which they live, integrate across disciplinary domains to comprehend global affairs and events, and create possibilities to address them.” He further states global competency consists of several dimensions, including the “ability to speak, understand and think in languages in addition to the dominant language in the country in which people are born.” Moreover, he states:

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Global competencies have been rewarded in years past, and because of this some families, schools and universities have for many years helped a select group of students acquire the ability to speak foreign languages, an interest in global affairs and deep knowledge of global topics. What is changing as a result of globalization is that these skills are necessary for the majority of the world’s population, not just for a few. Therefore, global competency should now be a purpose of mass education, not just of elite education.

 rade Point Averages G Grade point averages have long been a barrier for minority participation in study abroad program. In order for education to be more inclusive, study abroad programs must offer opportunities to a broader audience including students who may have lower grade point averages. Traditionally, study abroad programs often require a higher grade point average for student participation (Sutton & Rudin, 2010). For students with low grade point averages, this can reduce the likelihood of low-income and minority students participating in these programs. Although grade point averages vary from one institution to another, most require a GPA of 2.7 to 3.0. However, there are some study abroad programs that have less stringent requirements that offer academically challenged students the opportunity to experience other cultures. This is extremely important for students who may have been educated in school systems that have a history of poor academic performance. Research has shown students who participate in study abroad often have a transformative experience (DeGraaf et  al., 2013; Hadis, 2005; Sutton & Rudin, 2004), which results in higher grade point averages and graduation rates. According to Redden (2006), students who study abroad have improved academic performance after the study abroad experience. Many students choose to continue their education in pursuit of more advanced or terminal degrees. For those students who chose to continue their education, 90% of study abroad alumni were admitted to their firstor second-choice graduate school. This study is designed to determine whether the issues of cost, fear, language barriers, and grade point averages are affecting minority students’ decisions to participate in study abroad programs within the HBCU community.

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Methodology Faculty developed the research questions for the survey instrument, and the Office of Academic Planning and Analysis staff assisted with developing the link used in the data collection process. The survey instrument was approved by the IRB and posted on SurveyMonkey®. An online survey was chosen to reduce the error rate associated with paper surveys, increase response rates, and reduce time spent on data analysis. The survey instrument that was used consisted of a total of 20 questions including 17 multiple-­choice questions, two 5-point Likert-scale questions, and one fill in the blank. Students were asked to provide demographic information, which included student rank, major, gender, age group, ethnic background, GPA, as well as degree attainment information. The two Likert-­ scaled questions focused on how important study abroad experiences were to a student’s educational experience as well as how important study abroad opportunities are to their personal educational experiences. Participants The sample included 120 students from one of the oldest Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States. Students were asked to complete a 20-question survey in an attempt to better understand students’ interests in study abroad programs as well as the key factors affecting student participation in these programs. The sample included undergraduate students from all four colleges on campus including the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business, College of Education, as well as the College of Professional Studies. Participation was optional, and all respondents were self-selected. Approximately 91% (90.79) self-identified as African American; approximately 4% (3.96) as Central American, South American, or Hispanic; 1.5% as American Indian/Alaskan Native; and the remaining 3% identified as Other (Non-White). Respondents included 39 male and 37 female students from various ethnic backgrounds and class rankings. One student did not indicate gender. A two-point extra credit incentive was added to the final grade of each respondent to encourage participation and completion of the survey.

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Results A total of 77 students responded to the survey. Respondents included 5 freshman, 20 sophomore, 24 juniors, and 28 seniors with concentrations in accounting, finance, economics, management, marketing, communications, or other. A total of 39 males and 38 females responded. Most students (63%) were between the ages of 18 and 22, approximately 25% were between the ages of 23 and 25, and the remaining 12% were in the 26–30 age range. Approximately 87% (86.84) of students were from the College of Business and 13% (13.16) were from the College of Arts and Sciences. There were no respondents from the College of Professional Studies or the College of Education. Approximately 91% of students self-identified as African American, 1.3% Central American, 1.3% South American, 1.3% Hispanic, 1.3% American Indian/Alaskan Native, and 3% identified themselves as Other (Non-White), and the remaining 1.3% did not indicate ethnic background. Most respondents (65%) indicated that they have grade point averages (GPAs) in the 2.1–3.0 range or 3.1–4.0 range (34%); only 1% had grade point averages in the 1.0–2.0 range. Although most grade point averages were in the 2.1–3.0 range, approximately 38% (37.6%) of respondents indicated that the BS degree was the highest academic degree that they planned to attain, 38% planned to pursue master’s degrees (MA, MS, MBA), and 21% (20.8) planned to pursue a doctoral degree (PhD, EdD, or JD). When asked to rate the importance of a study abroad experience to a student’s educational experience, 86% of students indicated that they thought the study abroad experience was not important or extremely unimportant to a student’s educational experience. When asked to rate the importance of a study abroad experience to their personal educational experience, approximately 79% (78.95%) indicated that the study abroad experience was extremely unimportant to their educational experience. An additional 10.53% indicated that the study abroad experience was not important to their educational experience. Only 5% indicated that the study abroad experience was important to their educational experience. Only 1% indicated that the study abroad experience was somewhat important, and the remaining 4% were neutral about the importance of the study abroad experience to their own educational experience.

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Although the majority of students indicated that the study abroad experience was either unimportant or extremely unimportant, over 71% of the respondents indicated that they were interested in participating in a study abroad experience. The remaining 29% indicated that they were not interested in a study abroad experience. One respondent did not respond to the question. Over 93% (93.5%) of students had never submitted an application to participate in a study abroad experience. Only 6.5% of students had submitted an application to participate in a study abroad experience. Students were asked to indicate why they were not interested in participating in a study abroad experience, and respondents could select from a list of predetermined reasons and specify other reasons that may not have been included in the list. Approximately 80% indicated that cost was the primary reason for their lack of interest. Twenty-nine percent of respondents indicated that language issues were the reasons for their lack of interest in participating in a study abroad experience. Other reasons (see Table 6.1) for not participating included fear of traveling abroad (23.5%) and ineligibility due to low grade point averages (8.8%). The respondents that did indicate that they were interested in studying abroad cited multiple reasons for their interest. Over 85% indicated that they want to learn about other cultures as the primary reason for their interest. In addition (see Table 6.2), 79% also indicated that they need a global perspective or the study abroad experience would improve their career prospects (75.8%). Many students indicated that they simply like to travel as a reason for their interest, while 29% stated that they want to study in a region that is connected to their heritage.

Table 6.1  Reasons for not participating in a study abroad program Cost Not interested in learning about other cultures Fear of traveling abroad Language issues Location or country is not interesting Ineligible due to GPA Don’t see the value of participating in a study abroad program

79.41% 6.88% 23.63% 29.41% 5.88% 8.82% 20.69%

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Table 6.2 Reasons why students are interested in participating in a study abroad program

I want to learn about other cultures Need a global perspective Improve career options Like to travel Study in a region connected to my heritage

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85.48% 79.03% 75.81% 83.67% 29.03%

Discussion and Conclusion In numerous studies, the literature indicates that minority student interest in study abroad program is fairly high and continues to increase. However, the actual level of participation remains relatively low. Reasons cited have included costs, fear of traveling abroad, and lack of language competency as the key reasons for minority students’ lack of participation. In most studies, students indicated that they saw the importance of the study abroad experience and viewed it as a gateway to increased employment opportunities. This may be due in part to the fact that much of the research was conducted in majority institutions rather than within the Historically Black College and University community. Unlike prior studies, the results of this research indicate that most respondents did not see the study abroad experience as being important to the educational experience and, in particular, their educational experience. However, the vast majority of respondents indicated that they are interested in studying abroad. Considering the fact that most did not see the importance of a study abroad experience to their education, the results were unexpected. While some viewed it as an opportunity to travel, most indicated that the study abroad experience could increase career prospects or provide a more global perspective. Most employers and researchers also recognize the importance of the study abroad experience in a student’s education. The literature has overwhelmingly supported the concept that a study abroad experience enhances a student’s overall educational experience. However, minority students in this study failed to recognize the importance of studying abroad. Even though generalizations about the total population of minority students cannot be made, data indicated that many students in this study did not recognize the importance of the study abroad experience to a student’s educational experience.

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Additional research is needed to determine how the lack of participation affects employment option and the ability to develop a global perspective. For educators, it may provide a tremendous opportunity to highlight the benefits of study abroad, which include increased employment opportunities, higher salaries, and a greater appreciation for cultural diversity as well as diversity of thought. As previously noted, study abroad participants tend to earn an average of $7000 more than non-participants, and prior research (Layton, 2019; Di Pietro, 2019; Foster, 2019; DeGraaf et  al., 2013) has consistently highlighted multiple personal and professional benefits for participants and employers. Similarly, Doerr (2020) and Ozkul (2019) have found that study abroad has significantly increased global competence levels in the areas of social responsibility, cognitive knowledge, intrapersonal affect, and acceptance of other cultures for minority and undergraduate business students. Foster (2019) even describes study abroad is a twenty-first-century employment game changer. Limitations of the Study and Recommendations Key limitations in this study include sample size, the limited number of institutions involved in the study, as well as the type of questions used in the survey instrument. Future studies should include a more diverse sample and a larger number of minority-serving institutions to determine whether the challenges described in this study are representative of other minority-serving institutions or whether the key issues are limited to the HBCU community. This sample would also mirror the demographic breakdown for minority population in accordance with the 2020 Census, and it would also include students from disciplines within the College of Education, the College of Professional Studies, and others. Furthermore, the survey would also include open-ended questions, which would enable the researcher to explore the reason(s) why so many students did not understand the importance of studying abroad and whether this finding is limited to this sample group or a recurring issue throughout the entire HBCU community. Additional research is also needed to determine whether there is a relationship between participation and other factors such as faculty and administrative support, program marketing, and communication efforts. More research is also needed to determine whether these findings are the result of lack of exposure to other cultures or a lack of knowledge about the benefits associated with studying abroad.

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Although many faculties strive to integrate diversity and cultural topics into the curriculum to ensure that students’ spheres of influence are not limited to their own communities, more research is also needed to determine the degree of interaction students have with individuals from other cultures. Lastly, future research would investigate how the lack of participation in study abroad program is affecting minority students’ ability to develop a global perspective and whether it impacts their employment options. Implications This research examines some of the issues that prevent minority students from participating in study abroad programs within the HBCU community. For most HBCUs, the lack of external funding and limited study abroad capacity-building resources have resulted in program cuts and the inability to provide experiential learning opportunities such as study abroad. Despite the fiscal challenges that many of these institutions face, they still are a key component for providing minority students educational opportunities. This is especially true for African-American students. Study abroad is an integral part of preparing students for employment in an increasingly global market. Without proper funding and the capacity to build strong study abroad programs, minority students may enter the global marketplace without the skills needed to compete and become global citizens. Therefore, policymakers, administrators, and faculty must strive to ensure that all students have equal access to opportunities that will allow them to better understand different cultures, lifestyles, and business practices. Study abroad is just one step toward the realization of that goal and achieving a more culturally sensitive, globally competent world.

References Abrams, I. (1979). The impact of Antioch education through experience abroad. Alternative Higher Education, 3(3), 176–187. Amani, M., & Kim, M. (2018). Study abroad participation at community colleges: Students’ decision and influential factors. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 42(10), 678–692. Bain, S., & Yaklin, L. (2019). Striving for transformative impact. Research in Higher Education Journal, 36, 1–5.

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Bennett, M. (1998). Basic concepts of intercultural communication: Selected readings. Intercultural Press. Blake, D., Gasman, M., Esmieu, P. L., Castro Samayoa, A., & Cener, J. (2020). Culturally relevant study abroad for students of color: Lessons from the Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship in London. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 13(2), 158. Blanton, L., & Roy, P. (2018). Minority-serving institutions and global engagement. Global Education & Minority-Serving Institutions in U.S.  Higher Education, 4. http://www.pamelaroy.net Blumenthal, N., & Gutierrez, R. (2009). Meeting America’s global educational challenge: Expanding study abroad capacity at America’s colleges and universities. Institute for International Education. https://www.immagic.com/eLibrary/ARCHIVES/GENERAL/IIE_US/I070519O.pdf Brux, J., & Fry, B. (2010). Multicultural students in study abroad: Their interests, their issues, and their constraints. Journal of Studies in International Education, 14(5), 508–527. Carlson, J., Burn, B., Useem, J., & Yachimowicz, D. (1990). Study abroad: The experience of American undergraduates. Greenwood. Carroll, A. V. (1996). The participation of historically underrepresented students in study abroad programs: An assessment of interest and perception of barriers (Unpublished master’s thesis), Colorado State University. Chickering, A. W., & Reisser, L. (1993). Education and identity. The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series. Jossey Bass. Clemens, C. R. (2002). A descriptive study of demographic characteristics and perceptions of cross-cultural effectiveness of diverse students at Ohio University in relation to study abroad. (Doctoral dissertation), Ohio University. Coker, J. S., Heiser, E., & Taylor, L. (2018). Student outcomes associated with short-term and semester study abroad programs. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 30(2), 92–105. Curtis, T., & Ledgerwood, J. (2018). Students’ motivation, perceived benefits and constraints toward study abroad and other international education opportunities. Journal of International Education, 11(1), 63–78. DeGraaf, D., Slagter, C., Larsen, K., & Ditta, E. (2013). The long-term personal and professional impacts of participating in a study abroad program. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 23(1), 42–59. Dessoff, A. (2006). Who’s not going abroad? International Educator, 15(2), 20. Dewey, J. (1997). Experience and education. Free Press. Di Pietro, G. (2019). University study abroad and graduates’ employability. IZA World of Labor. https://wol.iza.org/articles/university-­study-­abroad-­and-­ graduates-­employability

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Dillette, A. K., Benjamin, S., & Carpenter, C. (2019). Tweeting the black travel experience: Social media counternarrative stories as innovative insight on #TravelingWhileBlack. Journal of Travel Research, 58(8), 1357–1372. Doerr, N.  M. (2020). Global competence of minority immigrant students: Hierarchy of experience and ideology of global competence in study abroad. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 41(1), 83–97. Dubois, D. (1995). Responding to the needs of our nation: A look at the Fulbright and NSEP Education Acts. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 1, 54–80. Foster, C. P. (2019). Study abroad: The game-changer for employment in the 21st century. Trevecca Nazarene University. Freire, P. (1974). Education for critical consciousness. Continuum. Gaines, N. D. (2012). Exploring the perceptions of study abroad among black undergraduates at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Doctoral dissertation), Bowling Green State University. ProQuest LLC. Goodwin, C. D., & Nacht, M. (1988). Missing the boat: The failure to internationalize higher education. Cambridge University Press. Grant, S. (2020). Effects of intensive EFL immersion programmes on willingness to communicate. The Language Learning Journal, 48(4), 442–453. Hadis, B.  F. (2005). Why are they better students when they come back? Determinants of academic focusing gains in the study abroad experience. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 11, 57–70. Hoffa, W. (2007). A history of US study abroad: Beginnings to 1965. In Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad. Special Publication. Whitmore. Holobrow, N.  E., Genesee, F., Lambert, W.  E., & Gastright, J. (1987). Effectiveness of partial French immersion for children from different social class and ethnic backgrounds. Applied PsychoLinguistics, 8(2), 137–151. IIE. (2018a). Agency annual report: 2017–18. https://p.widencdn.net/wnrxtp/ Annual-­Report-­2017-­2018-­Updated-­Dec-­2019 IIE. (2018b). Open door report on international education exchange. https:// opendoorsdata.org Itin, C. (1999). Reasserting the philosophy of experiential education as a vehicle for change in the 21st century. The Journal of Experiential Education, 22(2), 91–98. Jackson, M. (2005). Breaking the barriers to overseas study for students of color and minorities (pp. 16–18). IIE Networker: Diversity in International Education. Jackson, M. (2006). Traveling shoes: Study abroad experience for African-American students’ participation on California State University international programs. (Doctoral dissertation). University of San Francisco. Kasravi, J. (2009). Factors influencing the decision to study abroad for students of color. Moving beyond the barriers. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Minnesota.

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Katula, R., & Threnhauser, E. (1999). Experiential education in the undergraduate curriculum. Communication Education, 48(3), 238–255. Kaufman, N., Martin, J., & Weaver, H. (1992). Students abroad: Strangers at home. Education for a global society. International Press Inc. Kolb, D. (1984). Experiential learning. Prentice Hall. Lassiter, L. E. (2003). Parlez-Vous ‘HBCU’?: Attitudes and beliefs of students of color toward the study of French. In Proceedings of the Hawaii International Conference on Education (p. 2005), Honolulu, HI. Layton, E. (2019). Exploring the benefits short-term graduate study abroad programs provide to professional graduate business students and business employers. (Doctoral Dissertation, Clemson University). https://tigerprints.clemson. edu/all_dissertations/2493/ Lee, K. J., & Scott, D. (2017). Racial discrimination and African-Americans’ travel behavior: The utility of habitus and vignette technique. Journal of Travel Research, 56(3), 381–392. Lewis, M. M., & Markey, M. K. (2020). From study-abroad to study-at-home: Teaching cross-cultural design thinking during COVID-19. Biomedical Engineering Education, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43683-­020-­00018-­9 Martin, J., & Rohrlich, B. (1991). The relationship between study-abroad student expectations and selected student characteristics. Journal of College Student Development, 32, 36–49. McKeown, J. (2009). Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on college student intellectual development. State University of New York Press. NAFSA. (2020). Education policy: Expanding access to study abroad for U.S. students. https://www.nafsa.org/policy-­and-­advocacy/what-­we-­stand-­for/ education-­policy-­expanding-­access-­study-­abroad-­us-­students Norfles, N. (2006). What we know about diversity in education abroad. Obstacles and opportunities. In Colloquium on diversity in education abroad. How to change the picture. Washington, DC. Norton, I. (2008). Changing the face of study abroad. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 55(5). Obst, D., Bhandari, R., & Witherell, S. (2007). Meeting America’s global education challenge: Current trends in U.S. study abroad & the impact of strategic diversity initiatives. Institute for International Education. Ozkul, P. (2019). Assessing study abroad relationship with perceived global competence levels of undergraduate business students (Doctoral dissertation). University of South Florida. ProQuest LLC. Pascarella, E., & Terenzini, P. (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research. Jossey-Bass. Perdreau, C. (2002). Study abroad: A 21st century perspective: Building diversity into education abroad programs. https://www.aifsfoundation.org/ perdreau.htm

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Pietro, G. (2019). University study abroad and graduates’ employability. ZA World of Labor. Retrieved from https://wol.iza.org/articles/university-­ study-­abroad-­and-­graduates-­employability Pike, G., & Sillem, M. (2018). Study abroad and global citizenship: Paradoxes and possibilities. In I. Davies et al. (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of global citizenship and education (pp. 573–587). Palgrave Macmillan. Potts, D. (2015). Understanding the early career benefits of learning abroad programs. Journal of Studies in International Education, 19(5), 441–459. Pudelko, M., & Tenzer, H. (2019). Boundaryless career or career boundaries? The impact of language barriers on academic careers in international business schools. AMLE, 18(2), 213–240. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2017.0236 Redden, E. (2006). Study abroad isn’t just for white students. Inside Higher Ed., 11. http://www.insidehighered.com Reimers, F. (2009). 14 educating for global competency. International Perspectives on the Goals of Universal Basic and Secondary Education, 22, 183–202. Salisbury, M.  H., Umbach, P.  D., Paulsen, M.  B., & Pascarella, E.  T. (2009). Going global: Understanding the choice process of the intent to study abroad. Research in Higher Education, 50(2), 119–143. Salisbury, M., Paulsen, M., & Pascarella, E. (2011). Why do all the study abroad students look alike? Applying an integrated choice model to explore differences in the factors that influence white and minority students’ intent to study abroad. Research in Higher Education, 52(2), 123–150. Simon, J., & Ainsworth, J. (2012). Race and socioeconomic status differences in study abroad participation: The role of habitus, social networks and cultural capital. International Scholarly Research Notices, 2012. 10-­5402/2012/4134896 Strange, H., & Gibson, H. J. (2017). An investigation of experiential and transformative learning in study abroad programs. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 24(1), 85–100. Sutton, R., & Rudin, D. (2004). The GLOSSARI Project: Initial findings from a system-wide research initiative on study abroad learning outcomes. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 10(1), 65–82. Sutton, R., & Rudin, D. L. (2010, June). Documenting the academic impact of study abroad. In Final report of the GLOSSARI project. Paper presented at NAFSA Annual Conference, Kansas City, MO. Sutton, R., Miller, A., & Rudin, D. L. (2017). Research design in assessing learning outcomes of education abroad programs. A Guide to Outcomes Assessment in Education Abroad, 23–60. https://forumea.org/wp-­content/uploads/ 2014/08/Outcomes-­Assessment.pdf#page=28 Sweeney, K. (2013). Inclusive excellence and underrepresentation of students of color in study abroad. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 23(1), 1–21.

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Tarrant, M. (2010). A conceptual framework for exploring the role of studies abroad in nurturing global citizenship. Journal of Studies in International Education, 14(5), 433–451. Trooboff, S., Vande Berg, M., & Rayman, J. (2007). Employer attitudes toward study abroad. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 15(1), 17–34. University of Delaware: Our History. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.udel. edu/global/studyabroad/information/brief_history.html Watterson, K. (2011). The attitudes of African-American students towards the study of languages and cultures (Unpublished doctoral dissertation), Louisiana State University, LA. West, J., & Dirkx, J. (2019). Making the invisible visible: The role of the Cuban socio-cultural contexts in fostering transformative learning. Adult Education Research Conference. https://newprairiepress.org/aerc/2019/papers/31 Wiley, P.  D. (1985). High school foreign language study and college academic performance. Classical Outlook, 62(2), 33–36. Williams, J., & Wilson, V. (2019). Black workers endure persistent racial disparities in employment outcomes. Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved from https:// www.epi.org/publication/labor-­day-­2019-­racial-­disparities-­in-­employment/ Willis, T. Y. (2016). Microaggressions and intersectionality in the experiences of Black women studying abroad through community colleges: Implications for practice. In International education at community colleges (pp.  127–141). Palgrave Macmillan. Ella Carter  is Associate Professor of Marketing at Bowie State University, where she currently serves as the College of Business Center for Excellence in Teaching (CETL) Fellow, Marketing Program Coordinator, and Chair of the BSU Teaching Innovation Community. Carter’s primary research interests focus on technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and experiential learning. She has presented at numerous domestic and international conferences, and her work has been published in a variety of notable journals including the Journal of Business Leadership, Marketing Education Review, Journal of Mobile Marketing, Business Research Yearbook, The International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, and the Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development.

CHAPTER 7

Rethinking Faculty Readiness in Internationalization Plans at Historically Black Colleges and Universities Karlin Burks

Introduction Rethinking internationalization efforts at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) is a worthwhile undertaking as universities across the nation struggle with lagging student enrollment. It is also necessary, particularly for HBCUs, for long-term health and institutional sustainability (ACE, 2014). There is a push for HBCUs to adapt to the changing times and find creative ways to forge ahead as they rethink internationalization efforts at their institutions (ACE, 2011), including becoming more globally focused. Internationalization, a term used to describe an institution’s plan to improve and increase its quality and professional prestige on the global

K. Burks (*) Department of Leadership Studies, Adult Education, and School Administration, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 K. Bista, A. L. Pinder (eds.), Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96490-0_7

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stage (Seeber et  al., 2016), has become a significant focus of several HBCUs. Developing successful internationalization efforts allows HBCUs to increase their global reputation and compete with other universities, mainly predominantly White institutions (PWIs), in the United States and abroad. If HBCUs are to endure, developing effective internationalization efforts is not an option but a necessity, starting with HBCUs offering more globalized curriculums. Offering more globalized experiences and curriculums is typically the first step in internationalization plans. Providing students with an education that broadens intercultural awareness and understanding of the globalized world is critical (De Wit, 2002; Horn et al., 2012) and is also a crucial component of successful internationalization plans. Most HBCUs recognize the increasing importance of providing international opportunities for their students to succeed in a global society (American Council on Education, 2014). Unfortunately, the problem has been that most HBCUs have struggled financially to meet the internationalization needs of the students on their campuses. Compared to their PWI counterparts, finances and low operating budgets have hampered HBCUs’ ability to implement internalization efforts fully. For internationalization efforts to succeed, creative ideas must be developed that will not detract from current operating budgets.

Institutional Readiness When considering new internationalization efforts at a university, one first needs to assess the institution’s readiness for change. Internationalizing an institution involves integrating international or intercultural dimensions into the university’s teaching, research, and service functions (Davis, 2014). Institutional readiness occurs when the school integrates the concepts of internationalization into the heart of the institution (Knight, 2004) and then seeks to position itself toward integration with the global educational society (Hamidizadeh & Zargaranyazd, 2014). Consequently, internationalization is a deliberate action on the institution’s part of becoming a more globally minded and focused institution. According to Davis (2014), international readiness also includes the institution’s commitment to curriculum and assessment re-design, student mobility, and faculty practices. However, little research has been conducted on the issue of faculty readiness as a means to assist with internationalization efforts. In order for institutions to work toward successfully

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implementing internationalization efforts on their campuses, without further crippling existing budgets, institutions should look to facilitate cost-­ effective faculty readiness initiatives.

Faculty Readiness In an effort to prepare HBCU faculty to assist with internationalization goals at their institutions, faculty must first be knowledgeable about the internationalization practices, policies, and campus initiatives. Whether faculty know if their HBCU even has an Internationalization Plan or are privy to the plan’s finer details is at the heart of faculty readiness. Simply put, faculty readiness begins or ends with knowledge. Historically, internalization efforts have rarely been discussed beyond the institution’s senior leadership. If faculty do hear about internationalization initiatives, it is typically done haphazardly, at the beginning or end semester Faculty Institutes. During these Institutes, faculty are usually bombarded with minutiae, leaving little time dedicated to the critical and valuable work happening with Internationalization initiatives. However, in the age of technology, face-to-face meetings have become a relic of the past. Suffering through formal presentations at the typical long faculty institute or staff meeting is no longer required, nor is it necessarily the most efficient way to present important material. Savvy faculty, particularly in the age of COVID-19, are adept at multiple technology platforms and have become accustomed to teaching in virtual spaces (Trombly, 2020), performing their administrative work, and receiving various types of information online. Producing instructional webinars or other virtual presentations would be an innovative and efficient way to communicate the university’s internationalization plan. From these videos, faculty could view the internationalization plan at their leisure and, from the video, will know who to contact should questions arise. Another technological advantage that could be used in advancing the institution’s internationalization plan could be in the form of a webpage. The webpage would be a 24-four-hour site designed as a clearinghouse highlighting the internationalization goals and activities at the institution. The webpage could also serve as a place for faculty to showcase their personal projects addressing internationalization efforts as a means to inform and inspire others on campus. Although the ultimate goal of the webpage would be to intensify faculty engagement with internationalization efforts at the HBCU, it could also be used by both faculty and students as a place

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to ask questions and get further clarity about the internationalization efforts at their institution. According to Li and Tu (2016), faculty engagement is defined as motivating or stimulating the faculty’s interest and involvement in particular initiatives, in this case, internationalization initiatives at the HBCU. Having a webpage that conveys accurate and up-to-date information, is easy to navigate, and is faculty friendly would be a great way to increase faculty engagement. Additionally, the HBCU would have a place to send faculty to learn about its internationalization plan.

Globally Focused Curriculums Once faculty become familiar with their institution’s internationalization plan, there will still be hurdles to overcome. One of the main hurdles facing university faculty attempting to implement internationalization plans is the work required to reimagine or re-work current courses to infuse a more global perspective. For many faculty, the prospect of having to rethink how they teach their content to include a more international outlook is daunting. It is not naïve to assume that many faculty have used some of the same syllabi and curricula for years, and to suddenly be expected to change their teaching to infuse global themes and standards into their curriculums could be challenging. Although there are likely to be some faculty in favor of revising and updating their curriculums, getting from being in favor to doing the actual work could be a long road. As university faculty are directly responsible for preparing students to become globally minded citizens, ready and able to thrive on the world stage (Deardorff & Jones, 2012), their curriculums must be updated to include global themes and perspectives. Faculty are not entirely to blame for the shortcomings in current curriculums, particularly as faculty training on how to revamp old curriculums to include globally integrated themes is non-existent. It is not so much that faculty are reluctant or unwilling to learn a new way of teaching and thinking about their content; they simply never received the proper training necessary to adequately integrate global perspectives into their curriculums (Rusciano, 2014). Institutions should consider that, if the work of globalizing the institution fails at the faculty level, because faculty do not know how to proceed with curriculum revisions, it is very likely the entire institution’s internationalization initiative will also fail.

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As outlined in Knight’s (1994) international cycle, a plan used to explore international readiness of several HBCUs to embrace internationalization efforts, institutions must have a clear vision of the intended outcomes and a workable strategic plan. The strategic plan as it applies to faculty readiness is to provide adequate training to faculty on revamping their curriculums to include more globally focused practices. Faculty need relevant training on how to evaluate and update their courses properly so they can integrate authentic global teaching and learning experiences into their curriculums.

A Model for Faculty Readiness Using the research conducted by the American Council on Education’s comprehensive international framework (2021) as a model, a proposed framework was created to assist HBCUs in focusing on faculty and staff support to enhance their internationalization efforts. This framework’s primary goal focuses on faculty readiness as a means to support faculty around strengthening internationalization efforts at their institution (see Fig.  7.1). As institutions consider internationalization efforts, faculty readiness should be at the top of the list as it can prove to be a crucial step in the process. Although faculty may understand the pedagogical importance of integrating global perspectives into their curriculums (Rusciano, 2014), far too many are ill prepared to make those changes in their syllabi on their own. Hence, faculty training and education are not only advised but required for a successful internationalization implementation. The institution needs to strategically plan for a successful internationalization implementation (Hamidizadeh & Zargaranyazd, 2014), which begins by developing and implementing a faculty readiness training plan.

Faculty Education The first step in a sound faculty readiness training plan is education. Although the entire institution is responsible for ensuring a successful internationalization implementation process, faculty are the ones working directly with students. Thus, faculty need to be intimately connected to their institution’s internationalization plan. In facilitating this intimate connection, faculty first need to know that a plan exists at their institution. All too often, top senior leadership will set visions and goals for the institution that rarely get communicated down to

Provide opportunities to increase faculty engagement. Provide networking opportunities so that faculty can share their professional and personal international experiences.

Provide faculty training on how to integrate global themes into existing curriculums. Define internationalization terms, such as "globally minded," and clearly outline faculty expectations for student preparation.

Fig. 7.1  A model of faculty readiness in internationalization plans

Faculty Networking

Step 3

Step 2

Faculty Education

Step 1

Provide current internationalization plans and initiatives to faculty. Designate a contact person to answer questions concerning internationalization efforts. Provide frequent campus updates on internationalization efforts as well as faculty success stories.

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the faculty level. Simply put, faculty need to be included in these conversations to ensure they understand the inner workings of their universities’ internalization strategy, objectives, and initiatives. Next, the faculty need to know where to locate the internationalization plan. Having the internationalization plan accessible to faculty, either in written or in virtual form, is a great way to ensure faculty can educate themselves on their university’s internationalization efforts. Faculty also need to know who is responsible for addressing questions at their institution. Typically, there is one person at the university in charge of international efforts, typically an International Coordinator, and the coordinator needs to serve as the point person on the globalization movement for their university. An advantage of designating a point person is that the International Coordinator could provide short, monthly updates to the university, via email or video format, that will ensure that faculty constantly think about internationalization efforts throughout the school year.

Faculty Training The second step in developing a sound faculty readiness plan is training. For institutions to grow and become more globally focused, they must change their way of doing business to operate in a diverse and global world. Although most universities seek to internationalize their institutions as a means to generate new profit by increasing international student enrollment (Garson, 2016), the heart of internationalizing is ultimately about providing a better service to students. Institutions understand the importance of preparing their students to function successfully in an ever-­ growing and changing multicultural and global society (Garson, 2016), and that preparation generally begins in the classroom with university faculty. As discussed, faculty training on updating and integrating old curriculums is critical to faculty readiness, particularly as incorporating global perspectives into course content requires going beyond the mere introduction of international issues into a course curriculum (Rusciano, 2014). Faculty need to understand that developing a global perspective means examining their content and curriculums and also the manner in which they teach (Rusciano, 2014). Although teaching is one of the main strengths of faculty, evaluating whether their current practices will apply in a global context or whether they need to revamp their content and teaching to apply to current international standards is not.

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Finally, and perhaps most importantly, as it pertains to faculty readiness training, faculty need to understand their role in the university’s internationalization efforts, specifically in student preparation. Several questions need to be considered around this issue. First, what are the faculty expectations with preparing students to become more globally minded? Has the institution clearly defined “globally minded” in the internationalization plan, or is the definition left up to faculty interpretation? Second, are faculty preparing students to live and work overseas or to become more inclusive of international students coming to campus? Finally, has the university defined what they want students to know and be able to do as they graduate and enter the world as a globally minded and competent student? Although these issues may seem trivial and unimportant compared to the internationalization plan’s full scope, addressing these issues will go a long way to preparing faculty to implement the plan successfully.

Faculty Networking The final step in developing a sound faculty readiness plan involves providing opportunities for faculty networking. As with any university endeavor, lack of faculty engagement can be catastrophic to the initiative. Institutions seeking to increase faculty involvement around internationalization efforts should provide opportunities for faculty to meet and share their internationalization experiences. Whether those experiences are happening in or out of the classroom, highlighting what faculty are doing on campus around internationalization will be invaluable to the success of the process. In addition, by providing faculty opportunities to network and share their internationalization experiences or share their personal experiences of having lived or worked abroad, it can serve to motivate other faculty and the entire campus (ACE, 2011).

Conclusion There are many issues HBCUs will want to consider when rethinking internationalization plans, and there are many steps they will need to take along their journey. However, the most vital step they will take if they are to endure is fully embracing internationalization efforts and making the necessary changes at their institutions to compete on the international stage (ACE, 2011). International readiness is simply a necessity for

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HBCUs looking to develop a robust international reputation and transition into the global stage (Hamidizadeh & Zargaranyazd, 2014). Ultimately, for internationalization efforts to succeed at HBCUs, faculty professional development needs to be viewed as a top priority (Helms et al., 2017). Faculty should be leading the charge on the internationalization efforts at their institutions, and those efforts should begin in the classroom with their students. Although global readiness is the ultimate goal of universities seeking to build robust internationalization plans, faculty readiness should be the primary focus (Helms et al., 2017) if internationalization initiatives are to succeed.

References American Council on Education (ACE). (2011). ACE selects seven institutions for HBCU internationalization project. http://www.acenet.edu American Council on Education (ACE). (2014). Creating global citizens: Exploring internationalization at HBCUs. Washington, DC: Author. http:// www.acenet.edu American Council on Education (ACE). (2021). Mapping internationalization on U.S. campuses. https://www.acenet.edu/news-­room/Pages/CIGEModel-­ for-­Comprehensive-­Internationalization.aspx Davis, G.  P. (2014). Creating global citizens: Challenges and opportunities for internationalization at HBCUs. http://www.acenet.edu De Wit, H. (2002). Internationalization of higher education in the United States of America and Europe. Greenwood. Deardorff, D. K., & Jones, E. (2012). Intercultural competence: An emerging focus in international higher education. Sage. Garson, K. (2016). Reframing internationalization. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 46(2), 19–39. https://doi.org/10.47678/cjhe.v46i2.185272 Hamidizadeh, M. R., & Zargaranyazd, M. (2014). Analyzing international readiness of small and medium-sized enterprises. Central European Business Review, 3(4), 43–48. https://doi.org/10.18267/j.cebr.102 Helms, R. M., Brajkovic, L., & Struthers, B. (2017). Mapping internationalization on U.S. campuses: 2017 edition. Washington, DC. http://www.acenet. edu/news-­room/Documents/Mapping-­Internationalization-­2017.pdf Horn, A., Hendel, D., & Fry, G. (2012). The empirical basis for adopting a civic rationale for internationalization. Higher Education, 64, 161–175. https:// doi.org/10.1007/s10734-­011-­9485-­0 Knight, J. (1994). Internationalization: Elements and checkpoints (CIBE Research No. 7). files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED549823.pdf

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Knight, J. (2004). Journal of Studies in International Education Internationalization Remodeled: Definition, Approaches, and Rationales On behalf of: Association for Studies in International Education can be found at: Journal of Studies in International Education Additional services and information for. https://doi. org/10.1177/1028315303260832 Li, B., & Tu, Y. (2016). Motivations of faculty engagement in internationalization: Survey in China. Higher Education, 71, 81–96. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10734-­015-­9890-­x Rusciano, L. (2014). Globalizing the curriculum: How to incorporate a global perspective into your courses. Liberal Education, 100(3), 14–21. Seeber, M., Cattaneo, M., Huisman, J., & Paleari, S. (2016). Why do higher education institutions internationalize? An investigation of the multilevel determinants of internationalization rationales. Higher Education, 72(5), 685–702. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-­015-­9971-­x Trombly, C. E. (2020). Learning in the time of COVID-19: Capitalizing on the opportunity presented by the pandemic. Journal of Professional Capital and Community (ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/jpcc-­05-­2020-­0016 Karlin Burks, EdD, is Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies/School Administration in the Department of Leadership Studies, Adult Education, and School Administration at North Carolina A&T State University, USA. Her areas of research include principal preparation, teacher leadership, and international education.

CHAPTER 8

Abroad Program for HBCU Undergraduates: Experiential Learning Program in Guatemala Kimberly R. Warren

Introduction Several barriers for study abroad have been identified for Black students, including limited financial resources; apprehension about delayed graduation; fear of racism; and having few family or faculty role models who have traveled abroad (Simon & Ainsworth, 2012); as well as concerns about language barriers, food, and the difficulty of fitting travel into their schedule (Brux & Fry, 2010). However, it has become increasingly important for individuals to possess firsthand experience with other cultures since traditional national boundaries have lost their significance through increased global telecommunications, travel, and international trade and investment over the past 30  years (Chieffo & Griffiths, 2004). Studies have revealed evidence that short-term study abroad (STSA) experiences provide students with an enhanced worldview (Carlson & Widaman,

K. R. Warren (*) Department of Psychology, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 K. Bista, A. L. Pinder (eds.), Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96490-0_8

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1988), global perspective (McCabe, 1994), and cross-cultural effectiveness (Kitsantas & Meyers, 2001). Study abroad experience impacts the student not only at the time of participation, but for years afterward including rewards in personal, academic, intercultural, and career development areas (Dwyer & Peters, 2004). The goal for the present study abroad program was to provide a realistic, feasible, and appealing opportunity for HBCU students to gain study abroad experience in order to promote study abroad at Morgan State University (MSU), an HBCU located in the eastern United States. The experience was designed to be a short excursion to a culturally rich, affordable, friendly, and safe location. An 8- to 9-day program in Guatemala costs students under $1500 including airfare, room/board, and all program fees. The program is unique because it was designed with relevant and meaningful service to the community, enhanced academic learning supported with reflective journaling, and purposeful civic engagement offering an opportunity for students to study abroad and apply skills acquired in the classroom to patients in a health clinic. Learning activities include readings, classroom discussions, presentations, and journal and paper assignments that support analysis of experiential and service experiences. Students complete homestay in Guatemala with a fully planned itinerary in which they volunteer in a clinic, give free health screenings to the local community (vital signs, diabetes testing), visit an elementary school and teach children about nutrition and hygiene, and participate in cultural activities. Students spend 3 hours/day in Spanish school for a one-on-one lesson focused on communication skills which assists in their ability to volunteer in the community. This affordable program provides students an opportunity to learn clinical skills and apply them by volunteering in another country which requires them to communicate in another language and learn about another culture as well as health disparities. The overall goal is to provide an international experience to expand student perspectives and pave their way to becoming global citizens. As opposed to a semester abroad, this short-term commitment is a more feasible venue for students to experience international travel. This experiential form of learning provides students the opportunity to create, critically examine information, analyze, and explore relationships—all higher-order thinking skills rather than simply remembering and understanding (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). Consistent with the literature, the main challenge we have found at our university has been funding the students’ travel. Students have a difficult

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time being able to afford the cost of study abroad. MSU has several internal grant opportunities that students can apply for to fund a portion or all of their travel expenses. Students have also had success raising funds through GoFundMe or FundMyTravel.

Literature Review Participation in study abroad is positively correlated with persistence, GPA, student-faculty interaction, critical thinking and writing skills, appreciation for diversity, and overall student engagement (Brownell & Swaner, 2009; National Survey of Student Engagement, 2007; Kuh, 2008; Kuh et al., 2010). McPherson (2005) stated that “study abroad is not a frill. Greater engagement of American undergraduates with the world around is vital to our nation’s national security, economic competitiveness, and public diplomacy.” Despite the positive outcomes associated with study abroad experiences, Black students represent only 5% of students who study abroad (Bhandari & Belyavina, 2011). The lack of representation of Black students gaining experiences abroad limits the number of Black people in international leadership and careers as well as the opportunity for host country societies to learn about Black Americans and their ability to fulfill their role in telling Black America’s story (Tensley, 2015). The representation of Black students abroad is important for student development as well as the nation as a whole (Covington, 2017). Study abroad leads to a greater sense of academic interests and long-term goals, a better understanding of their own identity in Black students (Lee & Green, 2016). Recommendation II of the Commission Five objective calls to increase student diversity in study abroad programs, ensuring that the demographics of U.S. students studying abroad is similar to those of the undergraduate population (Lincoln Commission, 2005). There is an increasing need for institutions to provide more opportunities for Black students to study abroad. HBCUs are equipped to play a strong role in promoting Black students to study abroad. Morgan State University is one of few HBCUs to provide significant efforts in facilitating study abroad experiences (Covington, 2017). Study abroad experiences are commonly defining moments in young people’s lives (Dwyer & Peters, 2004). STSA experience is a sufficient exposure to significantly increase global awareness in functional knowledge, foreign media exposure, communication and culture, and foreign language (Kurt et al., 2013). The long-term impact of study abroad was

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investigated on five forms of global engagement including civic engagement, knowledge production, philanthropy, social entrepreneurship, and voluntary simplicity, as well as future career and educational choices. Of 6391 student participants, about 84% indicated that study abroad had a strong impact on their college experience; 61% pursued a graduate degree, 35% of which pursued an internationally oriented graduate degree and 38% of the entire sample obtained an internationally oriented career (Paige et al., 2009). Institutional Context “Growing the future and leading the world” is the slogan of MSU.  To create an opportunity in which students can expand their knowledge base beyond the confines of the United States, a course redesign was implemented for “Health Psychology,” a course that traditionally covers behaviors related to ailments common to people in the United States due to general lifestyle and includes topics such as health-promoting versus compromising behaviors, stress and coping, resilience and social support, using health services, and the management of pain and chronic illness. The redesigned course provides a global perspective of health and health disparities across the world and is cross-listed with “Service Learning” in order to prepare students to apply health-related skills, globally. The specific learning objectives for this program are as follows: (1) define community health and identify community health interventions; (2) differentiate between health-enhancing and health-compromising behaviors; (3) identify and differentiate different types of stress; (4) identify and apply different theories of Health Psychology; (5) identify and critically analyze factors that affect health and disease, globally; (6) participate in a health promotion program that includes a plan for evaluating its effectiveness; and (7) gain health-related experience in a community of another culture (i.e., Guatemala). This course fits into the University’s Psychology Department’s learning outcomes in that it (1) expands the knowledge base in psychology including key concepts in Health Psychology, (2) promotes scientific inquiry and critical thinking, (3) develops ethical and social responsibility in a diverse world, and (4) expands students’ communication abilities through the experience of working with a patient population and in another language and culture. The program also offers a “study away” alternative for students who are unable to travel. Students participate in similar volunteer activities at a

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local community center in Baltimore while the study abroad students are traveling. Upon returning from the study abroad trip, students complete their paper and present to the class how various concepts they learned in class could be investigated in the population they just finished working with, and students compare and contrast their experiences between Guatemala and Baltimore. Students discuss the challenges in working with another culture and how those challenges can be overcome. Students understand and engage in ethically and socially responsible behaviors for professional and personal settings in a landscape that involves increasing diversity throughout the course. The new learning technologies used in this program include Zoom sessions with representatives from Guatemala, study abroad including living with a Guatemalan family, learning health-related communication in another language, and performing health-related tasks (taking vital signs, diabetes testing, etc.) in another country. The technology/equipment needed for this course is minimal. Students learn to measure height/ weight, take vital signs using a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff, and take fasting blood glucose measurements using a finger stick. Each student is provided with a stethoscope and a pair of scrubs for the trip. The students also use Tumblr, a social networking/blogging website, to record their daily experiences, share pictures, and have discussions with other students. Prompts, such as “What initially surprised you the most when you arrived in Guatemala? Explain why” and “How is the clinic in Guatemala different from your experience with clinics in the U.S.? Explain” are used to facilitate discussions. This photo-narrative pedagogy has been shown to be successful in increasing the visual socio-cultural context of qualitative inquiry and creates endless possibilities for arranging data and generating meaningful narratives (Swaminathan & Mulvihill, 2013). Short-term outcomes are assessed through the quizzes, journaling, paper and presentation, as well as the International Awareness and Activities Survey, a 27-question survey that includes several measures of global awareness (Chieffo & Griffiths, 2004). This survey is administered pre- and post-travel in order to assess the impact of the experience on general global awareness, functional knowledge, foreign media exposure, communication and culture, and foreign language. Students’ performance on these assessments as well as the evaluation is used as a guide for future iterations of the program. Long-term outcomes of the course will be assessed through a survey administered to students at the end of the course, after one year and again after four years. This survey was developed

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to assess students’ career choice (e.g., global health), participation in subsequent study abroad opportunities, and becoming fluent in another language (e.g., Spanish). Study Abroad Application Process Students provide contact information, demographics, passport information, Spanish proficiency, dietary restrictions, allergies (food, pets, or other), and medical conditions that may affect travel. They also provide information through the University’s International Affairs office and attend a “Study Abroad 101” training, where they are briefed on traveling conditions, cultural etiquette, embassy information in the event of an emergency, and other necessary travel information. Students also have an online session with representatives from the country we will be visiting to prepare them for culturally specific behaviors for interacting with clinic staff and patients in an ethical manner. Transportation Upon arrival at the airport in Guatemala, the group is picked up in a large shuttle van and transported to the homes of their host families. Subsequent transportation is mainly by foot since the town is walkable and safe. There are tuk-tuks, three-wheeled motorized taxis, available if needed. Host Family Students are placed in groups of five with a designated chaperone into host family homes which are linked to and vetted by the Spanish school where we take our lessons. Students are grouped so that there is at least one with a higher level of Spanish-speaking ability. The host family provides breakfast, lunch, and dinner at designated times, and the students eat together, as a group, with the host family. Host families have very little English-speaking ability, so the students are fully immersed in the language. Students may room together or have their own room and bathroom. The family is made aware of any food allergies or dietary restrictions within the group.

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Spanish School The Spanish School is within walking distance from all of the host family options and provides an individual teacher for each student. Classes are three hours with a break halfway through. Teachers work with students at their level of Spanish ability using various techniques including conversational activities, worksheets, games, and even walking around the village and talking. Small grass huts surrounding a table and two chairs make up the individual classrooms which are dispersed across a garden overlooking a lake surrounded by mountains and inactive volcanoes. Cultural Activities Several cultural activities are intertwined into the itinerary to enrich the experience. Students attend a medicinal garden tour which includes a lesson on the healing properties of the various plants as well as a shop where various organic soaps, lotions, and teas derived from the plants can be purchased. Tortillas are a staple in Central America, so tortilla making with the host family is an activity included for the students. Host families also provide a typical food demonstration. There are many foods that are unique to Guatemala and/or Central America, and students are able to help prepare them using ingredients and techniques specific to Central America. Host families have the traditional fire stoves and teach the students how they cook. In Guatemala, weaving is an ancient art. There are local weavers that give a presentation to the students on how the weaving is done as well as how they use natural dyes for their yarn. Students are able to see and touch the cotton seeds, cotton, and yarn, practice weaving, and also dye some yarn. Chocolate and coffee farms are prevalent in Guatemala. Each offers a demonstration on how the commodity is made from the plants to the beans to the finished product. Students are able to taste the result of each step of the process. A salsa dance lesson is provided by the Spanish school in which students learn the basic steps of salsa dancing. Service to the Community Students observe and volunteer with the doctor at the Centro de Salud, the small, local clinic that people go to for a wide range of conditions. Students also host a free health fair in which screening stations equipped to assess height, weight, blood pressure, temperature, and glucose are available to the community. The health fair is advertised before students arrive and is generally well attended. Students also visit an elementary school where they teach children about nutrition and hygiene and hand out free toothbrushes and toothpaste.

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Program Implementation and Results Participants An initial pilot trip was conducted in the summer of 2018 with four students. This was an opportunity to test the feasibility of traveling to Guatemala with students, assess their perspectives of their experience, as well as assess how the students were received in the Guatemalan community. The trip was a success, and minor modifications based on student feedback were made. The first full trip was conducted in January 2019 (n = 16 students and 2 faculty chaperones). The second full trip was conducted in January 2020 (n = 16 students and 2 faculty chaperones). See Tables 8.1 and 8.2 for demographic and major breakdown.

Results Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) v27 was used to analyze the demographic data of the students as well as the data from the pre- and post-trip administration of the International Awareness Survey. Eight participants have completed both the pre- and post-International Awareness Survey. Frequencies for the items available are provided in Table 8.3. A summary of the evaluation students completed after the trip can be found in Tables 8.4 and 8.5. Testimonials from the Student Evaluation Summaries The testimonials from the students shared the general themes of loving the trip, the program being a life-changing and humbling experience and enjoying every moment. A few students went beyond those themes: From serving 156 people in the community with free health screenings that they don’t have the luxury of receiving or putting a smile on the children’s faces while teaching them about hand/oral hygiene and giving away free toothbrushes. Somewhere in between those little moments I realized that it was more than me wanting to be in healthcare but discovering that in the future, my plans can and will change the world. What is even better is that I got to spend this experience with like-minded people who motivate me to go even harder. Forever grateful for this opportunity. (Nakia O.)

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Table 8.1  Sample itinerary for an eight-day program Day 1 lunes: Departure/arrival 4:30am Arrive at airport 1:15pm 2:00pm 6:30pm 7:30pm

Arrive in Guatemala Meet shuttle Arrival to host family/explore Dinner with host families

Day 2 martes: Orientation 7:00am

Breakfast with host families

8:00am 9:30am

Orientation Info session: Guatemalan Health Care System 10:15am Medicinal garden tour 12:00pm Lunch with host family 2:00pm Spanish classes 5:15pm Weaving demonstration 7:00pm Dinner with host family Day 3 miercoles: Clinic 7:00am Breakfast with host families 8:00am Home visits/clinic 12:30pm Lunch with host family 2:00pm

Spanish classes

6:00pm

“Typical” food demonstration/ tortilla making 7:00pm Dinner with host family Day 4 jueves: Health fair 7:00am Breakfast with host families 8:00am Health fair 12:30pm Lunch with host family 2:00pm 5:15pm 7:00pm

Spanish classes Chocolate processing Dinner with host family

Day 5 viernes: Elementary school 7:00am Breakfast with host families 8:00am Elementary school 12:30pm Lunch with host family 2:00pm Spanish classes 5:15pm Salsa dancing 6:15pm Dinner Day 6 sabado: Free day/optional excursion 7:00am Breakfast with host families 12:00pm Lunch with host families 7:00pm Dinner with host family

Day 7 domingo: Scheduled free day 7:00am Breakfast at restaurant 8:00am Spanish classes 11:15am Depart for boat to another village 2:00pm Depart for boat to another village 5:00pm Dinner 6:00pm Depart for host family Day 8 lunes: Departure 7:00am Breakfast with host families 8:00am Departure to airport 12:00pm Arrival at Guatemala airport 12:30am Arrival at home airport

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Table 8.2  Demographic backgrounds of student travelers (N = 36) Group Pilot cohort (n=4) Cohort 1 (n=16) Cohort 2 (n=16) Total (N=36)

Sex (M/F) 1/3 1/15 1/15 3/33

Class (So/Jr/Sr/graduate student) 1/2/1/0 3/3/8/2 3/4/8/1 7/9/17/3

Table 8.3  College majors and cohorts of student travelers (N = 36) Major Psychology Biology Social Work Marketing Applied Liberal Arts Sociology Chemistry Nursing Mathematics Screenwriting and Animation

Pilot cohort (n = 4)

Cohort 1 (n = 16)

Cohort 2 (n = 16)

Total (N = 36)

3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

12 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

4 6 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1

19 7 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1

Table 8.4  Frequency data from the pre- and post-International Awareness Survey (n = 8) Construct

Pre(%)

Post(%)

I know how to make a phone call to someone in a different country. I can explain some aspect of U.S. foreign policy to someone from another country. I know the currency conversion rate for the U.S. dollar to at least one foreign country. I feel comfortable in my understanding of U.S. trade relations with at least one foreign country. I am comfortable in my ability to communicate with members of at least one foreign culture in their native language. I have watched a non-American TV station/show/news broadcast in the last 30 days.

53.8 38.5

87.5 62.5

84.6

100

46.2

62.5

30.8

87.5

23.1

53.8

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Table 8.5  Trip Evaluation Survey from the January 2020 trip (n=15) Trip aspect/expectations: Way better

Exceeded Met

Did not meet

I wish I had not gone

Did not attend

Overall experience Host family accommodations Food provided by host family Friendliness of host family Volunteering at health fair Elementary school visit Medicinal garden tour Weaving demonstration Chocolate process Salsa lesson Tortilla making Typical food demonstration Pricing of trip

80 73.3

20 13.3

0 6.7

0 6.7

0 0

0 0

53.3

13.3

6.7

26.7

0

0

86.7

13.3

0

0

0

0

73.3

13.3

0

0

0

13.3

66.7 100 73.3 80 86.7 73.3 46.7

13.3 0 20 20 0 26.7 33.3

13.3 0 6.7 0 0 0 6.7

6.7 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 13.3 0 13.3

53.3

46.7

0

0

0

0

This is a life changing experience. I definitely encourage anyone who is thinking about studying abroad to consider this program. Dr. Warren is an excellent leader who will make sure that everything goes according to plan and that the students are comfortable. Guatemala is a beauty, and the locals are very friendly and welcoming. If you already know some Spanish and want to enhance your abilities, immerse yourself in a culture. This trip is still amazing even if you don’t know any Spanish. Personally, this was a wonderful experience. (Barrington H.) Studying abroad in Guatemala is a great way to spend your winter mini semester. It was my first international trip and set the bar high for the study abroad programs trips to follow. In Guatemala we were immersed in the culture, which was great. We lived with natives and as the natives did. I loved the home stay at Maida’s casa. She was so welcoming, patient and spoiled us with meals. I also thoroughly enjoyed Spanish classes. It was so different from classes at Morgan because they were outside on the water and one-on-­ one with a Spanish instructor. I actually enjoyed class and learned so much in one week. My favorite activity was visiting the elementary school and seeing all the students. They were so receptive of our presentation and so beautiful! (Janai Cherry)

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I was afforded the opportunity to study abroad in the beautiful country of Guatemala in my senior year at Morgan State University. Despite the ­prevalence of many health disparities, the people were kind hearted and are rooted in and dedicated to a spectacular culture. The adults were beyond grateful to us for providing health services and the children were so excited about us visiting and singing with them. My Spanish teacher was patient and genuinely wanted to build a relationship with me that I plan to maintain, and I bonded with my cohort on a greater level as we explored the villages surrounding [the lake] together. All in all, this trip was unforgettable and I am forever grateful for the opportunity. (Jade D.)

Discussion and Conclusions The enrollment in this program has been a success with a total of 36 students (91.7% female, 97.2% black) across the three trips including the initial pilot run. For U.S. students studying abroad, women continue to make up 67% of the study abroad population (Open Doors, 2016). The high percentage of females in this program may have been due to the faculty that led the program being part of the Department of Psychology, a heavily female-based major at the University. Since 2004, the racial and ethnic diversity of students who study abroad has improved with 27% of students identifying as a racial or ethnic minority in 2014, up 17% from decades ago (Open Doors, 2016) with 6.4% of students identifying as Black or African American in 2019 (Open Doors, 2020). Continuing to offer this program at HBCUs will improve this percentage even more. Considering that finances are one of the main constraints to studying abroad for Black students including trip costs and loss of time at work (Burkart et  al., 2001; Brux & Ngoboka, 2002; Calhoon et  al., 2003; Rhodes & Hong, 2005), this short-term trip at an inexpensive host country significantly reduces the financial burden of study abroad for the students. With family disapproval being a constraining factor to study abroad mentioned by 60% of Black students in a 2002 study (Brux & Ngoboka), the positive response from these HBCU students serves to alleviate these negative family concerns and attitudes. This positive response has also served to alleviate the fear of racism and discrimination reported to be barriers to studying abroad (Mattai & Ohiwerei, 1989; Perdreau, 2002). The Guatemala destination has been free of racism, and the students have felt welcome there. Additionally, offering these short-term study abroad programs at an HBCU allows students to go together as a group of Black students. This may provide an additional level of comfort to students who may have otherwise felt “different” not only from those in the

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host country but also from their group, a concern that has been offered via focus groups of undergraduates (Brux & Fry, 2010). It has also been suggested that there are benefits to offering programs in “nontraditional” locations. Highlighting the cultural and economic contrasts with the United States can reveal the global interconnectedness of problems that students may have perceived only as local and provides a robust confirmation that the United States does not and cannot account for everything attributable to the human genius (Brux & Fry, 2010). Thus offering this short-term, affordable trip to a nontraditional destination to HBCU students has been an effective way to improve the numbers of Black students studying abroad.

Implications This program enhances undergraduate retention by providing a health-­ related study abroad opportunity, a unique experience to the University. Students who participate in this course gain knowledge and experience with techniques commonly used in health research such as communicating with clients and recording vital signs using basic instrumentation. This experience is invaluable to students applying for graduate or medical school as it promotes critical thinking beyond the students’ local environment. Students learn to view their education beyond the context of the United States and how to apply their knowledge and skills in another culture. This program introduces concepts from Psychology, Medicine, Latin American culture, as well as the Spanish language, and develops students’ ability to see their field as a means to improve public health, globally. The travel abroad experience part of the program provides the opportunity to explore health-related behaviors (diet/nutrition, physical activity, and substance use) as well as health-related resources/healthcare within the context of a Latin American country. The experience focuses on community and social development across various areas including poverty, child and youth welfare, women and family services, health, and disability services in Latin American communities. Guatemala provides a unique location in which to study issues of health, social justice, globalization, and human development within the Latin American context. Students experience an exploration of specific local practices in education, health care, social entities and the tourism industry, and the effect of those practices on the culture and health of the people of Guatemala. Activities promote observation of and interaction with the local culture and visits to

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cultural sites such as a chocolate farm, medicinal garden, co-op, and elementary school, as well as tortilla/typical food demonstration, salsa dancing, weaving, and coffee processing. One of the central components of this course is the integration of an international service learning experience which can be adapted to enrich other courses and subject areas. This program fosters interdisciplinary work between Psychology, Biology, Public Health, and World Languages, and opens the door for research collaboration. Various health-related indices such as stress (physiological and psychological), eating behavior, physical activity, and substance use can be measured and compared with their relations to various outcomes such as malnutrition, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other such conditions that are common in Guatemala. One of the long-term goals of this program is to establish summer and winter research programs where students will have the opportunity to have a summer or winter research experience in Guatemala and possibly include an exchange which would provide students from that nation with a research opportunity. This goal is consistent with the department’s objective to enhance our student’s experiences in psychology through internships and research programs and is in line with the Lincoln Commission on Study Abroad (Lincoln Commission, 2005). Students may learn how to do research in another country and in a different language. The program is currently offered in Guatemala and will expand to other countries including Belize, Costa Rica, Peru, and Mexico. The course is generally offered in the January winter minimester and has also been offered during the summer session. It would be feasible to run the course in the Spring semester with the trip going over spring break and additional virtual global learning experiences which have developed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

References Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. Longman. Bhandari, R., & Belyavina, R. (2011). Evaluating and measuring the impact of citizen diplomacy: Current status and future directions. New York, NY: Institute of International Education. http://peaceandjusticesig.pbworks.com/f/ Impact+Citizen+Diplomacy+Report.pdf Brownell, J.  E., & Swaner, L.  E. (2009). High-impact practices: Applying the learning outcomes literature to the development of successful campus programs. Peer Review, 11, 26–30.

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Brux, J. M., & Fry, B. (2010). Multicultural students in study abroad: Their interests, their issues, and their constraints. Journal of Studies in International Education, 14(5), 508–527. Brux, J. M., & Ngoboka, P. (2002, November). Underrepresented U.S. students and international study. Poster session presented at the Council on International Educational Exchange annual conference, Toronto, ON, Canada. Burkart, B., Hexter, H., & Thompson, D. (2001). Why TRIO students need to study abroad! http://www.pellinstitute.org/Clearinghouse/shared/opportunity_outlookC.pdf Calhoon, J.  A., Wildcat, D., Annett, C., Pierotti, R., & Griswold, W. (2003). Creating meaningful study abroad programs for American Indian postsecondary students [Electronic Version]. Journal of American Indian Education, 42(1), 46–57. Carlson, J. S., & Widaman, K. F. (1988). The effects of study abroad during college on attitudes toward other cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 12(1), 1–18. Chieffo, L., & Griffiths, L. (2004). Large-scale assessment of student attitudes after a short-term study abroad program. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 10, 165–177. Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program. (2005, November). Global competence & national needs: One million Americans studying abroad. https://www.nafsa.org/sites/default/files/ektron/uploadedFiles/NAFSA_Home/Resource_Library_Assets/CCB/lincoln_commission_report%281%29.pdf Covington, M. (2017). If not us then who? Exploring the role of HBCUs in increasing black student engagement in study abroad. College Student Affairs Leadership, 4(1), a5. Dwyer, M. M., & Peters, C. K. (2004). The benefits of study abroad. Transitions Abroad, 37(5), 56–58. Institute of International Education. (2016). Profile of U.S. study abroad students, 2003/04–2015/16. OpenDoors Report on International Educational Exchange. Retrieved from http://www.iie.org/opendoors Kitsantas, A., & Meyers, J. (2001). Studying abroad: Does it enhance college student crosscultural awareness? Paper presented at the combined Annual Meeting of the San Diego State University and the U.S. Department of Education Centers for International Business Education and Research (CIBER 2001), San Diego, CA, March 28–31, 2001. Retrieved March 4, 2021, from https://files.eric. ed.gov/fulltext/ED456648.pdf Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-impact educational practices. Washington, DC: American Association for Colleges & Universities. Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Schuh, J. H., & Whitt, E. J. (2010). Student success in college: Creating conditions that matter. Jossey-Bass.

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Kurt, M., Olitsky, N., & Geis, P. (2013). Assessing global awareness over short-­ term study abroad sequence: A factor analysis. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 23(1), 22–41. Lee, J. A., & Green, Q. (2016). Unique opportunities: Influence of study abroad on Black students. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 28(1), 61–77. Mattai, P.  R., & Ohiwerei, B. (1989). Some mitigating factors against African-­ Americans in the rural American south opting to study abroad. Paper presented at the 42nd Annual Conference on the International Educational Exchange, Washington, DC. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED315474) McCabe, L. T. (1994). The development of a global perspective during participation in semester at sea: A comparative global education program. Educational Review, 46(3), 275–286. McPherson, M.  P. (2005). Global competence & national needs: One million Americans studying abroad. Washington, DC: Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program. National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). (2007). Experiences that matter: Enhancing student learning and success. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research. Retrieved February 1, 2021, from https:// files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED512620.pdf Open Doors. (2020). Annual release. Retrieved February 1, 2021, from https:// opendoorsdata.org/annual-­release/ Paige, R. M., Fry, G. W., Stallman, E. M., Josic, J., & Jon, J. (2009). Study abroad for global engagement: The long-term impact of mobility experiences. International Education, 1–16. Perdreau, C. (2002). Study abroad: A 21st century perspective: Building diversity into education abroad programs. http://www.aifsfoundation.org/perdreau.htm Rhodes, G., & Hong, H. (2005, Fall). Project for learning abroad, training and outreach (PLATO): An integrated study abroad, training, certification, and diversity outreach program. IIENetworker Magazine: Diversity in International Education. Retrieved February 1, 2021, from www.iienetwork.org/file_ depot/0-­10000000/0-­10000/1710/folder/10528 Simon, J. & Ainsworth, J. W. (2012). Race and Socioeconomic Status Differences in Study Abroad Participation: The Role of Habitus, Social Networks, and Cultural Capital. International Scholarly Research Network, ISRN Education, Volume 12. https://doi.org/10.5402/2012/413896 Swaminathan, R., & Mulvihill, T. (2013). Photographic inquiry and educational technologies: Generating meaningful narratives. i-Manager’s Journal of Educational Technology; Nagercoil, 9(4), 1–7.

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Tensley, B. (2015). What’s keeping Black students from studying abroad? The Atlantic. Retrieved February 1, 2021, from https://www.theatlantic.com/ education/archive/2015/03/why-­black-­students-­dont-­study-­abroad/387679/ Kimberly R. Warren, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. Her major research interests are in the area of obesity, health promotion, and health disparities.

PART III

Internationalization Experiences and Reflections

CHAPTER 9

Advancing Internationalization Through Faculty Publication of Their Experiences in Internationalizing the Curriculum at Historically Black Colleges and Universities Michael B. Smithee

Introduction Advocates for internationalization call for new planning and suggest that the federal government increase funding for study and research abroad and provide new funding for virtual study programs. Importantly, they “prioritize the global competency of U.S. students through higher education” (NAFSA, 2020). These approaches mean that higher education institutions and faculty members need to assess methods for seeing that their students obtain the international competencies needed for competition in the global marketplace. This chapter looks in more detail at the

M. B. Smithee (*) International Research and Review, HQ Phi Beta Delta, San Bernardino, CA, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 K. Bista, A. L. Pinder (eds.), Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96490-0_9

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emergence of what the faculty can do to advance an institutional goal of internationalization in higher education (HE) in general, and at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in particular.

Literature Review Well after WWII, higher education grappled with its role in supporting the American place in the new world order. Programs such as the Fulbright exchanges, various U.S. government department grants such as USAID, Departments of State, Defense, Agriculture, and the Peace Corps had been established. However, by the mid-1960s international education emerged as one of the pillar Acts of the Great Society program of President Lyndon Johnson. The readings to accompany the International Education Act of 1966, IEA-66 (Brademas et al., 1966), supported the third component of the Great Society program. Even though the IEA-66 was passed by Congress, it was not funded. Still, the readings were a landmark of thinking about international education in that they established a recognition that the curricula of U.S. higher education needed to foster in its students a firm conceptual grasp of the politico-socio-economic world environment. The IEA-66 provided a forum for scholars, practitioners, and organizations’ input on the need for international education. However, HBCUs were not specifically mentioned in the readings in support of the IEA-66 effort. Identification of publications about internationalization and internationalization of the curriculum (IoC) that would shed light on how faculty at non-HBCU and HBCUs have disseminated their knowledge of internationalization of the curriculum is important because faculty are key to the internationalization process (Overton, 1992; Childress, 2009; Landorf et al., 2018). Dissemination of faculty viewpoints makes a difference in the development of an internationalized institution (Osakwe, 2017; University of Minnesota, 2020). Faculty engagement through active efforts and reflection helps other faculty understand the importance of IoC (Sanderson, 2008; Williams & Lee, 2015). IoC is important to developing a global mindset, learning outcomes, and competencies that students may use in their career development (Osakwe, 2017; Landorf et al., 2018). Describing the gaps in faculty development Childress (2009) wrote, “that despite the importance and challenges of developing faculty engagement in internationalization, little is known empirically about strategies to advance such faculty involvement” (p.  31). In both HBCUs and non-­ HBCUs, institutional practices from the 1960s through the turn of the

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century emphasized a traditional approach. Faculty were seen as internationalizing through research, and exchanges abroad, often funded by U.S. government agencies, and through fostering direct partnerships with institutions abroad (Overton, 1992; Hill, 2017). Joseph Overton (1992) wrote in The Process of Internationalization in Minority Institutions that HBCUs had critical issues to overcome. For all higher education there was the need for a new generation of leaders capable of understanding the global and international environment in the coming new century. For HBCUs there was a need for leadership of administrators and the engagement of faculty and curriculum in internationalizing the institution. Overton found that curriculum offerings at HBCUs were inadequate in broadening students’ understanding of the international arena. In addition, faculty were considered more for their disciplinary knowledge than for their intercultural background, thus limiting a formal infusion of an international dimension in courses. Although there were federal grants from a variety of federal departments, overall funding for HBCUs was lacking to make HBCUs competitive with non-­ HBCUs (p.  176). Hill (2017), former Dean and Vice president at an HBCU, provided personal reflections on the history of his institution’s international evolution. He reinforced Overton in that international curriculum development was weak and there was an emphasis on partnerships, exchanges, and grants to give the institution an aura of internationalized success. Outreach efforts online provided background and resources at non-­ HBCUs to conduct their own internationalization efforts. Non-HBCU institutions such as the University of Minnesota (2020), University of Waterloo (2020), Canada, and IUPUI (2020), Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis have published multi-year examples and resources for the development of faculty internationalization. In addition to institutional faculty development, there are instances of faculty publishing their perspectives with IoC (ITLS, 2015; Williams & Lee, 2015; Gross et al., 2016; Green & Whitsed, 2015). Their focus is either disciplinary or on higher education in general, with no articles written from an HBCU or HBCU disciplinary perspective. Other articles approach the topic of faculty perspectives from a research survey point of view, an outside-looking-in perspective (which will be discussed below), such as Crosling et al. (2008) and Hartzell (2010). These are useful yet do not provide the full expression of faculty experiences, rather just illustrative examples.

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After the definitions of internationalization (Knight, 2003) and internationalization of the curriculum (IoC; Leask, 2009, updated in 2014) were put forth for higher education in general, McMurtrie (2011) was among the first to articulate the internationalization challenges facing HBCUs. Shortly afterward Walker et al. (2011) in Examining Students’ Perceptions of Globalization and Study Abroad Programs at HBCUs focused on the study abroad aspect of internationalization for HBCUs. These sources focused on traditional solutions for internationalization. Among HBCUs, only one publication was found that moved from traditional solutions of internationalization to faculty reflections on IoC. Osakwe (2017) led the faculty at Albany State University, Georgia, in the internationalization of their courses. This process included faculty development and an opportunity to publish articles regarding the process and results of an infusion of internationalization in HBCU courses. This effort provides a basis for institutional internationalization beyond the traditional study abroad, faculty exchanges, and institutional partnerships.

Methods The exploration of resources for this chapter sought to identify the nature of faculty engagement in IoC. The exploration was limited to resources that could be found online, rather than in libraries due to the unavailability of physical academic libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic. In exploring the literature, the author utilized the search terms of: (a) Internationalization of the curriculum by HBCUs (b) HBCU internationalization (c) Comprehensive internationalization (d) Internationalization of the curriculum (e) HBCU faculty experience with internationalization of the curriculum (f) Faculty experience with internationalizing the curriculum The results are limited by the search engines, the search criteria, and the availability of documents once identified. For example, some articles are published by large publishing houses that control access to the full article, thus only an abstract is available. In addition, data was manipulated by the author without the benefit of an evaluation process that included others to code entries. The final set of 192 articles was determined by winnowing

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down from an original 240 by removing duplicate entries and those articles on review that were not applicable to the topic. The resulting database included author, title, internet link, and categories by which to gain information about faculty engagement in IoC. These categories included types of institution, instructional design component, and publication year. The goal was to find examples of faculty engagement in IoC in higher education in general and HBCUs in particular. The context of instructional design was used to determine (1) the incidence of publications about IoC in higher education and by HBCUs, (2) the emphases of the articles, and (3) examples of how faculty were advancing internationalization through IoC over time. The instructional design model used here is ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation) (Creatly, 2020; Reigeluth, 1983; Diamond, 1989; Dick et al., 2005). ADDIE, like other models, can be reduced to three components: frontend (analysis, design, development), implementation, and backend (evaluation, assessment, reflection).

Findings While there is abundant data about the demographics of internationalization through study abroad (Open Doors, 2019), such data is not readily available on the number of non-HBCU or HBCU institutions engaged in IoC. The results of the literature search show differences in non-HBCU and HBCU institutions, as well as differences in how faculty advance the concept of IoC. The literature also shows that a relative few of the 105 HBCUs are engaged in publishing their activity about IoC (HBCU Faculty Development Network, 2020; HBCU Buzz, 2015; Kedia, 2014). The identification of resources in the literature review resulted in 192 useful listings. The listings for types of institution included three categories: (1) those focused directly on HBCUs, (2) those focused on U.S. higher education, and (3) those focused on higher education in other countries. For the purpose of these findings (2) and (3) are joined together as non-HBCUs. In order to show how faculty approached IoC, the 192 listings from the literature were categorized by their instructional design process components. Figure 9.1 shows how instructional design criteria were used to identify the frequency that faculty contributed to IoC. Figure 9.1 shows the distribution of five groups of instructional design components for the 192 listings. For the articles showing a mixture of

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Fig. 9.1  Count of instructional design process components for HBCU compared to non-HBCU articles in the search of literature on internationalization between July and September 2020 (N = 192).

components of the instructional design process, the non-HBCUs show 10 articles of all three components and 22 articles of two of the design components. The HBCUs show only one article for each of these. For articles showing the individual components of the instructional design process, non-HBCUs show the frontend component received the most focus with a total of 77 articles, followed by 28 for implementation, and by 27 for the backend. HBCUs showed 20 articles for the frontend, 1 for implementation, and 5 for the backend. Although the backend listings for non-HBCUs is a large number (27), only a few of those listings include publications with faculty reflections on IoC. The findings also show that far more publications focused on describing the problem and in explaining ways to establish programs rather than on evaluation and reflection of programs. As Fig.  9.2 shows, publications about the IoC within HBCUs came late to the discussion of higher education internationalization. Among the first are McMurtrie’s (2011) Internationalization presents steep challenges for historically black colleges and Pinder’s (2012) dissertation, on

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Fig. 9.2  Number of listings by year by non-HBCUs and HBCUs for the search of literature on internationalization between July and September 2020 (N = 192).

internationalizing the black college, which raised the question of the readiness of HBCUs to “select benchmarks for comprehensive internationalization” (p.  1), as well as Bookman’s (2012) monograph, Internationalization at an Historically Black College, Bennett College for Women: A Case Study, which provide the earliest insights on internal views of internationalization at HBCUs. Prior to 2012, publications regarding internationalization were focused on non-HBCU higher education. Very little attention was paid to HBCUs by others, nor has it been found that any HBCU international activity was widely published outside of the HBCU network. However, between 2011 and September 2020, there has been a marked increase in publications about higher education in general, including internationalization at HBCUs. In the first nine months of 2020, the internet literature shows 23 listings. This eclipses any year prior to 2020. Of this dramatic increase it can be said that a factor for, and analysis of, internationalization and IoC has been the presence of the COVID pandemic.

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Discussion Outside Looking In In Hartzell’s (2019) research, the prevailing current and historical approach to studying faculty behavior related to IoC was to view classrooms as fishbowls, taking a macro view of the course(s) or curriculum. Hartzell’s research focused on internationalization of the curriculum through digitally supported teaching and learning projects at the University of Gottingen, Germany. Her approach to determine faculty experiences of how they internationalized their curricula was by interviewing and transcribing interviews with faculty and students (p. 3202). Hartzell’s faculty quotations on IoC included—On personal growth— “What I’ve gained now is interacting with the different people that we’ve had (in reference to hosting guest lecturers),” and—On professional development—“There is a lot of networking being done in the background where the scientists are getting closer to each other and actually realizing what the other one’s actually doing” (p. 3205). Comments such as these may be motivational, yet they are limited by what the researcher chooses to include, rather than how reflecting on IoC would be developed in a faculty-written article. Another view of outside looking in is shown in a Cornell University faculty panel discussion. This panel was designed to interest both faculty who had and had not engaged in IoC. After their initial commentary, the panelists were asked by the moderator to respond to a key question. I think all of you spoke to the internationalized nature of your curriculum, and you gave important examples. But…what I really wanted to ask is, how are your students different as a result of the internationalized curriculum you have in place? (Center for International Studies, Cornell University, 2015)

In comparison to the work exemplified by Hartzell (2019), this question changed the faculty from being observed, surveyed, and quoted to taking a central role in reflecting on the nature of their changes in curriculum. It allowed a personal view of the qualitative and quantitative changes in student learning. However, the limitation of the panel discussion is that it is oral in nature, often lacking in handouts, and in detailed explanations of, for example, personal growth, rationales for making decisions, and specific learning outcomes sought. Despite the advantages to their approach,

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the Cornell panel organizers commented that “a more comprehensive framework [was] needed towards internationalization” (Center for International Studies, Cornell University, 2015). The examples shown above highlight the differences between research studies and panel presentations. In the research study an understanding of the IoC process is focused on how the researcher will present the information collected. In the panel presentation an understanding of the IoC process is determined by how faculty panelists orally present their views. Inside Looking Out Using instructional design criteria, published articles written by faculty about their experiences with IoC have the benefit of faculty deciding what and how much information will be included. It is here that the readers of published articles on IoC by faculty can delve into the components of the IoC process in detail. The rationales become clearer, activities justified, evaluation explained, along with reflection on the process by the faculty member. The articles provide insight into disciplinary, and social and cultural conventions that faculty members convey, while allowing the reader to consider how infusion or transformation might be organized, and importantly, more detail on how learning might be assessed. Faculty who write of their IoC experiences may express themselves differently depending on the type of publication and academic setting. Understanding how faculty transform their courses through the IoC process provides other faculty members with an in-depth view of internationalization. Although outside-looking-in studies, like those conducted by Niehaus and Williams (2016) and Hartzell (2019), elicit commentary from faculty engaged in the transformative internationalization of the curriculum: “little is known about the curriculum transformers themselves” (Niehaus & Williams, 2016, p. 2). Faculty, not yet engaged in IoC, need written descriptions, reflections, and outcomes of IoC by someone engaged in the process. Institutions that wish to comprehensively internationalize will want to engage their faculty in faculty development programs. In addition to the regular outcomes of such programs there should be support for faculty reflecting and writing about their course internationalization experience. The two examples below achieve this: one is a non-HBCU (general higher education) focus, and the other is an HBCU focus.

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Faculty Development The scope of faculty development depends on the nature and needs of the institution and its leaders in instructional design. The process of faculty development serves the internationalization goals of the institution (University of Minnesota, 2020). The elements of IoC in faculty development programs include engaging different teaching methods and using different resources, classroom process, activities, assignments, and developing rubrics to measure course and intercultural knowledge and competencies, as well as engaging the student in developing a global/international context for what they are studying. Once the faculty are acquainted with these elements some portion of the faculty development program can be reserved for a discussion of faculty responsibilities after the IoC process has been completed. This is where publication, presentation, and mentoring elements of the backend can be elaborated. Examples of Faculty Experiences with IoC The following publications highlighting faculty articles on their IoC experiences are the most robust in the literature. Figure 9.1 showed that of a total of 32 backend articles, only 5 are listed by HBCU faculty. Most of the backend articles focus on the outside-looking-in approach to understanding IoC as exemplified by Niehaus and Williams (2016) and Hartzell (2019). Williams and Lee (2015), and Green and Whitsed (2015), influenced by Sanderson (2008), changed to an inside-looking-out approach. This approach addresses IoC by including the following components: (1) background or literature review as appropriate; (2) assessment and assessment methods; (3) challenges: intellectual, pedagogical; (4) problems, successes, solutions (some or all); (5) advice or best practices; and (6) reflections on experience (Smithee, 2016). Example One In the non-HBCU focus and book Internationalizing Higher Education: Critical Collaborations Across the Curriculum, Williams and Lee (2015) provide a section in which seven faculty member articles include the instructional design process, frontend, implementation, and backend (evaluation, assessment, reflection). In their attention to the backend, they

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discuss their assessments, challenges, successes, and reflections on the process. My favorite chapter is “Internationalizing College Algebra,” by Staats (2015, pp. 151–170). For the most part, high school and college students do not seek to learn higher math skills, so algebra becomes one of their final mathematics destinations. This particular example of internationalizing a course is rich in its descriptive value for publication about IoC. Staats’ chapter includes examples of the IoC components noted above as appropriate to her subject. For example, Staats described best practices as using sources outside of one’s normal zone of thinking. “The richest sources of data for an internationalized college algebra class are reports … like The United Nations Human Development Reports … basic health and health care data … economic data … and environmental quality and sustainability data” (p. 153). In addition, she states that spending time “to develop background knowledge for an application that assists students in understanding why the application is important (adds an important and stimulating layer to motivating students)” (p. 167). Staats developed her ideas and approaches in faculty community seminars that were supported by her university and found them extremely useful. Certainly, here one cannot provide a depth that Staats provided in her article. But the richness and justification for her approach will not be lost on the reader. Example Two This example is the only one identified in the literature which gathers an HBCU faculty’s written description of their IoC implementation. The faculty published descriptions, analyses of their processes, and reflections in the journal International Research and Review (IRR), Special Issue: Internationalizing the Curriculum. This issue represents Albany State University of Georgia, an HBCU that began its current process of comprehensive internationalization in 2015 (Osakwe, 2017). Under the guidance of Dr. Nora Osakwe, professor of English and director of Global Programs at Albany State University, Georgia (ASU), faculty concluded a first year of faculty development with writing about their experiences. Dr. Osakwe served as the guest editor of this special issue of the IRR. This volume includes articles from the disciplines of communication, early childhood education, English composition, mathematics, music, public speaking, teacher education, and world literature. Participating faculty received the following set of guidelines (Smithee, 2016) to aid the development of their articles.

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. Student learning objectives 1 2. Faculty learning objectives 3. Teaching methods and resources 4. Transparency: helping students understand the global/international context of the course 5. Classroom processes, activities, and assignments 6. Student learning outcomes and whether these were transparent or not, and how measured 7. Cognitive affective and psychomotor dimensions used and if so in what proportion and in what way 8. On the knowledge dimension what types of knowledge were advanced: factual, conceptually, procedural, metacognitive 9. Types of intercultural knowledge and competence rubrics were attempted The following are a few excerpted examples of the faculty reflections taken from the articles. The comments show elements of IoC and demonstrate that the faculty recognized the importance of internationalization at HBCUs. Student Learning Objectives. DeCuir’s (2017) objectives were for the pre-service teachers to: “4) explain culture and characteristics of new ELLs (English Language Learners), 5) describe culturally-responsive teaching strategies for different cultural groups, including ELLs, and 6) apply culturally-responsive teaching strategies in a daily lesson plan that includes curriculum, instruction, and assessment for all students including ELLs” (p. 38). On the Knowledge Dimension. Medlin (2017) explained that “Student commentary about the differences between observation in local schools and research on schools in another country … (led them to remark that this realization) will support learning activities that are more relevant to the students in the Albany (GA) classrooms” (p. 79). Transparency (Alerting Students in Advance of the Internationalization Component). Pitts (2017): “The initial problem I had with the original design of the curriculum is its concentration on European texts and its predominant Eurocentric approach to understanding World Literature … (which) is at variance with the realities of many of these students at a small Southern HBCU” (p. 125). This special issue of the IRR is remarkable, considering that the ASU faculty engaged in a first-run attempt at IoC.  In the writing of their

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experiences, they were supported by faculty development leader and guest editor of the IRR, Dr. Nora Osakwe, as well as the editor-in-chief of the IRR journal. Both met and discussed issues with faculty arising from the initial and subsequent drafts of their chapters. In later faculty development programs these writers were asked to give presentations and to serve as mentors. It serves to state again that these examples provide the reader with faculty comments on specific backend criteria, as well as faculty reflections on the process of IoC. The IoC efforts continued at ASU when it joined cohort #16, (2018–2020) of the American Council on Education, ACE Internationalization Laboratory. Internationalizing the curriculum shows that internationalization is for everyone, not just for those who wish to travel abroad (Jones, 2015).

Conclusions It is important that more HBCU faculty engage in and publish their perspectives and experiences with IoC. These two examples above are from a limited set of publications. Only one is from an HBCU. In order to show how HBCU faculty can advance international learning goals, continued publication by HBCU faculty is needed. When looking at how faculty can advance IoC context, the literature is significant not by the quantitative number of articles, but by the qualitative nature of faculty explaining and describing their own process in IoC. In many different disciplines, faculty can show their colleagues the issues that need to be considered when engaging in IoC. The outside-looking-in approaches to understanding the IoC process is useful only up to a point. The major limitation to having the collected literature reflecting a plethora of institutional rationales, processes, implementation, surveys, and evaluations is that it overloads the reader with frontend and implementation-laden information and guidance—more than that can be applied, and too much to test and experiment reasonably. On the other hand, the inside-looking-out approach provides administrative and faculty readers with insights into the most fundamental nature of internationalization and internationalization of the curriculum: what it accomplishes and why it is worth doing at all. It is the inside-looking-out approach that provides the most detailed guide for IoC. HBCUs are behind their non-HBCU counterparts in higher education in student mobility (Open Doors, 2019). In the United States and in many popular destinations of American universities’ study abroad, that

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disadvantage has been severely interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. By engaging in online study in 2020 and 2021, university students at diverse colleges are in the same boat for once. Even though in the Fall 2021 most universities will open to in-resident students, travel abroad in the immediate future will likely be inhibited by the continued presence of COVID-19 and its variants. For these reasons, internationalizing the curriculum for all students must continue and be advanced through the idea of Internationalization at Home (IaH). IoC assumes that travel, while highly desirable, is not the only way to become globally competent. Internationalization at Home (IaH) has become another way of looking at the IoC (Beelen & Jones, 2015). And this rare opportunity of working with a universally “grounded” population invites us to enrich students’ opportunities to learn about the world from home in ways that are equally accessible to all students. Having said this, even though study abroad is considered the gold standard for gaining international and intercultural competencies, there is a need for much more research and reflection on IoC as a medium for gaining these competencies. Faculty who publish their experiences in internationalizing the curriculum could help other faculty to realize that internationalization, learning outcomes, and teaching methods need not be limited to U.S. examples. To determine whether such publications are useful, additional studies would be needed to assess the impact of faculty publication of their experiences. This chapter shows that at this time there are few publications by faculty about their IoC experiences. The body of knowledge on internationalizing the curriculum needs more faculty contribution. The author suggests that journals, book authors, web publications look anew at the need for encouraging such publications by faculty in all higher education institutions. In addition, it is suggested that there be more study of internationalization processes at all 105 HBCUs.

References Beelen, J., & Jones, E. (2015). Redefining internationalization at home. In A. Curaj, L. Matei, R. Pricopie, J. Salmi, & P. Scott (Eds.), The European higher education area (pp. 67–80). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-­3-­319-­ 20877-­0_5 Bookman, G. 2012. Internationalization at an historically Black college Bennett College for Women: A case study. Bennett College for Women. https://www. wm.edu/offices/revescenter/globalengagement/internationalization/ papers%20and%20presentations/gwenbookman.pdf

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Brademas, J., et  al. (1966). International education: Past, present, problems and prospects. Selected Readings to Supplement H.  R. 14643. House Document Number 527, pp. 528–545. Center for International Studies. (2015, July 24). Faculty panel: Internationalizing the curriculum: Case studies from Cornell University. Cornell University. https://bit.ly/2FtXqkj Childress, L.K. (2009). Planning for internationalization by investing in faculty. Journal of International and Global Studies, 1:1, pp. 30–49. https://doaj.org/ article/1a0ead70e5a44cab9e1439bf9f456c0c Creatly. (2020). Top 7 instructional design models to help you create effective learning material. https://creately.com/blog/diagrams/instructional-­design­models-­process/ Crosling, G., Edwards, R., & Schroder, B. (2008). Internationalizing the curriculum: The implementation experience in a faculty of business and economics. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 30(2), 107–121. https:// doi.org/10.1080/13600800801938721 DeCuir, E. (2017). Internationalizing teacher education in the United States: A teacher educator’s journey from conceptualization to implementation. International Research and Review: Journal of Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars, 6(2). https://bit.ly/3ar8CK1 Diamond, R. (1989). Designing and improving courses and curricula in higher education. Josey-Bass. Dick, W., Carey, L., & Carey, J. O. (2005). The systematic design of instruction (6th ed.). Allyn & Bacon. Green, W., & Whitsed, C. (Eds.). (2015). Critical perspectives on internationalizing the curriculum in disciplines: Reflective narrative accounts from business, education and health. Sense. https://www.springer.com/gp/book/ 9789463000857 Gross, D., Abrams, K., & Enns, C. (2016). Internationalizing the undergraduate psychology curriculum: Practical lessons learned at home and abroad. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4316169?tab=1 Hartzell, C. (2019, June). Internationalizing the curriculum: Faculty and student perspectives. Literacy Information and Computer Education Journal (LICEJ), 10(2). https://doi.org/10.20533/licej.2040.2589.2019.0421 HBCU BUZZ. (2015, November 23). 6 HBCUs promoting global studies. HBCU Buzz. https://hbcubuzz.com/2015/11/6-hbcus-promoting-global-studies/ HBCU Faculty Development Network. (2020). Critical thinking and pedagogy: Enhancing quality in higher education. 27th Annual HBCU Faculty Development Network Conference. http://www.hbcufdn.org/HBCU_2020_ call.pdf

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Hill, J. (2017). The internationalization of curriculum at ASU: Personal reflections on a disparate evolution. International Research and Review: Journal of Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars, 6(2). https://bit. ly/3ar8CK1 ITLS, Internationalizing Teaching & Learning Scholarship. (2015). Selected publications from Internationalizing Teaching & Learning faculty cohort members on topics related to internationalization of the curriculum. University of Minnesota. https://global.umn.edu/icc/documents/publications_ICC_faculty.pdf IUPUI. (2020). Resources for curriculum internationalization Indiana University  – IUPUI. https://international.iupui.edu/global-­learning/ curriculum-­internationalization/resources.html Jones, E. (2015). Looking back at 15 years of internationalisation at home. EAIE Forum. https://www.academia.edu/20772022/Looking_back_at_15_years_ of_internationalisation_at_home?email_work_card=view-­paper Kedia, B. (2014, April 11–14). Globalizing historically black business schools. https://www.wm.edu/offices/revescenter/globalengagement/internationalization/papers%20and%20presentations/Benkedia.pdf Knight, J. (2003). Updating the definition of internationalization. International Higher Education, 33, 2–3. https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/ research_sites/cihe/pdf/IHEpdfs/ihe33.pdf. Landorf, H., Doscher, S., & Hardrick, J. (2018). Making global learning universal: Promoting inclusion and success for all students. Stylus. Leask, B. (2009). Using formal and informal curricula to improve interactions between home and international students. Journal of Studies in International Education, 13, 205–221. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315308329786 Leask, B. (2014, December 12). Internationalising the curriculum and all learning. University World News. https://bit.ly/3g3nUWc McMurtrie, B. (2011). Internationalization presents steep challenges for historically black colleges. http://chronicle.com/article/Internationalization-­ Presents/i 26467/ Medlin, D. (2017). Integrating comparative research on global instructional practices in pre-service early childhood education science course instruction. International Research and Review: Journal of Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars, 6(2). https://bit.ly/3ar8CK1 NAFSA: Association of International Educators. (2020). Recommendations for the Biden-Harris administration. https://www.nafsa.org/policy-­and-­advocacy/ policy-­priorities/rebuilding-­and-­restoring-­international-­education-­leadership Niehaus, E., & Williams, L. (2016). Faculty transformation in curriculum transformation: The role of faculty development in campus internationalization. DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska  – Lincoln. http://digitalcommons. unl.edu/cehsedadfacpub

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Open Doors. (2019). Profile of U.S. Study Abroad Students, 2000/01–2017/18. Institution of International Education. https://opendoorsdata.org/data/us-­ study-­abroad/student-­profile/ Osakwe, N. (2017). Internationalizing courses: A faculty development process. International Research and Review: Journal of Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars, 6(2). https://bit.ly/3ar8CK1 Overton, J. (1992). The process of internationalization in minority institutions. In C.  Klasik (Ed.), Bridges to the future: Strategies for internationalizing higher education. Association of International Education Administrators. Pinder, A. (2012). Internationalizing the black college: An investigation of the stage of readiness of private black colleges as it relates to select benchmarks for comprehensive internationalization. Doctoral dissertation, Clark Atlanta University. ETD Collection for AUC Robert W. Woodruff Library. Paper 272. https:// bit.ly/3iLaEYd Pitts, C.  A. (2017). Internationalizing the curriculum: Re-thinking teaching approaches to world literature and English composition. International Research and Review: Journal of Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars, 6(2). https://bit.ly/3ar8CK1 Reigeluth, C. (Ed.). (1983). Instructional-design theories and models: An overview of the current status. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Sanderson, G. (2008). A foundation for the internationalization of the academic self. Journal of Studies in International Education 12(3), 276–307. https:// www.researchgate.net/publication/258158054 Smithee, M. (2016, February 26). Infusing international perspectives in courses [Keynote address and presentation]. Albany State University Faculty Development Program. Internationalizing the Curriculum: Faculty Development Training. Albany State University, Georgia [Unpublished]. Staats, S. (2015). Internationalizing College Algebra. In R.  Williams & A.  Lee (Eds.), Internationalizing higher education: Critical collaborations across the curriculum. Sense. https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789462099807 University of Minnesota. (2020). Internationalization of the curriculum and campus conference. University of Minnesota: The Global Programs and Strategy Alliance 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2020. https://global.umn.edu/icc/ conference/index.html#previous-­tab/ University of Waterloo. (n.d.). Strategies for course internationalization, Centre for Teaching Excellence. University of Waterloo. https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-­for-­ teaching-­excellence/teaching-­resources/teaching-­tips/managing-­students/ diversity-­and-­internationalization/strategies-­course-­internationalization Walker, S., Bukenya, J., & Thomas, T. (2011). Examining students’ perceptions of globalization and study abroad programs at HBCUs. US-China Education Review, p. 87. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED522212.pdf

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Williams, R., & Lee, A. (Eds.). (2015). Internationalizing higher education: Critical collaborations across the curriculum. Sense. https://www.springer. com/gp/book/9789462099807 Michael B. Smithee,  EdD, is an experienced international educator, intercultural trainer, editor of publications. He established his international educator career and taught at Syracuse University, retiring in 2005. He has consulted on internationalization with institutions abroad and nationally, including HBCUs. He has published on such topics as the meaning of being an international educator, leadership in international education, intercultural components to academic integrity, U.S. classroom culture, and cross-cultural crisis management. In addition, he is the editor-in-chief of the journal, International Research and Review, Journal of Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars. For this journal, he oversaw the publication of the special issue by HBCU faculty in Spring 2017 on the topic: Internationalizing the curriculum.

CHAPTER 10

Reassessing the Debate on African Studies at Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Why African Studies Matter Soji Akomolafe

Introduction There are currently 103 institutions with HBCU designation. They are located primarily in the southeast, southwest, and northeast areas of the United States. They provide more access to higher education for first-­ generation Black students than any other group of institutions. Even though they constitute less than 5% of the nation’s higher education institutions, they produce approximately 25% of Black college graduates (Best, 2019). They are also responsible for producing over half of all black middle-class and white-collar professionals (Nichols, 2003). I first paid attention to the problems and prospects of Africanizing HBCUs exactly two decades ago (Akomolafe, 2000). The basic premise of my assumption then

S. Akomolafe (*) Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 K. Bista, A. L. Pinder (eds.), Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96490-0_10

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was that the discipline of African Studies was such a rarity at HBCUs. Twenty years later, I am revisiting this subject to see what, if anything has changed. That said, in order to put this essay in perspective, it will be helpful to start first by making a distinction between area studies and ethnic studies for purposes of clarity. This is because sometimes these two terminologies are used interchangeably especially by people who are not very familiar with both fields. Designations such as Africana Studies, Diaspora Studies, Black Studies, Afro-American Studies, or African-American Studies are usually used to describe ethnic studies. However, this should not be confused with African Studies, which are quintessentially area studies programs although some institutions choose to house them in the same department as ethnic studies. While there is no one universal definition of this term, internationalization usually includes at least one or more of the following core components: curriculum development (international/global politics, area studies, intercultural studies, foreign languages), study abroad/exchange programs, international recruitment (students/faculty), and international partnerships. Given the recent trend in globalization, which is now the most important contextual factor shaping the internationalization of higher education (Olds, 2012), colleges and universities have chosen to respond by internationalizing their academic programs (Diabate, 2017). Indeed, it is not a happenchance that over the last 10–15  years, it has become very fashionable for many colleges and universities to incorporate in their mission statement some form of phraseology on institutional commitment to internationalization (Best, 2019) although many of their pronouncements cannot be objectively measured (Morphew & Hartley, 2006). On top of that, accrediting agencies usually encourage it while many institutions believe that a statement on internationalization lends some credence to their curriculum not to mention its usefulness in recruiting. Thus, in the last few decades, internationalizing the curriculum has become an effective tool for attracting the attention of prospective employers, notably multinationals and governmental agencies. Also, most institutions now realize that “going international” could be very helpful in finding new sources of funding in addition to the prestige that usually accompanies the programs (Olds, 2012). Ironically, despite all this, only a tiny percentage of these institutions actually commit a serious dollar amount when it comes to operationalizing the programs that truly promote international education on their respective campuses. HBCUs are no exceptions to this rule as many have not really figured out how to “get

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with the program.” This, of course, is because their unique environment and culture present rare challenges to comprehensive internationalization (Davis, 2014). While there are a few success stories like Morgan State and Spelman College, who have made serious commitments to comprehensive internationalization (Mullen, 2014), in general, a good number of HBCUs still pay lip service to the cause, every so often in the form of a one-man office staffed by a faculty member with little and sometimes no prior experience in the management of international education. With respect to African Studies, with the exception of Howard University, the situation is even grimmer. Naturally, by virtue of their common heritage, one would expect that African Studies would be highly prioritized on the bucket list of HBCUs’ crack at internationalization, whereas that is not presently the case. To better understand why, we may have to take a walk down memory lane.

The Constituency for African Studies at HBCUs: A Historical Context Unlike today, existing literature indicates that HBCUs had a rich history of studying Africa. The question therefore is where, when, and how did they get off the rail? The answer may be found within the intercession of money, race, and, in this particular case, Cold War politics. In order to understand where we are today and how we got there, it is imperative to invoke the history of the development of African Studies at HBCUs. Given the enormity of his contributions to the creation of the discipline, Melville Herskovits is sometimes, and if I may add, erroneously referred to as the “godfather” of African Studies in the United States. Admittedly, today, most of the programs are housed at predominantly White institutions (PWIs). However, this has not always been the case. Available evidence indicates that HBCUs are actually the first cradle of African Studies in the United States. We are reminded by Ampofo (2016) that African Americans have traditionally played an important role in the development of critical African Studies, while Challenor (2002) recalls that back in the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, Howard University, Atlanta University, and Fisk University offered courses that “had an African component” in Negro and world history. As Zeleza (1997) pointed out, some form of African Studies was initiated at Black institutions long before it became fashionable at PWIs. He contends that

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alongside with African-American studies, both fields were founded by African-American scholar activists at HBCUs as part of a Pan-African project before their divergence in the historically White universities after World War II (Zeleza, 2011). Elsewhere, Skinner (1976) recounts that Howard became the foremost center of scholarly African Studies in the United States and the place where budding Africanists studied and discussed the nature of African societies. According to Martin (2011), “indeed to study and teach about Africa in the first half of the twentieth century invariably meant working at Black colleges and universities.” Ironically, Melville Herskovits and William Brown, two of the most influential early Africanists, were both initially employed by Howard University before pursuing their Africanist careers at PWIs. However, HBCUs soon realized that creating “programs” as opposed to merely offering “courses” on Africa is a completely different story. In sync with Cold War politics, while forging the study at PWIs, Zeleza (2011) observes that Herskovits deliberately sought to exclude leading African-American scholar activists of the time including Ralph Bunche and W.E.B. Du Bois, while Martin (2011) confirms that the exercise was carried out with the involvement of “very, very few Africans or African Americans.” The arrival of William Leo Hansberry at Howard University would redefine the scope and nature of African Studies’ curriculum underscoring the national security concern for the government (Alford, 1998, 2000). In Cold War parlance, Hansberry’s advocacy for African independence in the classroom was at the time considered essentially “radical” and “leftist.” The founding of the Council on African Affairs (CAA) heralded by notable Africanist intellectuals including W.E.B. Du Bois would further exacerbate the mounting fear of leftist takeover as the council articulated and emphasized the connection between the struggle of African Americans and the fate of colonized peoples in Africa (Salter, 2020). Mainly because this Pan-Africanist approach was never that attractive to the federal government nor to the big funders for that matter, eventually, it became much harder for HBCUs to secure funding for their nascent African Studies program (Martin, 2011). In the meantime, the programs at PWIs were being generously bankrolled by the federal government through its Title VI programs and by the major foundations including Ford and Rockefeller. This is how the study of Africa moved from HBCUs to PWIs and from Howard to Northwestern, while intellectual authority shifted from activist scholars to professional academics, in other words, from Dubois to Herskovits (Zeleza, 2011).

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COVID-19 Is Bad News for African Studies: Lessons from Abroad In the absence of a full-fledged area studies program, study abroad provides the next best potential for experiential international education (Brux & Fry, 2009; Mullen, 2014). In the article I referenced earlier on (Akomolafe, 2000), I suggested that until they can afford to create their own African Studies program, HBCUs would need to do a much better job of either developing or upgrading their existing study abroad programs. I noted that given the disproportionate attention that the media pay to the miseries of Africa, the unflattering image of the continent cannot be divorced from the lack of enthusiasm that students display when it comes to choosing Africa as their destination of study. Case in point: when former President Trump referred to African countries and particularly singled out its largest country (Nigeria) as “shithole,” some of the major media outlets quickly called him out depicting Nigerians as exemplars of model immigrants given their educational prowess and earning power (Fosco, 2020). While many gasped at the president’s gaucheness, nevertheless, even as they defended Nigerian Americans, many stopped short of defending the country itself. This should not come as a surprise given the negative image that most Americans have of Africa (Akomolafe, 1993). Generally, a study abroad experience has relatively had a constructive effect on the few returnees who dared to study in Africa as they tend to see Africans in a more positive light, and this is in spite of whatever hardships they may have experienced while studying over there. Having endured firsthand some of the same hardships, it becomes relatively easier for the returnees to empathize with the indigenous population. More importantly, many students, because of their homestay experience, develop relationships with their hosts that sometimes last a lifetime. Specifically, in the case of Africa, by and large, many of these students come back nursing a better image of the continent. It is those perspectives that they form while over there that help reshape their thinking of the continent, sometimes in defiance of what they get from the mainstream media. Ultimately, some of them end up with state and federal agencies where they actually help shape policies affecting Africa. Unfortunately, colleges and universities (and especially HBCUs) may be on the verge of losing this edge because practicing “education abroad at home” may very well be a new frontier for institutions (Whalen, 2020). In the wake of COVID-19, the quest to reimagine study abroad by

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providing opportunities to gain international experience while staying at home has gained even more momentum, especially given their cost-­ effectiveness (Mace, 2020; Glazer & Berger, 2020). “Virtual education abroad,” “online learning,” and “domestic study away” are now new terminologies made famous by the pandemic. What do they all have in common? They have been suggested as quasi permanent substitutes for the actual study abroad experience following the disruption caused by the virus (Durden, 2020). To be sure, by definition, study abroad is more than a mere classroom experience. Indeed, the most significant aspect of this experience is the physical interaction with the indigenous communities. There are so many aspects of cultural nuances that cannot possibly be captured through distance learning, no matter how sophisticated the technology deployed. For example, how can one taste and enjoy online a local dish or experience firsthand the hospitable embrace of the indigenous population? While I do agree that the instruction of area studies can be reinforced and delivered by virtual platforms, the study abroad experience has no substitute. When studying abroad, students learn, see, hear, and feel things, all of which cannot possibly be duplicated in a classroom at a home institution or by simply watching or listening to mainstream media, including even the well-meaning ones. Thus, to take away this “real” cultural experience and replace it with a “virtual” one will be yet another disservice to the study of Africa especially at HBCUs.

Living Six Feet Apart: The Social Distance Between Africans and African Americans Marcus Garvey perfectly captured the essence of this essay when he said that a people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots. Ironically, a century later, we are still struggling with this quest for knowledge on Africa. The term “social distance” was actually coined by Iheduru (2012) almost ten years ago (long before COVID-19 made it popular) to describe the uneasy relationship between Africans and African Americans. In her treatise, the author posits that internalized racism plays a prominent role in the dynamic of social distance that exists between both groups despite the fact that they share a similar struggle against White European domination. This phenomenon, she argues, is responsible for the divide that keeps these two communities with common African ancestry from being able to form a larger sense of

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community. In his case, Abua (2020) describes the long-existing history of “an unfathomable and a silently raging rift between Africans and African-­ Americans” (emphasis mine). He attributed this to a discouraging high level of historical ignorance or lack of in-depth understanding, especially among the newer generations of both races. While not totally dysfunctional, it is indeed an uneasy relationship that has lent itself to creating enmity and competition instead of friendship and collaboration between both groups of Black people (Okonofua, 2013). Whenever issues relating to racial differences arise, people always refer to the forever existing tensed-­ filled relationship between African Americans and the White race, but hardly ever consider the possibility of any discord between other races, most especially Africans and African Americans (Abua, 2020). Perhaps because it is such an uncomfortable subject, attention is diverted away from the increasing tensions and antagonisms between African immigrants and African Americans and how they have hampered genuine integration, collaboration, and cooperation between both groups. Rather, notes Okonofua (2013), we prefer to talk about between-group (Black vs. White) as opposed to within-group (Black vs. Black) differences. This begets the 64,000 question: is there a causal relationship between the paucity of knowledge on Africa and how these two communities relate (or sometimes fail to relate) to each other? While on the surface the answer might seem quite obvious, it is in actual fact a little more complicated than that. As I argued in the past, surely the negative image of Africa is in part responsible for the lackadaisical attitude regarding all things African in the United States (Akomolafe, 2000). This is particularly dangerous in that the media’s negative portrayal of Africa serves to denigrate the formulation of an African identity rooted in the culture and history of the African people causing the assumption that Africa is undeserving of pride (Iheduru, 2012). Back in the day, the situation was completely different. To begin with, Africanists-cum-Pan-Africanists on both sides of the ocean did not have to worry about a negative image because ahead of them was the promise of independence and the hope that Africans would finally have the opportunity to revive the glorious old days once colonialism got out of the way. Unfortunately, many of the African countries never lived up to that hype as the image which emerged after independence was not a particularly gratifying one. No matter how we try to sugarcoat it, the inconvenient truth is that, today, there is relatively very little meaningful cooperation between Africans and African Americans, a relationship that

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Adeleke (1998) flatly labels as one lacking unity. This is not just at the intellectual level because the situation does not fare any better in the artistic arena either. When two Nigerian-born British actors were cast to play three of the greatest African-American icons, what a murmur was until then quickly became a loud disapproval. Ironically, the criticisms were not centered on whether or not Cynthia Erivo was qualified to play Harriet Tubman and Aretha Franklin, nor whether David Oyelowo in his portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr. rose to the challenge. Rather, it was centered on the fact that as African-born actors, their “ancestry” automatically disqualifies them from playing those roles. Reportedly, some African Americans have even suggested dropping altogether the term “African American” noting that they no longer have anything in common with Africans (Ghee, 1990). In a Washington Post opinion piece, two Africans, Madowo and Attiah (2018, February 16) also capture the essence of this disunity as they ruminate on why the “relationship between Africans and Black Americans is so messed up.” They talk about “deep divisions” between both communities lamenting that in creating Black Panther, Africans and African Americans came together to create art that Black people around the world are so proud of, while in everyday life there is no such unity among them. As Iheduru (2012) noted, such a mindset is really not a surprise since an average African American does not know enough about the continent’s history to be able to identify with it. Herskovits once pointed out that Black culture in America is not pathological but rather inherently African (PBS, 2010). However, the actions we are witnessing today belie the authenticity of that cultural relativism. This “pathological” relationship has somehow become the big elephant in the room, both communities would rather sweep under the rug.

Conclusion: Using the Classroom to Reconstitute the Pan-African State of Mind On this side of the Atlantic, while the baby boomer generation and the ones before them may still nurture some kind of nostalgia for the Pan-­ Africanist era, younger generations particularly the X, Y, and Z are not famous for their affinity for the motherland especially in terms of classroom-­ based knowledge. Indeed, for many African Americans, especially at the intellectual level, the discipline of African Studies is not the “field of dreams” since they hardly ever come to the ones that were already built.

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Yet, we must persist. While this may not be the magic panacea (if there is ever one), I certainly share the notion that the ambivalence that most African Americans experience toward Africa is influenced by the lack of adequate information (Iheduru, 2012). Offering African Studies ubiquitously at HBCUs would be a good place to start and certainly one effective way to mitigate the social distance between the two communities. Pan-Africanism can be used as a road map for achieving this goal. In other words, both communities should endeavor to recreate the kind of relationship that existed among the African-American and African intelligentsia during the Pan-Africanist era. This relationship went hugely beyond the symbolic. What started as a friendship between Kwame Nkrumah, first President of Ghana, and his mentor, Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois, morphed into a lifelong relationship culminating in solid and meaningful policy implications. African Americans may remember Du Bois for his dedication to civil rights and social justice, but many Africans remember him as a Pan-­ Africanist who fought alongside their heroes against colonialism, which ultimately culminated in their independence, earning him the citizenship of Ghana, where he spent his last days. Similarly, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, also the first president of Nigeria, cultivated a similar relationship with his professor Dr. Hansberry at Howard University (Alford, 2000) and later named in his honor a chair in African history at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, one of the premier universities in Africa. Hansberry, a contemporary of Jomo Kenyatta, was also mentor to Presidents Nkrumah, Nyerere, and Touré, in addition to many other public officials most of whom eventually embraced Hansberry’s concept of Pan-Africanism in their public life (Alford, 2013). Indeed, three of African presidents (Nkrumah, Azikiwe, and Banda), products of the Pan-Africanist era, are HBCU alumni. At its founding, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the precursor to the African Union (AU), was initially paralyzed and divided because the “radicals” personified by Nkrumah and Touré wanted to see the body adopt the Pan-Africanist ideology. Such was the impact of African Studies emanating from HBCUs led by prominent African-American intellectuals. As limited as the scope was then, they still managed to affect and in some cases shape policies that substantively changed the course of African nations and its peoples. Pan-Africanism was created to fight a common threat: White domination. It is certainly not a coincidence that some of the African-American intellectuals who pioneered African studies in the United States were also responsible for orchestrating the Pan-African Congresses. Surprisingly,

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available evidence indicates that among African Americans, some actually believe that defeating this common threat would involve some kind of reactivation of the old Pan-African cooperation (Adeleke, 1998). So, why has there not been a committed effort to reconstitute the kind of support that this discipline enjoyed in the nineteenth century to achieve this goal? Incidentally, a group of African Americans has (and if I may add, correctly) advocated that the best way to deal with their “Africanness” and with Eurocentrism is to change the negative image of Africa in the minds of dominant Whites. It is indeed a laudable approach, and I happen to concur. However, given that just about a decade ago, curricular offerings at HBCUs were still 95% Eurocentric (Rogers, 2008), that goal would be hard to achieve. Contrarily, learning about Africa, presumably within a classroom setting, would get them closer to this goal. Regrettably, that is not happening because the majority of HBCUs do not have the ability nor the willingness to create the necessary programs. Learning about the glorious history of Africa, centuries of deliberate devastation and annihilation by slavery, colonialism, dubious trade practices, coupled with racist policies at all levels, and so on, can best be achieved within the four walls of a classroom reinforced by very vibrant study abroad programs. Reminiscent of the Pan-Africanist consciousness that brought together Africans on the continent and those in the diaspora which helped to liberate Africa, HBCUs need to reconstitute a strong constituency to champion once again the African cause in their classrooms. Unfortunately, today, as Diabate (2017) rightly observed, those Pan-African currents no longer run as strongly as they once did on HBCU campuses. This is precisely where strong presidential leadership comes into play. After all, it is the primary responsibility of the leaders to translate the mission of the college into programs that can actually accomplish their stated goals. As Gasman (2013) suggests, HBCU leadership needs to take on the difficult task of finding innovative ways to meet the changing needs of their students. But before that can happen, the leadership must be willing to commit the resources, both human and capital, making internationalization not only a leadership priority but also an institutional one (Diabate, 2017). Otherwise, if African Americans harbor the same negative image of Africa as Iheduru (2012) pointed out, how can they possibly change the minds of White America? Today, Howard University still remains the only HBCU with a standalone program that offers a doctorate with its own faculty in African

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Studies (Mann, 2017). While attending a conference proceeding in California, Ampofo (2016) recalls: On the first day the dean of the division hosting the conference welcomed, among others, participants from the “U.K., Canada, India, and Africa.” There were two of us “from Africa,” both from Ghana. I am sure anyone from the continent has many stories of similar experiences. The “Africa-is-a-­ country” view of the continent persists even among academics.

I, as many others, can certainly relate to the prevalent Africa-is-a-­ country mentality. Without gainsaying, there is no excuse why such a misnomer should still exist in the twenty-first century, especially among academics. Certainly, this status quo is unacceptable. African-American scholar-activists-turned Pan-Africanists the likes of Drs. Du Bois and Hansberry, to mention a few, recognized back then that the primary responsibility in promoting African Studies in the United States either rested with HBCUs or, at the least, should have been a shared responsibility. To get with the program, HBCUs would have to understand that any potential gain that might accrue from Africanizing their respective campuses would have to come with its share of pain. For now, conventional wisdom dictates that this reality is yet to dawn on their leadership where the prospect of real change mostly lies. In conclusion, a curriculum that seeks to reconstitute a Pan-Africanist state of mind will serve to educate and, more importantly as Du Bois (and his contemporaries) managed to do, demonstrate that Black lives should not only matter in the United States but also, as Ampofo (2016) phrases it, “across space.” In other words, now more than ever, HBCUs must demonstrate that they really value their shared heritage with Africa beyond the symbolic before they can convince White America and indeed the rest of the world that African lives matter too.

References Abua, J. (2020, June 10). The Fiasco between Africans and African-Americans. UAB Institute for Human Rights. https://sites.uab.edu/humanrights/2020/06/10/the-­fiasco-­between-­africans-­and-­african-­americans/ Adeleke, T. (1998). Black Americans and Africa: A critique of the Pan-African and identity paradigms. The International Journal of African Historical Studies, 31(3), 505. https://doi.org/10.2307/221474

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Akomolafe, O. (1993, February 11). Africa and foreign policy: The role of HBCUs. Black Issues in Higher Education (72). Akomolafe, O. (2000). Africanizing HBCUs: Problems and prospects of international education in historically Black institutions. African Issues, 28(1/2), 103–107. https://doi.org/10.2307/1167069 Alford, K.  W. (1998). A prophet without honor: William Leo Hansberry and the origins of the discipline of African studies (1894–1939). University of Missouri. Alford, K. W. (2000). The early intellectual growth and development of William Leo Hansberry and the birth of African studies. Journal of Black Studies, 30(3), 269–293. https://doi.org/10.1177/002193470003000301 Alford, K. W. (2013, June 27). Dr. K Wesley Alford’s statement at the 50th OAU/ AU celebration in Washington DC. Little Ethiopia. https://littleethiopia.wordpress.com/2013/06/27/dr-­k-­wesley-­alfords-­statement-­at-­the-­50th-­oauau-­ celebration-­in-­washington-­dc-­2/ Ampofo, A.  A. (2016). Re-viewing studies on Africa, #Black Lives Matter, and envisioning the future of African studies. African Studies Review, 59(2), 7–29. https://doi.org/10.1017/asr.2016.34 Best, K.  A. (2019). Internationalization and international recruitment at Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Administrative structure, challenges and support. The American International Recruitment Council (AIRC). https://airc.membershipsoftware.org/files/Internationalization%20and%20 International%20Recruitment%20at%20HBCUs%20(Kishmar%20Best).pdf Brux, J. M., & Fry, B. (2009). Multicultural students in study abroad: Their interests, their issues, and their constraints. Journal of Studies in International Education, 14(5), 508–527. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315309342486 Challenor, H.  S. (2002). African studies at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. African Issues, 30(2), 24–29. https://doi.org/10.2307/1535085 Davis, G. P. (2014). Creating global students: Opportunities, challenges and opportunities for internationalizations at HBCUs. American Council on Education. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03098265.2017.1373332 Diabate, D. B. (2017, January). Internationalization on HBCU campuses and the role of presidential leadership (dissertation). Scholarly Commons, University of Pennsylvania. ProQuest. https://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/ AAI10602297 Durden, W. G. (2020, January 4). Here’s a new way to do study abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. https://theconversation.com/heres-­a-­ new-­w ay-­t o-­d o-­s tudy-­a broad-­d uring-­t he-­c ovid-­1 9-­p andemic-­a nd-­ beyond-­138931 Fosco, M. (2020, June 30). The most successful ethnic group in the U.S. may surprise you. https://www.ozy.com/around-­the-­world/the-­most-­successful-­ethnic-­ group-­in-­the-­u-­s-­may-­surprise-­you/86885/

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Gasman, M. (2013, May 1). The changing face of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. https://repository.upenn.edu/gse_pubs/335/ Ghee, K. L. (1990). The psychological importance of self-definition and labeling; Black versus African American. The Journal of Black Psychology, 17(1), 75–93. Glazer, S., & Berger, R. G. (2020). Developing an experiential virtually abroad program to ensure mobility access: A quick guide. In S. Kommers & K. Bista (Eds.), Inequalities in study abroad and student mobility: Navigating challenges and future directions (1st ed.). Routledge. Iheduru, A. C. (2012). Examining the social distance between Africans and African Americans: The role of internalized racism (dissertation). Wright State University. Mace, M. K. (2020). Creating a campus global learning ecosystem by employing internationalization at home strategies. In S.  Kommers & K.  Bista (Eds.), Inequalities in study abroad and student mobility: Navigating challenges and future directions (1st ed.). Routledge. Madowo, L., & Attiah, K. (2018, February 16). Opinion|‘Black Panther’: Why the relationship between Africans and black Americans is so messed up. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-­opinions/ wp/2018/02/16/black-­p anther-­w hy-­t he-­r elationship-­b etween-­a fricans-­ and-­african-­americans-­is-­so-­messed-­up/ Mann, A. (2017, January 12). The struggle for Black studies at HBCUs. https:// www.theroot.com/the-­struggle-­for-­black-­studies-­at-­hbcus-­1790880481 Martin, W.  G. (2011). The rise of African studies (USA) and the transnational study of Africa. African Studies Review, 54(1), 59–83. https://doi. org/10.1353/arw.2011.0003 Morphew, C. C., & Hartley, M. (2006). Mission statements: A thematic analysis of rhetoric across institutional type. The Journal of Higher Education, 77(3), 456–471. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2006.0025 Mullen, S. (2014). Study abroad at HBCUs: Challenges, trends, and best practices. In Opportunities and challenges at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (pp. 139–164). Palgrave Macmillan. Nichols, J. C. (2003). Unique characteristics, leadership styles, and management of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Innovative Higher Education, 28(3), 219–229. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:ihie.0000015109.49156.fb Okonofua, B. A. (2013, August 1). “I am blacker than you”: Theorizing conflict between African immigrants and African Americans in the United States. SAGE Journals. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2158244013499162 Olds, K. (2012, April 19). Affirming academic values in internationalization of higher education: A call for action. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/globalhighered/affirming-­academic-­values-­internationalization-­ higher-­education-­call-­action

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Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). (2010, February 2). Herskovits at the heart of blackness. https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/herskovits-­heart-­ blackness/ Rogers, I. (2008, June 18). Black colleges still lacking Ph.D.  African-American studies program. Diverse Issues in Higher Education. https://diverseeducation. com/article/11305/ Salter, D. (2020, February 26). Council on African Affairs (1942–1955). https:// www.blackpast.org/african-­a merican-­h istor y/council-­a frican-­a f fairs-­ 1942-­1955/ Skinner, E. P. (1976). African studies, 1955–1975: An Afro-American perspective. Issue: A Journal of Opinion, 6(2/3), 57. https://doi.org/10.2307/1166446 Whalen, B. (2020, April 14). Education abroad in a post-COVID-19 world. https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/04/14/how-­covid-­19-­will-­ change-­education-­abroad-­american-­students-­opinion Zeleza, P. T. (1997). The perpetual solitudes and crises of African studies in the United States. Africa Today, 44(2), 193–210. Zeleza, P. T. (2011). Building intellectual bridges: from African studies and African American studies to Africana studies in the United States. Afrika Focus, 24(2). https://doi.org/10.21825/af.v24i2.5000 Soji Akomolafe is Professor of International Relations and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Norfolk State University (NSU), VA.  He received a BA (French/English Combined Honors) from the University of Lagos (1980) and an MS (International Relations; 1984) from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), both in Nigeria. In 1991, he obtained a Doctorate in International Relations from the University of Bordeaux, France. From 2003 to 2007, he served as the Director of the Center for Global Education at Norfolk State. Before joining NSU, Dr. Akomolafe served as the Director of International Programs at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, from 1992 to 2003. He serves on the Board of Directors of the World Affairs Council of Greater Hampton Roads (2004–2010; 2015–Present) and as Vice President from 2018 to 2020. His research interests center on the plight of minorities in international education and the foreign policy establishment. He is the co-author of two books and nine chapters in numerous books. Akomolafe has visited and established working relationships in many countries around the world including South Africa, England, China, Scotland, Peru, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea, Canada, and, of course, France and Nigeria.

CHAPTER 11

It Takes a Village: Holistic Emancipatory Framework for Students of Color in Study Abroad Metrice Harris-Weedman

Introduction African-American and Latino students (hereafter referred to as students of color for the purpose of this chapter) studying abroad from American colleges and universities remain highly underrepresented in study abroad despite efforts to increase their numbers. Meanwhile, study abroad educators continue to struggle with being able to identify and meet their needs (Bailey Shea, 2009; Covington, 2017; Sweeney, 2013). This chapter departs from a deficit model (i.e., focusing on what is wrong with the student or their cultural differences) and looks at why students of color are underrepresented in study abroad while utilizing a community-oriented approach necessary for the creation of more inclusive programming.

M. Harris-Weedman (*) The Faculty of Arts and Science, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 K. Bista, A. L. Pinder (eds.), Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96490-0_11

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Rooted in the village-style approach of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and emancipatory frameworks, this chapter introduces a holistic model using the acronym MENSCH (identifying multiple consciousness; exploring identity intersections; naming power structures; investigating study abroad contexts; using the capability approach; and highlighting knowledge, skills, and abilities). I will explore the contributory frameworks and highlight how the incorporation of MENSCH can help inform study abroad stakeholders working to increase access, participation, and relevance for students of color in study abroad programs.

Literature Review Though there is a paucity of research surrounding themes of inclusion for students of color in study abroad, the fact remains students of color are overwhelmingly underrepresented in study abroad opportunities in proportion to their undergraduate enrollment (Bailey Shea, 2009), and the reasons for this are complex and multifold (Brux & Fry, 2010; Hembroff & Rusz, 1993; McClure et al., 2010; Penn & Tanner, 2009; Schulmann, 2016; Sweeney, 2013). While participation rates of students of color continue to show modest gains over the last ten years, the pre-eminent Open Doors Report conducted through IIE (2019) shows White students constitute 70% of the students studying abroad, while African-American/ Black students represent 6.1% and Hispanic/Latino students represent 10.6% of U.S. study abroad programs. In an opening address at a CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange) conference in 1990, the then president of Spelman College Johnetta Cole listed four barriers associated with lower participation rates in study abroad for African-American students based largely on anecdotal evidence now referred to as the 4 F’s (i.e., faculty and staff, finance, family and community, and fears) (Cole, 1991, p. 3). Quantitative research, conducted by Hembroff and Rusz (1993), utilizing a large sample size of 1139 students from Michigan State College empirically corroborated Cole’s list, adding additional factors such as attrition rates, choice of major, and foreign language requirements under the larger rubric of factors linked with academics. Despite being dated, both Cole’s address and Hembroff and Rusz’s research remain relevant and are frequently cited.

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Faculty and Staff Faculty and staff can play crucial roles in encouraging and guiding students throughout study abroad programming given their roles as potential mentors and role models. Students may experience difficulties speaking of their struggles to faculty if they perceive the faculty member is unable to understand or offer appropriate support (Covington, 2017). Further, if faculty and staff work with the assumption students of color are uninterested and/or not qualified to study abroad, they may not actively work to put study abroad opportunities on students’ radars (Carter, 1991; Sweeney, 2013). Esmieu et al., (2016) indicated faculty members are key gatekeepers and stakeholders; they not only promote the goals of internationalizing campuses, but they also create faculty-led programs, recruit students, and teach abroad. However, if unaware, uninterested, or not encouraged to invest in this multifaceted role, they, arguably, will have a hard time working toward widening participation goals (p. 3). Finance While many students of color and their families are struggling to afford higher education costs, prevalent perceptions persist around the belief study abroad is prohibitively expensive (Andersen, 2012; Brux & Fry, 2010; Dinani, 2016; Esmieu et  al., 2016; Hembroff &  Rusz, 1993; McClure et  al., 2010; Penn & Tanner, 2009). Moreover, there may be further costs to the students and their families not typically calculated by educators promoting study abroad opportunities. Family and Community Being concerned about the safety and well-being of one’s child in a foreign country is a concern any family might have, but families of color may equally worry about potential discrimination (Cole, 1991; Ganz, 1991; IIE, 2015). Some families fear the unknown threat of racism their children may encounter without the protective network provided by families and community members (Brux & Fry, 2010; Cole, 1991) and might sway the student against studying abroad through implicit and explicit disapproval (Brux & Fry, 2010; Esmieu et al., 2016).

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Fears Repeatedly encountered is the pervasive myth study abroad is not for Black and Brown students, especially in traditional European study sites (Lee & Green, 2016; McClure et al., 2010). The fears many students of color purportedly have are multi-layered and revolve around racism (i.e., racial ignorance from both U.S. peers and international hosts), discrimination, micro-aggressions, fear of not qualifying, and what they may experience as a lone minority member in a fairly homogeneous population (Cole, 1991; Covington, 2017; Eidson, 2015; Ladika, 2009). Academics The choice to study abroad for students of color might also be impacted by academic factors such as attrition rates, choice of major, and foreign language requirements. Potential candidates may not continue into their junior or senior year in college to reap the rewards of such a program due to higher-than-average postsecondary attrition rates among Latino and African-American students (Hembroff & Rusz, 1993; NCES, 2019). Additionally, choice of major and being able to graduate within a prescribed period have been identified by researchers as impacting participation rates (Lee & Green, 2015; Penn & Tanner, 2009). Majors with less flexibility require more advanced planning when credits received while abroad may not count toward one’s major (Penn & Tanner, 2009). Foreign language study can create anxiety for students of color considering studying abroad (Reed, 2016). Concerns about language differences (29.5%) were high on the list when Hembroff and Rusz (1993) asked African-American students what contributed to their decision to not study abroad. Some educators believe concerns students have regarding foreign language requirements may be related to lower incidences of prior travel experience but not the result of negative attitudes about international issues and people (Hembroff & Rusz, 1993; Lu et al., 2015).

The Rationale for an Emancipatory Framework Emancipatory Framework Conceptual frameworks help structure, orient, and explain what is being studied (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2016). When viewing issues related to

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exploring underrepresentation in study abroad for students of color, it might be important to engage with three critical theoretical frameworks: W.E.B. Du Bois’ concept of double consciousness and Black feminist theories of multiple consciousness, critical race theory (CRT), and Sen’s capability approach. One of the main goals of emancipatory frameworks is to be able to make substantive democratic changes toward an increased experience of justice (Walshaw, 2012). Du Bois’ in-depth sociological understanding of double consciousness and the continued psychological legacy that oppression plays with disenfranchised people of color provides key insights into the potential individual, collective, and/or institutional barriers impacting students of color. The more modern iteration, multiple consciousness, rejects deficit models when examining issues related to oppressed people and moves toward incorporating strengths as a byproduct of learning how to be resilient under difficult conditions. CRT is an approach that would allow for a closer investigation of the involved power structures in study abroad, potentially evaluating how all students, and more specifically students of color, gain access to study abroad opportunities. Sen’s capabilities framework could work within existing social contexts from the ground up to aid students of color individually and/or collectively to increase possibilities. Double and Multiple Consciousness and Black Feminist Theory W.E.B. Du Bois is often credited with developing the concept of double consciousness in his classic book The Souls of Black Folk. He famously describes a duality encompassing African-American identity as a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second sight in this American world—a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his twoness,—an American, a Negro, two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideas in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder. (Du Bois, 1989, section 77)

He utilized the term double consciousness to reflect his definition of the adaptive survival skills American slaves (and their descendants) developed

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over time to be able to exist. Du Bois felt the antidote to double consciousness was to strive toward a sense of wholeness or oneness through self-determination, education, work, culture, and the practice of democracy (Du Bois, 1989). Today, and for many, Du Bois’ sociological description of life following the Emancipation Proclamation for people of color still rings true. If people of color are bound by the view others have of them, what does that mean when the images coming back are consistently negative (McKay, 2010)? The Black feminist movement and perspectives encapsulated by the works of hooks (2015) and Crenshaw (1989) not only challenge this deficit view but carve out a space for multiple identities and experiences. When coining the term double consciousness, Du Bois arguably left out another perspective, that of the African-American woman. Black feminist theorists, scholars, and activists have expounded on his views to better reflect often overlooked groups (Crenshaw, 1989; hooks, 2015; King, 1988). Described as multiple consciousness, double jeopardy, intersectionality, cultural multiplicity, and multidimensionality, they challenge restrictive one-dimensional views of identity and experience. They call into question the power structures underlying the systems resistant to acknowledging pluralistic identities (Crenshaw, 1989; hooks, 2015; King, 1988). Instead of seeing things in Black and White or even in terms of gender, Black feminists lead the paradigm shift in addressing the gaps where gender, race, class, ethnicity, and language (to name just a few) intersect (Crenshaw, 1989; hooks, 2015; King, 1988). hooks described the cultural and ethnic state of blackness as being whole and akin to the existence of a “whole universe, a main body made up of both margin and center” (hooks, 2015, p. xvii). hooks immediately approached double consciousness as a strength: This sense of wholeness, impressed upon our consciousness by the structure of our daily lives, provided us an oppositional world view, a mode of seeing unknown to most of our oppressors, that sustained us, aided us in our struggle to transcend poverty and disparity, strengthened our sense of self and our solidarity. (p. xviii)

Being able to see women of color as being whole not only challenges the pervading American thought system, but further labels the “power structures and underlying social order” as the problem. Those structures and interlocking systems are in  lockstep with oppression and identified as

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“imperialist, white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchy” by hooks (hooks, 2003, p.  1). Moreover, seeing minorities and other underrepresented groups from a deficit viewpoint typically serves to maintain the status quo (hooks, 2000, 2015). Crenshaw (1989) coined the term “Intersectionality” to designate the multidimensionality of Black women’s experiences she encountered as a lawyer within the American legal system. Crenshaw reminds us discrimination can flow in multiple ways just as it can flow in one direction (p. 149). Recognizing complex identities, how multiple identities can intersect in marginalized populations, and pinpointing how power structures may overlook or ignore these realities are key elements of Crenshaw’s framework (Crenshaw, 1989). Similar to hooks, Crenshaw believes choosing not to recognize the complexity of experiences encountered by Black women (or any other marginalized group), leaves them divided, invisible, and unprotected (Crenshaw, 1989). Crenshaw (1989) describes the goal of her framework as facilitating inclusion of marginalized groups because “When they enter, we all enter” (p. 167). Critical Race Theory Critical race theory (CRT) began in the 1970s by Derrick Bell, Alan Freeman, and Richard Delgado in response to the holes not covered by the Civil Rights Movement. Black feminists, Angela Harris and Crenshaw, further contributed to CRT in the late 1980s (Tate IV, 1997). The common denominator among the early CRT theorists is a background in legal studies (Harris, 2015). They noticed, despite the belief that justice is blind, criteria such as race, class, gender, and power structures were absent in the American legal system (Tate IV, 1997). CRT takes a very critical view on the definition of race, how it gets interpreted in society, and how it is used by various power structures to make people subordinate. Harris (2015) described critical race theorists as going beyond philosophical interpretation to actively wanting to provoke power structures and ultimately elicit compassion to then be able to actively work toward change. Solorzano and Yosso (2001), educational researchers, adapted CRT within educational contexts based on the belief the framework is well adapted to exploring race and racial climates in education. CRT utilizes counter-storytelling, which is “a method of telling the stories of those people whose experiences are not often told” (Solorzano & Yosso, 2001, p.  26) using their words and perspectives. Delgado et  al. (2017) and

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Bernal (2002) explain that “although students of color are holders and creators of knowledge, they often feel as if their histories, experiences, cultures, and languages are devalued, misinterpreted, or committed within formal education settings” (p. 106). Furthermore, CRT can be useful in guiding pedagogies in exploring, identifying, and analyzing how the stratified power structures are cultivated and maintained systemically within educational contexts (Solorzano & Yosso, 2001). Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach Sen’s capability approach does not provide a specific policy framework to follow but seeks to challenge our philosophical understanding of justice and how to increase justice for the individual or collective experience (Sen, 2010). Not seeking to create a perfect world, Sen strives to provide a loose framework toward increasing and advancing justice using reasoning that is context driven and starts with the premise of multiple perspectives (Sen, 2005). This framework focuses on whether the individual or population being studied has the capability to self-determine and agency or freedom to advance the goals they value (Sen, 2010). He underscores the importance of two things: 1. The importance of pursuing the objectives that the individual values regardless of the process of how one works toward making those objectives into reality. 2. The idea or process of choice and whether it is the person’s choice or whether those choices are being forced upon them. (p. 228) This framework lends itself as a lens toward understanding underrepresentation in study abroad as Sen reminds us true democracy is judged by our institutions and whether or not diverse voices can be heard (Sen, 2009, p. xiii).

Study Abroad Holistic “Mensch” Framework Currently, there is no one framework in study abroad allowing for a more holistic way of viewing students of color in study abroad programming. In order to both empower students and make substantive changes to the status quo, a new emancipatory framework has been created as the overarching umbrella to which the three previously described theoretical approaches (double and multiple consciousness, CRT, and the capability

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approach) are hinged. Each has advantages and disadvantages when used as stand-alone theoretical approaches. However, a more comprehensive lens emerges when utilizing an amalgamation of the best suited elements from each framework while borrowing successful community (village-­ style) approaches typically found on HBCU campuses. HBCU Holistic Community Lens While identifying the Four F’s, Cole indirectly highlighted the power of HBCUs and their village-style approach to education. In so doing, Cole provided future educators and researchers with a departure point that is culturally adapted to the populations being studied. HBCUs have a long-­ rooted history in making education equitable for African-American students (and increasingly for other marginalized students). They have successfully reduced attrition rates among higher-risk students (which can be interpreted as arriving on campus as the first generation to attend college, with less academic preparation, and coming from underprivileged backgrounds) (Leichter, 2016) amid ever-decreasing funding and resources (Harris, 2015). Through shifting perspectives, engaging concerned stakeholders, viewing the students as central, and working toward creating more support structures, educators can begin to utilize some of the village-type community supports that have helped HBCUs. MENSCH Originally, the German word “Mensch” means human being or a person of honor and integrity (Merriam-Webster, 2019). An integral part of working with populations that are underrepresented, undervalued, and caught in the cross hairs of events they do not control is to remind professionals of their humanness and dignity. The heart of this framework is inspired by the sense of belonging and pride HBCUs cultivate with their students. My own personal study abroad story, where I studied in France, provides an example of counter-storytelling and is a lens with which specific challenges can be analyzed using the framework. MENSCH allows educators to investigate: 1. Multiple consciousness identifies whether students self-identify with plural identities 2. Exploration of identity intersections and the potential impact on study abroad experiences (context driven).

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3. Name/highlight power structures relevant to students’ study abroad experiences before, during, and/or following study abroad experiences. 4. Study abroad contexts (can include counter-storytelling). 5. Capability approach uses relevant tools to increase access, participation, or more inclusive practices from individual or group perspective. 6. Highlight knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) students bring with them to their study abroad experience

This Is Personal (Counter-storytelling) Some years ago, I embarked on a year-long academic quest, allowing me to live and study in France. As an African American, I did not anticipate my “unique” status as a member of an underrepresented student population group. Upon arrival, it became clear to me that my experiences and perceptions were different from my White study abroad peers. The only other student who seemed to share my perceptions was also a female student of color from Haiti. We supported each other throughout the year and shared our thoughts and experiences about what it meant to be Black women abroad. We felt “different,” and our experiences diverged from our American peers. This perception of difference served as a wall between us and other members of our rather homogeneous study abroad group. Our 32-member group was composed mostly of White affluent women who were Liberal Arts majors. My Haitian friend and I struggled to relate to students who could afford to hop on a train to explore other countries outside of France. I arrived with 500 dollars spending money for the entire academic year after working two jobs during the previous year to cover expenses. There was no question of asking my single parent for additional help as we lived paycheck to paycheck. My Haitian friend was in the same financial straits but helped me recognize my own previously unacknowledged privilege as an American when she got kicked off a train for being Haitian. Though we were different from one another in citizenship, language, and culture, we were united in our experiences as Black women with limited funds. While in Paris, my study abroad group decided to take the Metro to admire the silhouette of the Eiffel Tower at night. Upon arrival, we were surprised to discover a bustling night scene. Deciding to tour the adjacent

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garden grounds, my Haitian friend and I separated from the group and continued to enjoy the lights and animation. We received the first man who approached us with warm smiles. Our smiles abruptly faded when we realized we were being propositioned for sex. Neither of us could discern what might have invited such attention. Dismissing what we thought was an aberrant incident, we were approached a second time. Later, we compared notes with our White female counterparts, who described having enjoyed flirtatious attention but no one else in our group was assumed to be prostitutes. The assumption being Black women are exotic, sexually permissive, and potentially for hire. These types of encounters were repeated throughout the academic year: different places but similar propositions. Applying MENSCH as a Potential Tool When applying the framework as an educator, one would try to ascertain if students being described have identified elements of double or multiple consciousness. In this particular vignette, the students of color (SOCs) are two Black women (one African American and one Haitian). The two students have had an experience where they were assumed to be sexually promiscuous at a common tourist site. It would be important to note the White female students were not propositioned in the same way. This experience would provide an opportunity for educators to ask questions and delve into some of the historical, political, and social contexts contributing to these experiences. Though not indicated in the vignette, it would be helpful to know whether the students reported their experiences to the study abroad staff and why? In other words, how do the power structures respond to these types of experiences? Have other students reported similar incidents in the past? If so, how did this program prepare the students for potential encounters? If not, what support services were provided? Were there any KSA the students had which helped them navigate these experiences? Finally, how can students, parents, administrators, peer groups, faculty, and any other stakeholders work toward creating a program at this particular host site with the needs of SOCs in mind? What critical discussions need to be held by stakeholders toward better practices and increased student well-being? In retrospect, speaking from my personal experience, a guiding framework such as MENSCH would have been immensely helpful in reducing the isolation that comes with studying abroad in a European setting as a

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woman of color. Having a sense of Multiple Consciousness would have helped me understand one of the most confusing encounters I have experienced around my racial identity. Encountering African students made me question how I saw myself and my cultural roots. I believed myself to be Black and united with Africans. I had to reconcile the intersections of my identities as an American, a woman, an African American, and even as a student on the cusp of adulthood. I was in the midst of a life-altering Exploration of myself and the world around me but felt completely alone in the process. The study abroad–related staff and director would have been the helping professionals best qualified as points of contact (Naming power structures), and neither had been accessible prior, during, or following the voyage to specifically address the types of concerns described above. The sense of isolation experienced could have been mitigated through professional sensitivity and knowing with whom our concerns could be shared. Contextually, I came to the program from another college within the University network which impacted accessibility to pre-­ departure and re-entry resources. Understanding specific Study abroad contexts of my university program and looking toward available tools, I know there were real options available but not utilized. The Capability Approach could have been used as a means to explore capabilities like the counseling centers to train program advisors and directors to effectively address concerns (and/or direct students toward support services in the local communities). Being able to speak with a study abroad professional of color who would have inspired trust and a sense of inclusion. Finally, being able to Highlight the unique KSA I brought with me (i.e., my sense of independence, enthusiasm, and flexibility) would have certainly helped me approach (and follow-up) the academic year from a position of empowerment rather than lack (lack of funds, prior travel exposure, and/ or family support); those KSAs helped me effectively navigate my year abroad despite the other challenges faced. MENSCH can flexibly be applied as a tool beyond direct student experience and is adaptable as an aid in study abroad programming. Advisors considering planning a study abroad voyage with the goal of widening access and participation for underrepresented populations can use the framework to better capture interests and concerns of the targeted students. Each segment works to provide increased sensitivity and understanding; advisors can use MENSCH in its entirety or choose elements which are most relevant. It is important to note the framework underscores systems and contexts surrounding student experience. Considering

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the needs of students of color when going to Europe, for example, is every bit as relevant as considering the needs of White students when entering countries and cultures where they become the minority. The flexibility embedded in the framework is meant to avoid a one-size-fits all approach while working within the limitations and strengths embedded in each educational system.

Conclusions MENSCH, a study abroad conceptual framework, utilizes key elements from critical race theory, Black feminist theory, and Sen’s capability approach to form a more inclusive holistic framework grounded in community. Whether working toward widening access, making study abroad more appealing for students of color, evaluating individual or group experiences, and/or gauging best practices, MENSCH is flexible enough to be used across many domains. Educators are frequently too comfortable with deficit type models seeking to blame students for not easily fitting into a mold not designed for them (Welton & Martinez, 2014; Yosso, 2005). This framework seeks to challenge the status quo by helping institutions, providers, and educators reframe how they see students by allowing student voices to be the focal point. Ultimately, the creation of more inclusive environments will help attract more SOCs.

References Andersen, L. (2012). Underrepresented Students and Study Abroad: What Is Missing?. Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/187534. Bailey Shea, C. (2009). Issues that affect American college students’ participation in study abroad (Doctoral dissertation). (Publication No. AAT 3395372). Bernal, D. D. (2002). Critical race theory, Latino critical theory, and critical raced-­ gendered epistemologies: Recognizing students of color as holders and creators of knowledge. Qualitative Inquiry, 8(1), 105–126. Bloomberg, L. D., & Volpe, M. (2016). Completing your qualitative dissertation: A roadmap from beginning to end (3rd ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd. Brux, J., & Fry, B. (2010). Multicultural students in study abroad: Their interests, their issues, and their constraints. Journal of Studies in International Education, 14(5), 508–527. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315309342486

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Carter, H. (1991). Minority access to international education. Black students and overseas programs: Broadening the base of participation, 9–20. Cole, J. B. (1991). Opening address of the 43rd international conference on educational exchange. Black students and overseas programs: Broadening the base of participation, 1–8. Covington, M. (2017). If not us then who? Exploring the role of HBCUs in increasing Black student engagement in study abroad. College Student Affairs Leadership, 4(1), 5. Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminists critique of anti-discrimination doctrine, feminist theory, and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 139–167. Delgado, R., Stefancic, J., & Harris, A. (2017). Critical race theory: An introduction (3rd ed.). New York University Press. Dinani, T. T. (2016). The impact of ethnic identity stage development on the intercultural sensitivity of African-American students during study abroad. Biola University. Du Bois, W. E. B. (1989). The souls of Black folk. Penguin Books. Eidson, K. (2015). Increasing minority participation in study abroad programs. Journal of Universality of Global Education Issues, 2. Esmieu, P., Mullen, S., Samayoa, A. C., Gasman, M., Perkins, C., Wolff, M., & Beazley, M. (2016). Increasing diversity abroad: Expanding opportunities for students at minority serving institutions. Philadelphia, PA: Penn Center for Minority-serving institutions, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania. Ganz, M.  A. (1991). The Spelman experience: Encouraging and supporting minority students abroad. In Black students and overseas programs: Broadening the base of participation (pp. 43–55). Charleston, SC. Retrieved from http:// www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED340323.pdf Harris, A. (2015). Critical race theory. In J. D. Wright (Ed.), International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences (pp. 266–270). Elsevier. Hembroff, L., & Rusz, D. (1993). Minorities and overseas studies programs: Correlates of differential participation. Occasional papers on International Educational Exchange, 30. Council on International Educational Exchange. hooks, b. (2000). Where we stand: Class matters. Routledge. hooks, b. (2003). Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope. New York: Routledge. hooks, b. (2015). Feminist theory from margin to center. South End Press. Institute of International Education (IIE). (2015). Open doors report on international educational exchange. Retrieved from http://www.iie.org/opendoors Institute of International Education (IIE). (2019). Open doors data: U.S. Study abroad: Fields of study. Open Doors Report on International Education Exchange.

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King, D. K. (1988). Multiple jeopardy, multiple consciousness: The context of a Black feminist ideology. Signs: Journal of women in culture and society, 14(1), 42–72. Ladika, S. (2009). Beyond stereotypes in education abroad. International Educator, 18(2), 28. Leichter, K. (2016). HBCUs: An unheralded role in STEM majors and a model for other colleges. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 62, 26. Lu, C., Reddick, R., Dean, D., & Pecero, V. (2015). Coloring up study abroad: Exploring Black students’ decision to study in China. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 52(4), 440–451. McClure, K. R., Szelenyi, K., Niehaus, E., Anderson, A. A., & Reed, J. (2010). ‘We just don’t have the possibility yet’: U.S.  Latina/o narratives on study abroad. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 47(3), 367–386. https://doi.org/10.2202/1949-­6605.6506 McKay, C. L. (2010). Community Education and Critical Race Praxis: The Power of Voice. Educational Foundations, 24, 25–38. Merriam-Webster.com. (2019). Retrieved December 14, 2019, from https:// www.merriam-­webster.com/dictionary/mensch National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2019). “Digest of Education Statistics 2019. NCES 2021-009.” Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups 2018. NCES 2019-038. Penn, E. B., & Tanner, J. (2009). Black students and international education: An assessment. Journal of Black Studies, 40(2), 266–282. https://doi. org/10.1177/0021934707311128 Reed, A. E. (2016). Student Participation in Coil Programs and its Impact on Study Abroad Enrollment. Schulmann, P. (2016). Study abroad: Can US institutions do better? Trends, benefits, access, and equity. World Education News+Reviews. Sen, A. (2005). Human rights and capabilities. Journal of Human Development, 6(2), 151–166. Sen, A. K. (2009). The idea of justice. Harvard University Press. Sen, A. (2010). The idea of justice. Penguin. Solorzano, D., & Yosso, T. (2001). Critical race and LatCrit theory and method: Counter-storytelling. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 14(4), 471–495. Sweeney, K. (2013). Inclusive excellence and underrepresentation of students of color in study abroad. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 23, 1–21. Tate, W. (1997). Critical race theory and education: History, theory, and implications. Review of Research in Education, 22, 195–247. Walshaw, M. (2012). Getting to grips with doctoral research. Macmillan International Higher Education.

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Welton, A., & Martinez, M. (2014). Coloring the college pathway: A more culturally responsive approach to college readiness and access for students of color in secondary schools. The Urban Review, 46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-­ 013-­0252-­7 Yosso, T. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8, 69–91. https:// doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006 Metrice Harris-Weedman, PhD candidate, is a doctoral student in Education and Social Justice, Lancaster University, United Kingdom. Her major research interests lie in the area of underrepresentation in study abroad and multiculturalism. She founded CEO-I (https://www.ceoi.eu), a study abroad nonprofit program to reduce cost and increase opportunities for students of color.

CHAPTER 12

International Students and Study Abroad at Historically Black Colleges and Universities: New Trends and Directions Julie Baer and Krishna Bista

Introduction In the United States, there are 104 Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), 53 public, and 51 private nonprofit institutions, located in 19 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Of these HBCU institutions, 27 offer doctoral programs, 52 offer master’s programs, 83 offer bachelor’s degree programs, and 38 offer associate degrees. There are also several historically Black community colleges (HBCCs)—two-year institutions with locations in Alabama, Mississippi, Washington DC, South Carolina,

J. Baer Institute of International Education, New York, NY, USA e-mail: [email protected] K. Bista (*) Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 K. Bista, A. L. Pinder (eds.), Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96490-0_12

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Arkansas, and Texas (Bista, 2022). According to the National Center for Education Statistics (U.S. Department of Education, 2018a), the number of students enrolled at HBCUs rose by 32 percent between 1976 and 2015, from 223,000 to 293,000. With this increase in overall enrollment at HBCUs, it is important to begin to understand how these institutions and the students who attend them are engaging in international educational exchange. HBCUs are global institutions, and their global footprints are recognized as they allow African-American students to engage internationally (Bista, 2022; Willis, 2016). For instance, Spelman College in Atlanta launched the Spelman Going Global! initiatives in 2009, which has established 15 partnerships with overseas institutions and increased more than 450 international students. Recently, Morgan State University ranked number one among HBCUs in student Fulbright winners. Unfortunately, nearly half of all HBCUs have not yet expanded their programs and resources to international students because of their limited resources as well as their local mission to serve African-American populations. As HBCUs serve as the foundation of Black education and drive the social and economic advancement of the Black community, social justice, and leadership development (Cole, 2021), the growth of international education at HBCUs is critical for expanding this foundation globally. This chapter explores the current state of the international educational exchange field at HBCUs and showcases the unique profiles of international students and U.S. study abroad programs at HBCUs. It provides statistical insights on the profile of student mobility at HBCUs compared to national trends, such as international students’ academic levels, place of origin, field of study, and primary funding source as well as U.S. study abroad students’ destination, duration of study abroad, and student characteristics.

International Students at HBCUs The Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange is an annual report published by the Institute of International Education (IIE) and conducted in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs since 1972. The report provides information from U.S. higher education institutions about international students and scholars as well as U.S. study abroad. Unless otherwise cited, the statistics throughout this chapter come from the compendium of

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statistics from the Open Doors historical reports or special analyses of the data. Prior to the creation of the Open Doors report, the Institute of International Education’s (IIE) research engagement with HBCUs dates to the 1920s when IIE began working with colleges and universities to understand international students coming to the United States. For example, IIE’s 1926 annual report indicated that 66 international students studied at Howard University, 27 at the Tuskegee Institute, and 8 at Fisk University (IIE, 1926). While there is a long legacy of data collection on international students at HBCUs, this chapter focuses on recent data in order to provide a current understanding of international student mobility at HBCUs as of 2019/2020. The data throughout this chapter comes from the Open Doors® Report on International Educational Exchange, an annual report sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and published by IIE (Institute of International Education, 2015/2016–2019/2020). Over the past five years, the number of international students at HBCUs has fluctuated between 5800 to 8200 (Fig. 12.1). The peak number of international students at HBCUs was in 2017/2018 when 8168 students were recorded at HBCUs throughout the United States. Since 2017/2018, there has been a decline in the number of international students hosted at

Fig. 12.1  International students at HBCUs, 2015/2016–2019/2020

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HBCUs, with 6806 international students reported as of the most recent Open Doors data from 2019/2020. This decline was likely driven by the fact that HBCUs hosted a higher proportion of international students from Saudi Arabia. Nationally and at HBCUs, the number of international students from Saudi Arabia has fallen due to changes in the Saudi Arabian government scholarship program. While HBCUs made up 1.5 percent of the U.S. higher education population, they comprised approximately 0.6 percent of the international student body in the United States (U.S. Department of Education, 2018a). What Academic Levels Do International Students Study at HBCUs? The majority of international students at HBCUs pursued academic studies at the undergraduate level (60 percent), which is much higher than the 39 percent of international students that studied at the undergraduate level across all institution types (Fig. 12.2). Approximately one-quarter of international students at HBCUs were at the graduate level. This academic level composition mirrors HBCUs’ overall student body, where the majority of students enrolled at the undergraduate level (U.S. Department of Education, 2018a). Interestingly, a smaller proportion of international students (14 percent) pursued optional practical training (OPT) than at the national level (21 percent). OPT allows international students to pursue work opportunities in their field of study for 12 months and up to 36 months for students who majored in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

Fig. 12.2  Academic level of international students at HBCUs and at all institutional types, 2019/2020

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(STEM) fields. Approximately 940 students availed themselves of this opportunity to gain OPT experience in their field of study in 2019/2020. What Places of Origin Do International Students at HBCUs Come From? International students came from over 140 places of origin to pursue educational opportunities at HBCUs and have a unique profile compared to the national landscape of international students in the United States. International students at HBCUs had much higher proportions of international students from Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa, and a smaller percentage of students from Asia. This composition is reflected by the leading places of origin for international students at HBCUs in comparison to all international students in the United States. In 2019/2020, the top ten places of origin for international students at HBCUs were Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Jamaica, Bahamas, India, Dominica, Kuwait, Nepal, Kenya, and Ghana (Fig. 12.3). This profile is unique from the national profile of all international students in the United States, which comprises China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, Brazil, and Mexico.

Fig. 12.3  Top ten places of origin of international students at HBCUs, 2019/2020

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Approximately 30 percent of international students at HBCUs were from Sub-Saharan Africa in 2019/2020. In comparison, only 4 percent of international students came from Sub-Saharan Africa nationally. This trend was driven by a large population of international students from Nigeria (18 percent), which was the number one place of origin for international students at HBCUs. Other leading places of origin within Sub-­ Saharan Africa included Kenya (3 percent), Ghana (2 percent), Ethiopia (1 percent), and Cameroon (1 percent). HBCUs also hosted a large population of international students from Latin America and the Caribbean, which comprised 30 percent of the international student body in 2019/2020. These students predominantly came from Caribbean places of origin to include Jamaica (9 percent), Bahamas (8 percent), Dominica (3 percent), and Trinidad and Tobago (2 percent). Particularly notable is that HBCUs hosted a large proportion of all international students in the United States from these Caribbean places of origin in 2019/2020. For example, approximately one-fifth of all international students from Jamaica (21 percent) and the Bahamas (22 percent) in the United States attended HBCUs. The Middle East and North Africa also made up a significant proportion of international students at HBCUs in 2019/2020 (23 percent). This was primarily due to a large percentage of international students from Saudi Arabia (18 percent), which was the number two leading place of origin for international students at HBCUs in 2019/2020. This high proportion is likely driven by international students that attended HBCUs on the Saudi Arabian government’s scholarship program. However, due to the changes in this scholarship program’s eligibility requirements, this proportion has fallen over the past several years, which mirrors the national trend of fewer international students from Saudi Arabia. For example, in 2016/2017, approximately 29 percent of international students at HBCUs were from Saudi Arabia. What do International Students Study at HBCUs? Engineering is the most popular field of study for international students both nationally and at HBCUs. When examining an aggregation of STEM fields, HBCUs have a greater percentage of students studying in STEM, 59 percent at HBCUs versus 52 percent nationally. This is primarily due to the higher proportion of international students studying in the physical and life sciences and health professions at HBCUs (see Table 12.1).

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Table 12.1  Fields of study of international students at HBCUs and at all institutional types, 2019/2020 Major field of study Science, technology, engineering, and math  Engineering  Physical and life sciences  Math and computer science  Health professions  Agriculture Business and management Social sciences—Total Education—Total Fine and applied arts—Total Communications and journalism—Total Legal studies and law enforcement—Total Humanities—Total Intensive English—Total Other fields of study—Total Undeclared—Total

International students at HBCUs (%)

International students at all institutions (%)

58.9

51.7

19.9 13.7 13.0 9.6 2.7 19.4 6.2 3.7 2.6 1.8

20.5 7.6 19.1 3.2 1.2 16.2 7.9 1.5 6.0 2.2

1.7

1.5

0.7 0.6 4.2 0.1

1.6 2.0 7.6 1.9

How Do International Students Fund Their Studies at HBCUs? To understand the economic impact of international students at HBCUs, Open Doors collects data on the primary source of funding. While many international students may use multiple funding types to pay for their studies, this data reflects the source that students principally rely on to pay for their studies. Nationally, the majority of international students rely on their own personal and family funding to pay for their studies (56 percent, see Fig. 12.4), but HBCUs have a much smaller proportion of students who are principally paying for their studies (28 percent). In contrast, over one-third (35 percent) of international students at HBCUs rely primarily on funds coming directly from their college or university, which is a much higher level than seen among all institutions (17 percent). It is interesting to note that approximately 18 percent of international students at HBCUs are funded by a foreign government or university. This number is likely driven by the 18 percent of international students from Saudi Arabia, many of whom may be funded by their governmental

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Fig. 12.4  Primary source of funding for international students at HBCUs, 2019/2020

scholarship program. Finally, 16 percent of international students at HBCUs funded their studies with current employment in 2019/2020, principally due to the 14 percent of international students who pursued post-completion OPT at HBCUs.

U.S. Study Abroad from HBCUs Over the past five years, Open Doors data has indicated a positive trend in increased study abroad at HBCUs. In 2018/2019, the number of U.S. students studying abroad from HBCUs for academic credit reached a high of 2425 (Fig. 12.5). However, with HBCUs enrolling over 291,000 students, the number of students taking advantage of study abroad remains small (U.S.  Department of Education, 2018a). Overall, students going abroad from HBCUs comprised 0.7 percent of the 347,099 U.S. study abroad students in 2018/2019. Another way of measuring study abroad is through an estimated undergraduate participation rate. The Open Doors undergraduate participation rate is a proxy estimate of the proportion of students in both two- or four-­ year cohorts that studied abroad at least once during their undergraduate

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Fig. 12.5  U.S. study abroad for academic credit from HBCUs, 2014/2015–2018/ 2019

degree program. Nationally, Open Doors estimated that in 2018/2019 approximately 11 percent of undergraduates studied abroad during their academic career. However, using the same calculation for HBCUs, only an estimated 6 percent of undergraduates went abroad during their degree program (U.S. Department of Education, 2018b). There may be several contributing factors to the lower rates of study abroad among HBCU students, including the costs of study abroad, in terms of both the financial expense and opportunity costs of not working; concerns about racism abroad; a culture of students not being encouraged to study abroad or not knowing anyone who has been abroad before; and fewer study abroad programs offered (University of Pennsylvania, Center for Minority Serving Institutions, 2019; Redden, 2019). While study abroad rates overall have been lower than the national average, HBCUs have creatively made strides to steadily increase the numbers of students going abroad. Study abroad offices at HBCUs have worked to build endowments to fund study abroad scholarships, personally conducted outreach to make students and families aware of the benefits of study abroad, and created cultural or heritage programming that relates to students personal history, such as programs focused on race or African heritage (Redden, 2019; Winn, 2020).

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What Profile of Students Study Abroad from HBCUs? The majority of U.S. students studying abroad from HBCUs studied at the undergraduate level (90 percent), with a smaller proportion pursuing activities abroad at the graduate level (10 percent) in 2018/2019. This closely mirrors the national statistics, which indicated that 88 percent of U.S. students abroad were at the undergraduate level. Just over one-third of study abroad students at HBCUs (34 percent) went abroad during their junior year of undergraduate study, with an additional 27 percent choosing to study abroad during their sophomore year and 18 percent during their senior year. The racial and ethnic profile of U.S. study abroad at HBCUs differs significantly from the national profile of U.S. study abroad. In 2018/2019, approximately 98 percent of U.S. students studying abroad from HBCUs were students from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds, with 92 percent of study abroad students identifying as Black or African-­American students. In comparison, nationally, 31 percent of students were from racial or ethnic minorities and only 6 percent of U.S. students that went abroad identified as Black or African-American students (see Fig. 12.6). HBCUs contribute significantly to the number of Black or African-­ American students studying abroad each year. While HBCUs represent only 0.7 percent of the national study abroad population, 10 percent of Black or African-American students that went abroad in 2018/2019 came from HBCUs.

Fig. 12.6  U.S. study abroad for academic credit by race and ethnicity from HBCUs and all institutional types, 2018/2019

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Another notable difference emerges among the majors of U.S. students who go abroad from HBCUs in comparison to the national profile. Approximately 31 percent of U.S. students studying abroad from HBCUs majored in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, which is higher than the national rate of 27 percent. Among the STEM fields, 12 percent of study abroad students at HBCUs majored in the health professions, and 9 percent studied in the physical and life sciences fields. Outside of the STEM fields, 23 percent of study abroad students at HBCUs majored in the social sciences, and 17 percent were business and management majors. How Long Do HBCU Students Go Abroad? Nationally, most U.S. students study abroad on short-term experiences of eight weeks or less during the academic year or for summer programs. As of 2018/2019, 65 percent of U.S. study abroad students went short-term abroad opportunities. This pattern is even more pronounced at HBCUs, where 92 percent of study abroad students went abroad on short-term experiences. Most of these short-term students went abroad during the summer term (63 percent, see Fig. 12.7). In recent years, HBCUs have likely expanded short-term duration offering to students who may not otherwise study abroad for longer durations due to financial, work, athletic, or family obligations.

Fig. 12.7  U.S. study abroad for academic credit by duration from HBCUs, 2018/2019

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Where Do HBCU Students Study Abroad? The predominant region for U.S. students studying abroad for academic credit has traditionally been Europe. Nationally, 56 percent of all U.S. study abroad students pursue their education overseas in Europe. While Europe is the leading region among study abroad students at HBCUs, a much smaller proportion of students go abroad to this region (32 percent). Spain ranks as the second leading destination and is the most popular European destination with approximately 8 percent of students followed by Italy, where 7 percent of students studied abroad in 2018/2019. The United Kingdom, which has long been the number one study abroad destination nationally, was the fifth most popular destination for students from HBCUs. Students at HBCUs study abroad in much higher proportions to destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa than the national average. This diversity of locations is likely due to a number of factors, such as historic relationships, student interest in heritage study abroad, scholarships to study in particular countries, and the affordability of destinations, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean. Approximately 30 percent of U.S. students from HBCUs study abroad in Latin America and the Caribbean. In comparison, only 14 percent of U.S. students nationally study abroad in this region. The popularity of this region is evident from the fact that half of the top ten destinations were in this region—Jamaica, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Colombia. While Costa Rica and Mexico are both among the top 25 destinations that students travel to nationally, students from HBCUs make up a notable percentage of study abroad to less traveled locations, such as Jamaica and Colombia. Approximately 9 percent of all students who studied abroad in Jamaica and 8 percent of study abroad in Colombia were from HBCUs in 2018/2019. Asia is another popular region for study abroad from HBCUs with over 21 percent of HBCU students studying abroad in the region. China was the leading destination for all study abroad from HBCUs. This interest may have been supported through programs that have historically encouraged study abroad to China, such as the HBCU–China Scholarship Network, which created 1000 scholarship awards for students from HBCUs to study in China (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). Other popular Asian destinations included Singapore and Japan (see Fig. 12.8).

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Fig. 12.8  Top ten destinations for U.S. study abroad for academic credit from HBCUs, 2018/2019

Nationally, only 4 percent of students that studied abroad in 2018/2019 traveled to Sub-Saharan Africa. However, at HBCUs, this percentage is more than double, with over 10 percent of students studying abroad for academic credit to the region. The most popular destinations for study abroad in Sub-Saharan Africa continue to be South Africa and Ghana. Often these two destinations are among the top ten places where HBCU students study abroad. In 2017/2018 South Africa and Ghana were ranked as the third and fifth most popular destinations, but in 2018/2019 fell just outside of the top ten. This fluctuation is likely due to the variation in destinations based on where a study abroad program may run in a given year, particularly faculty-led programs. Cohorts of students from HBCUs also studied abroad in Sub-Saharan Africa destinations, including Liberia, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Tanzania.

Conclusions The work that many HBCUs have made to align international educational exchange with their mission of serving underrepresented students is apparent throughout the statistics cited in this chapter. HBCUs lead the field in creating programs and serving students that represent a much more diverse landscape than seen at the national level.

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They welcome a higher proportion of international students from Sub-­ Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa than is noted at the national level. Nigeria, Jamaica, Bahamas, Dominica, Kenya, and Ghana all rank within the top ten places of origin, likely due to historical relationships and racial identity. To support these international students, who may not always have their own personal and family funding to pay for studies in the United States, HBCUs have a higher proportion of students who rely on funding from their college or university. Furthermore, HBCUs send the most racially and ethnically diverse group of students abroad across all institutional and minority-serving institution types with 98 percent of students coming from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds. These students are then provided with opportunities to study abroad in non-traditional destinations outside of Europe, particularly in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The COVID-19 pandemic has given another critical lesson to HBCUs as to their counterparts when they moved their classes completely online, although connecting with students and faculty globally. Given the resources and institutional priorities, as Bista (2022) pointed out, HBCUs “are in unique positions to leverage their existing localness (African American legacy, identity, culture) to promote and expand global programs for both students and faculty members.” As such, HBCUs have an opportunity to leverage their impact, thought leadership, and commitment to inclusion at the global scale through increasing their engagement with international education programs.

References Bista, K. (2022). Global begins from local: International students and international programs at historically Black community colleges and tribal community colleges. In G.  F. Malveaux & K.  Bista (Eds.), International students at US community colleges: Opportunities, challenges, and successes (pp.  120–150). Routledge. Cole, D. (2021). Understanding Muslim college students’ sense of belonging and mattering at HBCUs. Journal of College and Character, 22(2), 163–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/2194587X.2021.1898986 Institute of International Education (IIE) (1926). Annual reports. https://p.widencdn.net/lguvg2/1926-IIE-Annual-Report

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Institute of International Education (IIE). (2015/2016–2019/2020). Open doors report on international educational exchange, 2015/16–2019/20 [Data set]. Institute of International Education. Matthews, D.  Y., & Jones, T.  B. (2021). HBCUs: The foundation and future of social justice, leadership, and leadership development. In G. B. Crosby, K. A. White, M. A. Chanay, & A. A. Hilton (Eds.), Reimagining historically Black colleges and universities (pp.  41–51). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/ 10.1108/978-­1-­80043-­664-­020211005 Redden, E. (2019, September 11). HBCU students abroad. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/09/11/hbcus-­seek-­grow-­ study-­abroad-­participation U.S.  Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). (2018a). Fall 2018 enrollment at HBCUs. Retrieved February 11, 2021, from https://nces.ed. gov/ipeds/use-­the-­data U.S.  Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). (2018b). Number of U.S. associate’s and undergraduate students receiving awards/degrees at HBCUs. Retrieved April 11, 2021, from https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/ use-­the-­data U.S.  Department of Education, White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. (2014, July 9). Press release: Chinese government signs MOU with Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Beijing today. https:// sites.ed.gov/whhbcu/2014/07/09/press-­release-­chinese-­government-­signs-­ mou-­with-­historically-­black-­colleges-­universities-­in-­beijing-­today/ University of Pennsylvania, Center for Minority Serving Institutions. (2019, June). Diversifying study abroad and expanding equity for minority serving institution students. https://cmsi.gse.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/MSI_ FDrprt_final_0.pdf Willis, K. (2016, April 7). HBCUs see growing enrollment. Thanks to international appeal. Atlanta Black Star. https://atlantablackstar.com/2016/04/07/ hbcus-see-growing-enrollment-thanks-to-international-appeal/ Winn, J. (2020, August 6). From research to practice—Building study abroad support at MSIs [Conference Presentation]. Diversity Abroad Annual Conference, Virtual Conference. https://opendoorsdata.org/wp-­content/uploads/2021/ 06/2020-­Diversity-­Abroad-­Presentation-­MSIs-­Print.pdf Julie Baer  is a research specialist at the Institute of International Education (IIE), where she manages the data collection and analysis for Open Doors and conducts specialized research for IIE program teams on strategic program design and planning. Her areas of expertise include analyzing trends in international academic

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mobility in U.S. higher education across sectors and using geospatial analysis to highlight trends in educational access. Ms. Baer holds an Ed.M. in International Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.S. from Centre College. She was a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Malaysia in 2012. Krishna Bista  is Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership and Policy at Morgan State University, Maryland, USA. He is the founding editor of Journal of International Students. He has published more than 75 articles and book chapters, and 15 books. He holds master’s degrees in higher education (Troy University) and English education (Tribhuvan University) and a doctoral degree in educational leadership/higher education from Arkansas State University.

CHAPTER 13

Unpacking Deficit Based views of low Black Student Participation in Study Abroad and Understanding the importance of Culturally Relevant Study Abroad programs for HBCU students Charity Clay

Introduction As society becomes more globally connected, U.S. colleges and universities are working to develop experiences that allow students to engage the world beyond the country’s borders through the following study abroad program (SAP) models: Direct Enroll, University Exchange, Third-Party Provider (TPPs), and Faculty Led. However, with an overwhelming majority of SAP participants coming from households that are less likely to experience financial hardships, having had opportunities to travel

C. Clay (*) Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, LA, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 K. Bista, A. L. Pinder (eds.), Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96490-0_13

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internationally, and/or possessing a passport prior to entering college, SAP have become another mechanism for already privileged students enjoy enrichment opportunities that remain largely inaccessible to their classmates (West, 2019). While programs and participants have increased, data from the Institute of International Education (IIE) indicates that Black students are still underrepresented, comprising a mere 6.1% of all SAP students for the 2017–2018 academic year (2019). Research aimed at understanding Black student SAP participation typically identifies financial hardships and lack of interest as the main barriers; however, increasing scholarships and marketing SAPs to Black students have not resulted in increased participation (West, 2019; IIE, 2019). This chapter asserts that conclusions about these barriers reflect how deficit-driven presumptions about Black students are used to analyze their responses. By identifying major misalignments between data and analysis, it unpacks Black student responses to deepen the understanding of SAP participation beyond the oversimplified “lack of funds” and “lack of interest” conclusions. It evaluates various SAP models based on concerns expressed in existing Black student responses and adds analysis of survey data collected by the author from HBCU students with questions driven by responses that SAP destination and design are significant factors in Black student participation. Ultimately, the chapter provides recommendations to institutions looking to increase Black student SAP participation.

SAPs in the New Millennium In the last 30 years, SAP participation in the United States has increased 500%, from 68,000 students during the 1987/1988 academic year to 341,751 reported for the 2017/2018 academic year (IIE, 2019), and research highlighting the benefits of SAPs guides institutional investment in increasing and expanding opportunities (Anderson & Lawton, 2015). Research demonstrates that students participating in SAPs return from their travels with expanded worldviews, a greater desire to understand and engage with those from other cultures, and an increased amount of selfconfidence and self-reliance. SAP participation has also been shown to shape students’ career aspirations. Efforts to internationalize higher education have increased in the U.S. produce graduates that are globally competitive in the job market and globally aware within society (Bradshaw, 2013). Thus, SAPs are marketed to students as ways to develop language

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skills, explore other cultures, and globalize the understanding of their desired career field (Talburt & Stewart, 1999). Though existing research on student motivations for and experiences with SAPs provides insight, data is often skewed to reflect the experiences of White middle-­class female students as they are the primary participants (Arens et  al., 2018; McCorristin, 2019). Data on Black students’ motivations for and experiences with SAPs reveals important differences from the majority (Sweeney, 2013). Unfortunately, these differences are analyzed in ways that reflect deficit-based presumptions about Black students and oversimplify their low SAP participation as a result of lack of funds and interest. Key misalignments between Black student responses about SAPs and the analysis of those responses have resulted in institutional initiatives that have been ineffective in increasing Black student SAP participation.

Black Student Participation in Study Abroad Presumptions About Black Student SAP Interest A recent study claimed that Black student participation in SAPs is significantly lower than their peers due to lack of interest in international travel because of their cultural upbringing (Mazyck, 2014). An administrator for Institute for the International Education of Students (IES Abroad), a TPP, suggested, “If going abroad is not common dialog at the dinner table growing up, first-generation college students, particularly of color, may not be aware of the benefits” (Mazyck, 2014). A representative from Diversity Abroad, another TPP, added that Black students were reluctant to “experience the world outside their comfort zones” (Mazyck, 2014). Both administrators make statements presuming that Black students’ lack of interest in SAPs is something cultural using terms like “upbringing” and “comfort zone”; however, existing data finds that there is not a statistically significant difference of interest in SAP participation between White and Black college students (Woodham et al., 2016). The research also downplays research on Black student experiences with racism during SAPs in Europe, Asia, and Latin America with a university diversity officer suggesting that the problem is that “sometimes students internalize trauma…thinking nobody would understand” (Mazyck, 2014). However, data reveals that Black students not only experience racism abroad but also isolation due to being one of the few or the only Black student participant on a trip with classmates and faculty members who do not have to

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consider how Blackness is perceived, negotiated, and engaged globally (Talburt & Stewart, 1999; Sweeney, 2013). These administrators’ deficit-­ based presumptions suggest Black students’ inability to adapt in Study Abroad environments is the reason for low participation. This framing removes institutional responsibility to create SAPs that pique Black student interest and accountability to address Black student concerns about negative racialized experiences during SAPs. Continuing to frame these issues as lack of interest evidences that Black student experiences are not valued by their institutions (Woldoff et al., 2011; Griffith et al., 2019). Presumptions About Financial SAP Barriers to Black Student Participation When asked specifically about the low numbers of Black students participating in SAPs, the most common response is that they lack the financial resources to cover program costs. This response presumes that finances are more of a barrier for Black students than others. However, with over half of White students taking out student loans (DeBrey, 2019), the cost of SAPs is a barrier for them as well. Regardless of race, all students who apply school loans and work income to cover basic necessities and expenses while in college are less likely to have funds available to cover SAP costs or related expenses such as international and local travel, visas, vaccinations, travel insurance, meals abroad, data plans, books and supplies, and miscellaneous expenditures not covered in the SAP fees (Akomolafe, 2000). Although race is not a determinant for experiencing financial barriers to SAP participation, Black students are more likely to work, be parents, and/or caregivers (Carnevale et  al., 2016) thus adding financial obligations beyond student costs. However, when Black students report that SAPs are not financially feasible, it is presumed that they are unable to pay the program cost. Responses reflect that program cost is less of a concern than finding alternative ways to meet financial obligations and time commitments while abroad. Without differentiating between financial obligations and program cost, increasing SAP funding for Black students alone will not significantly increase Black student participation. Presumptions of Black Student Valuation of SAPs In addition to lack of interest and funds, administrators have reported that Black students do not understand the value of SAPs (McCorristin, 2019).

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Again, this response is grounded in a deficit-based presumption, one that Black students should inherently exalt travel to European countries as valuable to their academic experience, personal development, and professional capital. With over half of SAP students traveling to Europe, over 70% of them being White and so few programs that study the African Diaspora that it is not reported, when Black students express that they do not feel that study abroad is an activity for them, they are referring to the location, participants, and curriculum of available programs (Sweeney, 2013). Data shows that Black students are just as interested in SAPs as their White classmates, so their responses indicate that they do understand the potential value of SAPs, but they do not have options at their institutions that provide what they value. For Black students, SAPs engaging African culture are highly valued, but programs in Sub-Saharan Africa comprise less than 7% of total SAPs. Without increasing SAP options throughout the African Diaspora, Black students will continue to view SAPs as having low value and their participation will not increase despite targeted marketing about cultural and professional enrichment. African Heritage-Themed SAPs In the late 1990s, scholars presented a successful SAP model that attended to Black students’ interests in African heritage and using data collected from Black students at a Southeastern Historically White Institution (HWI) who participated in a two-week Faculty-Led SAP referred to as a “sojourn experience” (Day-Vines et al., 1998). The program was created using Jean S. Phinney’s research on the impact of Black American youth’s ethnic identity on both psychological functioning and self-esteem. Phinney’s research suggested that practitioners working with Black American youth provide opportunities for them to explore their African heritage and investigate the sociopolitical and economic connections between the United States and African countries (1990). Further, Phinney suggests that curriculum be created for students to develop a critical lens toward the narrative of African-­descended people perpetuated through Western mainstream media (1990). Data from the sojourn experience identified five major impacts for students: dispelling myths, liberating and inspirational experiences, contrasting views, psychosocial development, and achievement and motivation (Day-Vines et al., 1998). The first three impacts are evidenced in reports that students “marveled over the feeling of safety, security and tranquility

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they felt in Africa in contrast to their need to be guarded in the states and…highlighted the warmth, trust and openness of Ghanaians” (Day-­ Vines et  al., 1998, p.  465). The fourth impact is evidenced by student claims that the trip “reminded [them] they had a greater purpose…despite the system, the school bureaucracy and indifferent teachers,” and the fifth us reflected in reports that “diasporic travel served as a catalytic event which influences academic achievement and motivation” evidenced by a GPA increase from 1.75 to 3.33 (Day-Vines et al., 1998, p. 467). This “sojourn experience” provides a potential SAP model that addresses Black student apprehensions and provides a valuable academic and cultural experience. However, few institutions have adopted this model, and similar programs are rarely the subject of research about Black student SAP participation. While researchers claim that financial barriers and lack of interest are the main reasons that Black students do not participate in SAPs, Black student responses provide important context that is either overlooked or analyzed using deficit-based presumptions of Black students. Addressing these misalignments, I have shown that a Black student’s “lack of interest” can reflect an apprehension about experiencing racism abroad, their “financial barriers” may be more related to keeping financial obligations than program cost, and their “valuation” of SAPs is likely to include an opportunity to learn about African culture. As Black students, especially those attending HBCUs, express a strong desire to connect with their African heritage, SAPs can provide them with the opportunity. However, for these programs to be successful, institutions require evaluation of SAP models to ensure the concerns, needs, and interests of Black students are addressed and served.

SAP Models Direct Enroll and Exchange Programs Direct Enroll and Exchange Programs have historically been and continue to be the primary SAP option for students (Durrani, 2019). These programs are either a semester or academic year long and involve individual students enrolling at a university abroad. The major difference between Exchange Programs and Direct Enroll is the role of the student’s home institution. Exchange Programs require an official agreement between institutions and typically seek an even exchange of students between them.

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Students apply their regular tuition and fees to their foreign institution and are able to enroll full time with confidence that their foreign credits will be accepted by their home institution. Direct Enroll programs do not require an exchange of students. Instead, students work directly with the international student offices at the foreign institutions they are interested in attending and enroll as visiting students. The students are responsible for informing their home institution of their decision to enroll abroad and for ensuring that the courses they take at the foreign universities are transferable for credit and progress toward their degrees. With both Exchange and Direct Enroll programs, students have support of international students and study abroad office staff, but they are not directly engaged in any program with requirements besides completion of their enrolled courses. A concern with these models for Black students is that they provide students the opportunity to study at a foreign institution but offer no intentional program activities to insulate them from racial discrimination. A benefit of this model for students who have tuition as well as room and board covered through financial aid is that ability to apply existing aid to foreign tuition and fees. However, students with financial or familial obligations are less likely to travel abroad for a semester or academic year. With respect to value, these SAP models allow students to choose their courses, thus the academic alignment with their interests and majors is limited to the course offerings and availability at the foreign institutions they choose. However, there is only one university in all of Europe with a Black Studies Program, started less than five years ago (Andrews, 2016), thus courses that are likely to engage Black students in African studies are scarce. Third-Party Provider Third-Party Provider Programs are often all or nearly all inclusive once students arrive at their SAP destination and have two primary models. One model is similar to the Direct Enroll model, where students take a 15-credit load of courses at a foreign university with the TPP providing housing, extra-curricular opportunities, and dedicated program staff to assist students with logistics. Students in the program are not housed together or required to enroll in the same classes, thus their experiences are individualized. The other TPP model is a specialized SAP.

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These programs traditionally run during the summer, are less than eight weeks long, and are topic/subject based. Students enrolled in these programs come from all different countries and become a cohort of foreign students studying in the same city, but they are not necessarily integrated into foreign institution campuses. TPPs generally have their own learning centers on location where students take one or two 3-credit courses, have access to additional educational resources, and meet for cultural excursions led by TPP-associated professors and/or staff. Specialized TPPs can shelter Black students from racial discrimination by having courses and other structured program activities with staff that are trained and responsive to potential issues, and because these programs are short term, this model can allow students with financial obligations to make accommodations necessary to participate. However, they are more expensive than longer programs. A four-week program through Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) costs $4150 not including airfare or ground transportation compared to an all-encompassing semester-long program costing $18,000 (Fusco, 2019). While these specialized programs offer students an opportunity to get globalized experience within their major or desired field of study, few are African studies themed even when they are located on the continent. CIEE’s summer SAPs in Dakar, Senegal, offer language courses in Wolof but none in Senegalese history or culture. Instead, it offers Communication and Public Health. Faculty Led Faculty-Led Programs require faculty from students’ home institution to design and lead both the course and trip for their SAP. Courses are taught in the faculty’s subject area and are often designed for majors and minors with related short-term international travel added to the end of a semester during an extended break (Arens et al., 2018). To handle logistics faculty either utilize professional and personal networks or partner with TPPs to coordinate logistics, the latter often inflating program costs for students. Though students enjoy this model, identifying faculty willing and able to shoulder the tremendous responsibility of not only designing the course and teaching the class, but also chaperoning a cadre of students during the trip is difficult. Faculty are rarely given course releases or additional compensation for leading SAPs, but many participate because it allows them to combine academic coursework with international experiences that provide

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Black students with the opportunity to explore their African heritage and culture. With short-term international travel ranging from 10 to 14 days, this model lessens the burden on students with family and financial obligations, and traveling with known classmates and trusted professors reduces travel anxiety and concerns about isolation and racial discrimination (Gaia, 2015). Thus, these programs are often attractive to Black students who would otherwise not consider SAPs for the reasons previously discussed. While Direct Enroll and Exchange Program models have been historically popular, there has been an increase in nontraditional programs with summer programs less than eight weeks comprising 38.5% of study abroad participation for the 2017–2018 academic year (IIE, 2019). While there was initial scrutiny of the limited potential of short-term programs (Lenkaitis, 2019), more recent research has shown that they can be extremely beneficial when structured intentionally in ways that add value to students’ educational experiences while aligning with their desires and addressing their program-related concerns.

HBCU Students’ Desire to Study Abroad on the Continent Since the 2016 election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, HWI campuses have seen increased incidents of racial violence from various White hate groups emboldened by Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan (Williams & Palmer, 2019). In response, HBCUs have experienced increased enrollment from students seeking to escape racially hostile college campuses and to explore their Black culture and heritage (Williams & Palmer, 2019) With common SAP research findings claiming that Black students lack interest in existing programs, with only 7% of those programs being located in Sub-Saharan Africa, I sought to explicitly uncover whether or not HBCU students were interested in SAPs there. Using Qualtrics Survey Software, I distributed an online questionnaire to HBCU students through my HBCU network. The survey produced 135 respondents from HBCUs primarily in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas but also saw clusters of students attending institutions in Virginia and Washington, D.C.  Students provide insight about their views on the importance of diasporic travel for Black Americans, what they want to learn through SAPs located on the continent, and the

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program structure they need and desire for them to participate. The survey responses indicated that HBCU students do not know much about Africa but they are very interested in SAPs there in hopes of connecting with their African roots and to enhance their educational experiences. The following sections highlight student responses using pseudonyms as students consented to confidentiality. Connecting to African Roots Through SAPs Students stressed the importance of Black Americans traveling to Africa to connect with their roots and as a mechanism to better understand who they are through learning their history. Skylar remarked: I believe American History has kept us from Africa for more than 400 years. I believe that this is for a reason, we owe it to ourselves to find out who we are, where we come from and why it is intimidating to other races to the point they try to keep us down all over the world.

In addition to the importance of being connected to their African roots, Skylar expressed that it is Black people’s responsibility to seek their history for themselves and sees SAPs as an accessible way to start the process. De’Shawn expressed the importance not only of understanding their place within African History, but also of becoming more informed about contemporary Africa: I think it’s important that Black people of America should be connected to Africa because there is so much going on there that we don’t get to hear about, or don’t hear the truth about. There are so many developments and great things happening now and we should be more aware to get involved. All we see is negative things that we can help with, but Africa is developing and we should want to be involved in the positive things too. Technology allows us younger people to be connected all around the world, so why not learn and get more involved in Africa by going there in person?

De’Shawn’s response refers to the use of social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram and mobile apps like WhatsApp and FaceTime, which connect millennials across the African Diaspora. These direct connections often provide alternative narratives to the negative portrayals of Africa that Western media presents. Many students follow social media accounts curated by African youth that share their culture in ways that

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excite Black American youth about the possibility of traveling to the continent. All students with the exception Christian responded that they believed that it was very important for Black people in the United States to have a deeper connection to Africa when they responded: I don’t feel it’s that important because of the fact that we’ve been in America for so long, we’re basically native to America now. We can still learn about our place of origin, but we can’t connect on a deeper level because we don’t know exactly which country or tribe we’re from.

Unpacking Christian’s response revealed more of a disbelief that this connection could exist, more than a failure to acknowledge its importance. Their disbelief that Black Americans could “connect on a deeper level” by traveling to Africa is based in a belief that enslavement and subsequent racial oppression have severed the cultural ties between Black Americans and the continent in ways that cannot be repaired. Despite this, Christian still expressed being very interested in an SAP on the continent, and students with viewpoints and skepticism like Christian’s have the greatest potential for transformation through SAPs that connect Black students to their African roots. Academic Value of SAPs in Africa The students overwhelmingly expressed a specific desire to travel to Africa as part of their academic program. While their basic interest was to learn more about the many different cultures that exist on the continent, students across disciplines suggested how to link African SAPs to their major fields of study. Many students suggested how SAPs in Africa could align with their majors: • Stacy, a Mass Communications major, expressed their interest to travel to Nigeria and learn about Nollywood. • Brooklyn, a Public Health major, discussed the possibility of traveling to countries that are doing HIV work. • Jordan, a History major, expressed excitement about traveling to West Africa and learning about Ancient Civilizations and Precolonial Africa.

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• Alex, an Economics major, suggested traveling to Kenya to study industrial and technological development and growth. Multiple responses also indicated a desire to learn about African languages, family structure, spirituality, politics, social movements, and other things related to not only students’ majors but also their personal academic interests. One of the primary reasons that participants in the survey chose to attend HBCUs was to be immersed in and celebrate Black culture, hence their interest in SAPs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Other primary reasons were the academic rigor of the institution and reputation of specific academic programs. Preferred Program Structure The HBCU students surveyed did not present finances as a barrier; their main concerns were the people they would be traveling with and the time commitment. Nearly all students surveyed desired an SAP with a faculty member that they had taken classes with or had interactions with as an advisor or mentor. Students also indicated that they preferred to travel with other HBCU students or at least Black students from HWIs. August remarked “To experience Africa with other Black students, I could see it being a lifetime bond that we could share.” Responses also indicated that students would prefer short-term SAPs with very few choosing a semester or academic year-long SAP indicating limited travel experience was a common reason for wanting a short-term SAP. Kameron stated, “I don’t even have a passport and I haven’t traveled to many states or been away from my family for long. [Africa is] already far so I know I would be homesick, but I still want to go.”

Conclusions For the HBCU students surveyed, their interests in SAPs are connected to their desire to explore their African heritage and enhance their studies. Additionally, these students preferred opportunities that are transformative for themselves and their classmates led by faculty they trust and respect. This desire is attributed to student responses that indicate that the sense of “family” is one of the reasons they choose to attend an HBCU. Thus, for these institutions, and likely others, creating and developing Faculty-Led short-term SAPs throughout the African Diaspora will

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likely increase Black student participation. In addition to providing Black students with what they consider transformative SAP experiences, this model addresses interest, financial, and value-related concerns based on student responses. Though this model is highly likely to increase Black student SAP participation, it is very taxing on faculty. Thus, to be successful, programs require serious institutional investment and should consider the following suggestions: 1. Support faculty interested in taking students abroad by providing resources for program development 2. Promote Faculty-Led SAPs institutionally through study abroad and student activities instead of leaving it to individual faculty leads 3. Fund travel abroad for faculty to gain experience and develop networks needed to design and lead integrated SAPs 4. Institutionalize SAPs by making them options to satisfy core and major requirements 5. Include compensation for faculty leads and funding opportunities for student participation in department/division/college budgets 6. Develop partnerships with other institutions to expand collaborative program offering As programs continue to develop, additional research will be imperative. For now, we know that HBCU students are eager to travel abroad, especially to Africa and throughout the diaspora. If institutions truly want to increase Black student participation in SAPs, they should invest in providing the opportunities students seek by supporting faculty committed to internationalizing curriculum through SAPs with funded support to develop transformative curriculum and extra-curricular activities throughout the African Diaspora.

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Index

A Academic leadership, 50 Administrative support, 37, 104 African Americans, 5, 6, 8, 10, 21, 28, 29, 31, 33, 37, 38, 40, 46, 47, 55, 75, 76, 85, 93, 97, 161, 162, 164–168, 171 African immigrants, 165, 171 African leaders, 18, 36 African Methodist Episcopal Church, 7, 28 American Council on Education, 4, 18, 19, 23, 35, 38, 49, 57–59, 72, 112, 115, 119, 153, 170 American legal system, 179 American peers, 182 Ana Julia Cooper, 8, 9 Asia, 11, 34, 75, 193, 200, 202, 207 Assessment, 44, 46, 48, 51, 72, 93, 106, 112, 135, 145, 150, 152, 187

B Bista, 5, 10, 11, 19, 20, 22–25, 27, 28, 30, 33, 34, 38, 41, 43, 45, 53, 63, 73, 91, 111, 121, 141, 159, 171, 173, 189, 190, 202, 204, 205 Black college, 9, 24, 29, 40, 41, 59, 154, 159, 207 Black students, 7, 21, 22, 28–31, 37, 40, 43, 51, 121, 123, 132, 133, 136, 137, 159, 174, 186, 187, 206–213, 215–217 Black Studies, 160, 170, 187, 211 British universities, 7 C California Post-secondary Education Commission, 31 Civil Rights Act, 27, 29, 47 Communication, 19, 35, 66, 67, 93, 106, 122–125, 151 Comprehensive internationalization, 20, 46, 48–50, 56, 57, 71, 161

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 K. Bista, A. L. Pinder (eds.), Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96490-0

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INDEX

Cosmopolitan community, 70 COVID-19, 4, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 38, 45–47, 52, 55, 59, 63, 64, 72, 86, 108, 113, 120, 134, 144, 154, 163, 164, 170, 172, 202 Cultural artifacts, 83 Curriculum, 18, 19, 21, 36, 38, 44, 48–53, 56, 57, 68, 70, 72, 77, 84, 86, 105, 108, 112, 114, 117, 120, 142–144, 148, 149, 152–158, 160, 162, 169, 209, 217 D Deficit models, 177 E Economic upheaval, 45 Emerson College, 25, 28, 33, 34, 45, 46, 53 Ethiopia, 170, 194, 201 Ethnic studies, 160 F Faculty readiness, 21, 47, 112, 113, 115–118 Financial hardships, 205, 206 Fulbright, 6, 10, 18, 76, 78, 85, 90, 92, 107, 142, 190, 204 G George Floyd, 46, 47 Ghana, 7, 8, 11, 36, 167, 169, 193, 194, 201, 202 Gilman International Scholarship, 34 Global competency, 98, 99, 109, 141 Global cultural landscapes, 46 Global engagement, 8, 29, 30, 37–39, 69, 70, 124, 136

Global learning, 10, 20, 21, 38, 44, 48, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 64, 66, 69, 71, 72, 134, 156, 171 Globally oriented, 4, 18 Graduation, 8, 30, 34, 52, 66, 67, 76, 84, 96, 97, 99 H Hampton University, 6, 9, 13, 34, 37, 55 Higher education, 4, 5, 10, 19, 21–23, 27–33, 35, 37–44, 46, 47, 49, 57, 59, 64, 65, 71, 107, 119, 141–147, 149, 153–155, 157–160, 171, 175, 190, 192, 204 Historical landmarks, 83 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 12, 25, 27, 29, 30, 33, 34, 37, 38, 41–20, 27, 43, 45–47, 49, 51, 53, 63, 64, 73, 75, 77, 89, 91, 96, 100, 107, 111, 121, 141, 142, 159, 170, 171, 173, 174, 189, 203, 205 Howard University, 6, 9, 12, 19, 24, 55, 161, 162, 167, 168, 191 Humanness and dignity, 181 I India, 11, 36, 169, 193 Institutional leadership, 49 Institutional priority, 33, 50 International careers, 37 International collaboration, 38, 54 International Education, 23–25, 33–35, 38, 40–45, 51, 58, 59, 66, 72, 75, 77, 78, 84, 89, 92, 106–110, 120, 134–136, 142, 156, 157, 170, 185, 186, 189–191, 202–204, 206, 207

 INDEX 

223

International engagement, 18, 36, 37 Internationalization, 4–8, 10, 17–21, 23–25, 30, 31, 33, 35–44, 46–51, 53–60, 64–66, 70–76, 78, 84, 85, 87, 88, 111–120, 141–157, 160, 161, 168, 171 Internationalization laboratory, 19 International perspectives, 19, 37, 157 International students, 4, 7, 10, 11, 18, 20, 22, 36, 44, 47, 49, 50, 54, 57, 92, 118, 156, 190–196, 202 Internship experiences, 67

Morgan State University, 10, 12, 18, 25, 28, 30, 33, 34, 45, 53, 68, 121–123, 132, 137, 189, 190, 204 Multicultural context, 51 Multiple consciousness, 174, 177, 178, 180, 183, 187 Multiple perspectives, 180

J Jamaica, 11, 193, 194, 200, 202 Journal of International Students, 25, 33, 43, 45, 204

P Pedagogies, 180 Pinder, 7, 20, 23–25, 27, 28, 30, 33, 34, 38, 41, 45, 46, 48, 53, 59, 63, 73, 91, 111, 121, 141, 146, 157, 159, 173, 189, 205 Political leaders, 82 Predominately White institutions, 5 Psychosocial skills, 97 PWIs, 5, 9, 18, 30, 68, 112, 161, 162

K Kenya, 11, 193, 194, 202, 216 L Lincoln University, 6–10, 13, 14, 18, 35, 36, 38 Linguistic borders, 53 Localness, 202 M Majority low-income, 87 Marginalized populations, 179 Middle East, 11, 193, 194, 202 Minds of dominant Whites, 168 Minority population, 104 Minority-serving institutions, 5, 104 Minority student, 93, 96–98, 103 Morehouse College, 6, 9, 13, 46, 55, 67, 81

N Nepal, 11, 34, 193

R Racial climates, 179 Racial discrimination, 98, 211–213 S Service-learning internship, 76 Sexually permissive, 183 Social justice, 8, 9, 11, 20, 24, 47, 64, 133, 167, 190, 203 Social responsibility, 104, 124 Sojourn experience, 209, 210 Student and Exchange Visitor Program, 11 Student faculty ratios, 30

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INDEX

Study abroad, 11, 17–19, 21–25, 34–37, 40, 41, 43, 44, 47–49, 53, 54, 59, 65–67, 73–78, 80, 84–110, 121–126, 131–133, 135, 136, 144, 145, 153, 154, 157, 160, 163, 164, 168, 170, 171, 173–177, 180–188, 190, 196–203, 205, 209, 211, 213, 217 T Texas Southern University, 21, 30, 34, 73, 74, 77, 81, 84, 86, 90 Third-Party Provider, 205, 211 Thurgood Marshall College Fund, 32

Togo, 6 Transformative experience, 99 V Values-driven, 19, 39 W West Africans, 7 White female counterparts, 183 White House Initiatives, 86 Wilberforce University, 6, 7, 10, 16, 28 World Health Organization, 63 Worldviews, 20, 206 World War II, 29, 34, 92, 162