Winston-Salem State University News June 9, 2017 $41,000 grant will create Afro-Cuban study abroad program By Jay Davis Afro-Cuban study-abroad program will enhance liberal learning and high-impact practices central to WSSU's Strategic Plan. Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) has been awarded a $41,000 grant from the U.S. Department of State and Partners of the Americas to develop a study abroad program focusing on the African presence in Cuba. "This capacity building grant will allow Winston-Salem State University to develop a signature and sustainable study abroad and research collaboration program in Cuba," said Dr. Joti Sekhon, director of WSSU's Office of International Programs. "This unique program will allow WSSU students to explore the cultural and historical connections between African Americans and Afro-Cubans, and critically examine the historic and contemporary exchanges between these two constituent populations of the African Diaspora in the Americas, as well as Cuba's engagement with Africa." The program will be developed in partnership with the Fernando Ortiz African Cultural Center in Santiago de Cuba and is expected to begin with a pilot in May 2018. During the pilot, students and faculty will travel to key historical and cultural locations, attend lectures and engage in dialogues and experiential learning activities. Project leaders and a small group of faculty will prepare for the pilot through curriculum development and Spanish language learning seminars. Students selected for the program also will prepare for the program via Spanish language and Cuban history and culture classes. Long term, faculty will develop curricula and study abroad experiences that include opportunities for research and internships in Cuba, and community engagement in the Winston-Salem area and in Cuba. Sekhon said the program is designed to enhance liberal learning and high-impact practices central to WSSU's Strategic Plan, principles of equity, social justice and community empowerment. "With the renewed interest in U.S.-Cuban affairs, this is particularly significant as our program will look at this connection through the Afro-Cuban lens, something that is overlooked in the dominant narrative of U.S.-Cuba relations," Sekhon said. "We will study issues from alternative perspectives and thereby allow students to engage critically with the dialogues and discourses on Cuba and the United States in a global context." The grant will be matched with funding from WSSU. Uchenna Vasser, associate professor of Spanish, is the principal investigator (PI), and Sekhon and Dr. James Pope, assistant professor of liberal studies, are co-PIs. WSSU is one of only 11 universities to receive funding out of a pool of 94 applicants. Capacity building grants aim to increase the overall number and diversity of student participation in study abroad. To read more about the program and its past and current winners, visit www.partners.net/CBG<http://www.partners.net/CBG> SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta, GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org/ sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org%3cmailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org>> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/