News

This year’s cohort of fellows has been selected for this year's Global Teaching and Learning Fellows (GTLF) program, an interdisciplinary micro- and meta- study abroad experience in Mexico for faculty interested in engaging students in global learning.

Eight Lehigh University faculty members will spend one week learning and immersing themselves in the small Mexican city of Guanajuato in May. They will explore how to show up as educators in places not necessarily home to them, creating meaningful engagements that positively shape our shared future.

“Our goal is to immerse faculty in a setting where they can fully engage without the usual day-to-day distractions,” said Angelina Rodríguez, creator of GTLF. She is Assistant Vice Provost for Global Learning at Lehigh’s Office of International Affairs (OIA), and Teaching Associate Professor at Lehigh’s College of Health.

“Rather than simply attending workshops on global learning, this experience will allow the fellows to step into a different environment, much like a micro study abroad program,” she said. “Bringing together faculty from various disciplines will foster deep conversations about different approaches to learning in specific contexts, making it an incredibly enriching experience.”

Currently in its third year, GTLF gathers a small group of fellows chosen from across the university’s colleges to explore ways to incorporate more global learning into their teaching. They also discuss topics like leading a study abroad experience or creating immersive learning experiences in the diverse communities of the Lehigh Valley.

“GTLF provides a safe and powerful space for fellows to reflect on their teaching and consider what their next evolution as an educator might look like,” Rodríguez said. “Together, we ponder how to facilitate global learning with diverse students in culturally complex sites within larger power dynamics.”

This year’s fellows include:

• Ally Peabody Smith, Assistant Professor at the Department of Population Health
• Austin Duncan, medical and disability anthropologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Community and Global Health
• Christina Chi Zhang, Assistant Professor of Architecture at the Department of Art, Architecture & Design
• Ho‘oulunonalani (Ho‘o) Hee, Assistant Professor of Design-Product and Affiliated Faculty in the Institute for Indigenous Studies
• Samantha Maurer Fox, Assistant Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology
• Simone A. James Alexander, Professor of English and Director of Africana Studies
• Stephanie Powell Watts, Professor and Robert D. Rodale Chair in Writing in the Department of English
• Hsuan-Wei "Wayne" Lee, Assistant Professor at the College of Health and Faculty Associate in the Department of Mathematics

GTLF fellows will gain valuable tools for facilitating, debriefing, and making sense of global learning in real-world settings. They will develop the ability to both focus on specific details and take a broader, meta-level perspective in their teaching and learning experiences, Rodríguez said.

Participants will also enhance their capacity to identify meaningful learning opportunities from their surroundings and connect them to disciplinary and interdisciplinary learning. In addition to these practical skills, fellows will build new relationships with colleagues from across various colleges, fostering a network of collaboration and shared expertise.

Through the fellowship, educators will gain deeper insights into their own teaching approaches and future professional growth, Rodríguez said. They will leave the program with renewed commitments to place-based learning, engaging with difference, and creating immersive global learning experiences.

The GTLF seminar was funded by the Farrington Fund, named in recognition of former Lehigh University President Gregory C. Farrington, who was strongly dedicated to expanding Lehigh’s international reach and programs.