About Us
Mission
Global Communities prepares students to be globally aware, empowered, and active citizens. We seek to provide an innovative two-year curriculum focused on intercultural interaction and experiential learning. Through this curriculum and other learning opportunities that enhance the University of Maryland, College Park college experience, students develop global competency skills, enabling them to navigate an increasingly interdependent and diverse world.
Goals
In its everyday activities, including interaction with students and program planning, Global Communities is guided by four goals adapted from the core global competencies outlined by the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC):
1) To provide a place where students can develop an understanding of global issues;
2) To create awareness of and adaptability to diverse cultures and perspectives, internationally and domestically;
3) To cultivate a forum for students to develop communication strategies across cultural and linguistic boundaries;
4) To build bridges between cultures through intercultural interaction and education.
History
Global Communities has a rich history, marked by student commitment to and interest in global cultures and issues. During the 1991-1992 academic year, a group of students unveiled Dorchester International House, which had as its major goals promoting understanding, cooperation, and friendship between international and domestic students at the University of Maryland, College Park. International House was almost entirely student run, with an executive board and committee structure that designed events to achieve these goals. In 1992, International House organized the first Cultural Explosion, a showcase of international student talents, an event that has continued into the present.
Starting in 2001, a group of University of Maryland staff took advantage of the opportunity to have International House formally join the ranks of other living and learning programs on campus. The goals of the proposed Global Competencies Program in International House reflect the evolving mission of Dorchester Hall: to develop strategies to live and work in a global society, to develop a broad range of communication skills to facilitate intercultural exchanges, and to create an awareness of cultural differences. Much in the spirit of International House, the program brought together under one roof several constituencies, including sponsorship from International Education Services, the Department of Resident Life, and Undergraduate Studies.
By 2003, Global Communities as it is now known truly started to take shape. Never loosing sight of the original purpose of Dorchester Hall, Global Communities hoped to provide a fun and comfortable environment where students could satisfy their curiosity for learning about the world and its cultures. Friendship and skill-building are still cornerstones of Global Communities, which since the 2007-2008 academic year has been a member of the Office of International Programs. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and diverse, Global Communities looks forward to maintaining for many years to come its vision of educating globally Aware, Empowered, and Active students
Staff
Kevin R. McClure, MA
Director
Kevin R. McClure is responsible for designing and implementing, in conjunction with other staff, the Global Communities curriculum. He oversees program outreach, recruitment, admissions, and housing assignments. Contact Kevin for inquiries regarding Dorchester Hall and/or partnering with Global Communities for intercultural events.
Kevin teaches:
UNIV 188A: Culture and Cultural Differences
UNIV 189B: Workshops on Global Issues
EDHI288/488: Education and Islamism-Secularism Debate (Turkey, 2010)
Instructor and Program Assistant
Ranetta Hardin is a doctoral student in the Education Policy Studies Department at the University of Maryland. She assists in the implementation of the Global Communities curriculum, teaching one colloquia course each semester. Ranetta coordinates the application review process and helps design, advertise, and execute field trips and other events.
Ranetta teaches:
UNIV 288P: Pathways to Global Engagement
EDPS 301: Foundations of Education
EDPS 488A: Transcultural Education: Sites of Rupture, Imagination & Creation (Winter Term Only)
Instructor