In
collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University, a partnership has been
formed granting Reynolds Community College the opportunity to become an
Associate Campus Partner of the Humphrey Fellows Program.
The
Humphrey Fellowship Program, a division of the Fulbright Fellowship of the U.S.
Department of State, brings talented researchers and scholars from throughout
the world to American colleges and universities for exchange and scholarship.
“This opportunity allows Reynolds faculty and students to
interact and engage with the visiting Fellows in order to learn about their
areas of specialization - especially those areas that are also part of curricula
here, including healthcare, social work, substance abuse and so forth,” noted Reynolds professor Ghazala
Hashmi who is serving as the college’s liaison with the
VCU Program.
VCU is currently hosting 11
residential scholars and
researchers in 2014 – 2015.
“The Fellows are also considered to be cultural ambassadors
of their countries, and so they are interested in sharing information about
their respective cultures and societies,” Hashmi added. “The Fellows have
already participated in some individual (Reynolds) classes – as guest speakers
– and they have served on a panel for the VCCS Peer Conference on Nursing and
Health. The benefits to the students, especially in the areas of the
Fellows’ expertise, are the opportunities to gain a global perspective on
critical concerns. We want to help students to understand that these concerns
may be local and regional, but they are also very clearly international.”
Reynolds plans to use the program
to promote the furtherance of scholarly study and cultural recognition by
bringing together academic researchers and scholars from a variety of
backgrounds. The
partnership will also provide Reynolds
with prominent guest speakers and an even higher quality learning environment
for the students.
“Many students have not had the opportunity to travel
outside of the United States, and these guest lecturers help community college
students to see the broader scope of contemporary issues,” said Hashmi. “Inclusion
of outside perspectives also helps our students to develop an understanding of
the skills and resources that they may need to develop personally in order to
be more engaged and competitive in the career fields they have selected.”
Any faculty interested in learning
more, or in having a Humphrey Fellow speak during a class or at a campus-wide
event, you can reference http://reynoldscenterforfaculty.org/partnership-with-the-vcu-humphrey-fellows-program/, or contact Professor Hashmi at
ghashmi@reynolds.edu.
