Since 2017, the Global Curriculum Development Award has existed to advance the University of Iowa’s mission to ‘provide exceptional teaching and transformative educational experiences that prepare students for success and fulfillment in an increasingly diverse and global environment,’ by offering funding to help UI departments and faculty initiate new courses, or substantially revise existing ones, that integrate international or global perspectives into an undergraduate major.

“The Global Curriculum Development Award is an innovation grant that allows UI faculty to solidify collaborations with international partners through course development,” said Russ Ganim, associate provost and dean of International Programs (IP) at the University of Iowa. “Thanks to the generosity of the Stanley-University of Iowa Foundation Support Organization, IP is able to reinforce global teaching and learning in classes that internationalize the UI’s curriculum.”

"The Stanley Global Curriculum Development Award was used to purchase globally oriented case studies and to hire a case writer to produce five comprehensive, professional quality, global case topics."

Three Global Curriculum Development Awards are available annually for up to $3,000 each, and all University of Iowa tenured, tenure-track, instructional-track, clinical, and research faculty are eligible to apply. The award can be used toward professional expenses such as travel, research materials, and/or books.

Recent recipients of the award include:

• Elke Heckner, lecturer in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, received funding to support the development of a new course titled Accountability, Justice and War Crimes: Current Trends.
• Elizabeth Heineman, professor in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, received funding to develop a new course titled Introduction to Jewish Studies.
• Leslie Locke, associate professor in the UI College of Education, received funding to redesign the course, EPLS:6270 Policy and Politics of Educational Leadership.
• Rachel Vitali, assistant professor in the UI College of Engineering, received funding to revise the course, ME:2020 Mechanical Engineering Program Seminar.

Locke, one of the 2022 award recipients, is revising a course for the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies. The course currently focuses on U.S. education policy, and Locke is working to redesign the course to center education policy issues within global and international contexts.

“I will teach this course again in fall 2023, and prior to, I will travel to Mexico on several occasions, and work with colleagues in Canada and Australia virtually, to interview educators in different contexts,” said Locke. “These interviews will be used in my revised course to enhance the students’ learning of education policy outside of the U.S.”

In offering this award, International Programs hopes the new course material will expand students’ knowledge of global topics and have a long-range impact on relevant university, local, state, national, and global communities.

In 2019, Margaret Chorazy, clinical associate professor and associate dean for academic affairs in the UI College of Public Health, received the award to develop a new course, CPH: 4999 Public Health Capstone: Practice of Evidence-Based Public Health. The course was first offered in fall 2019.

“Public health majors in their final year of study enroll in this course and are expected to synthesize and apply knowledge through cumulative and integrative activities that serve as a capstone to their educational experience as public health majors,” said Chorazy. “The capstone course is designed to encourage both group-directed and self-directed learning in the form of global and domestic case studies that incorporate the skills and learning competencies of our undergraduate program. The Stanley Global Curriculum Development Award was used to purchase globally oriented case studies and to hire a case writer to produce five comprehensive, professional quality, global case topics.”

Heckner, a 2022 award recipient, worked to develop a new course for the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences that introduces students to recent developments in international criminal law, non-juridical approaches to conflict resolution, and provides students with tools of critical analysis with respect to recent war crimes.

“This funding has and will allow me to design an innovative course on the most recent human rights strategies, now since the UN Security Council (due to Russia's and China's veto power) can no longer prosecute, stop, or effectively intervene in ongoing massive human rights abuses or near-genocidal conflicts,” said Heckner. “It is important for undergraduate students who are interested in the areas of international and humanitarian law to be aware of other avenues in which international criminal law can be effectively mobilized to prosecute aggressor states and perpetrators. The example of the invasion of Ukraine is another case in point. It is important for our students to understand the limitations and possibilities of current human rights interventions in the international arena.”

The tentative plan is for the new course to first be offered in spring 2024.

“This course has a strong potential for long-range impact on local, national and global human rights communities,” said Heckner. “It will also strengthen and expand the University of Iowa's already existing engagement with international conflict zones (e.g., the Ul's engagement with Kosovo) and serve as a platform for further interdisciplinary collaboration with the UI College of Law and the UI Department of Political Science.”

To apply for a 2023 Global Curriculum Development Award, submit applications online by July 1, 2023. Proposals must include a brief letter indicating support of the departmental DEO(s) and a plan for how often the new or revised course will be offered. For questions regarding the Global Curriculum Development Award, please contact Mary Paterson, administrative services manager, at mary-paterson@uiowa.edu. 

Apply for a Global Curriculum Development Award

International Programs (IP) at the University of Iowa (UI) is committed to enriching the global experience of UI students, faculty, staff, and the general public by leading efforts to promote internationally oriented teaching, research, creative work, and community engagement.  IP provides support for international students and scholars, administers scholarships and assistance for students who study, intern, or do research abroad, and provides funding opportunities and grant-writing assistance for faculty engaged in international research. IP shares their stories through various media, and by hosting multiple public engagement activities each year.