Established in 2008, the International Curriculum Development Fund encourages innovation and faculty development relating to international/global education and initiatives.
Conn students Georgie Walsh and Cheyanne Asplundh number fragments of limestone statues found during an Archaeological Conservation Internship Program in Sardinia, funded by the International Curriculum Development Fund
Faculty may apply for support for major interdisciplinary initiatives, course re-development, short-term visiting scholars in residence, or start-up funds for new projects. Preference is given to projects that seek to involve, build upon, or complement the College's current international and/or global programs and institutional priorities. The International Curriculum Development Fund is administered through the Office of Global Initiatives, which works with an appointed faculty committee to establish priorities and review proposals.
Example of past projects:
German jazz musician Fiete Felsch
Hosted by the Music Department, Felsch visited campus for a week in spring 2017 and performed two Jazz concerts, gave a talk, and attended several music department classes. The Music Department collaborated with other departments in the Arts Division to organize a study away event for students, in which Felsch spoke to students about the importance of international experiences for artists.
Read more
In a student experience blog published on the College website, a student wrote this "I speak German, and I've always planned to study abroad in a German or Scandinavian nation in my junior year. Getting to talk with Felsch gave me the opportunity to learn about how to study music in a foreign country. Felsch first came to the United States to study jazz in Detroit as a high school student and went on to attend the University of North Texas, so his talk gave me an idea of how to adapt as a musician entering a different culture. Because I'm interested in continuing to study clarinet when I'm abroad, I asked him about differences in bore and fingerings between German and American clarinets. One of the programs I'd been looking at in Vienna contained a note saying that students taking clarinet lessons would do so with American instructors because of differences in the instruments. Felsch said most German teachers would take on American students because the differences are not extreme."
The Refugee Crisis in Europe Course
Professor Karolin Machtans (German Studies) to expand and update curricular content of her course GER/GIS/GWS 262: The Refugee Crisis in Europe Course. Machtans travelled to Germany in summer 2017 to identify new contacts with a range of individuals and institutions involved with the refugee population in Germany.
Read more
Machtans used her time in Germany to developed materials and contacts for a brand new course "Jews in Germany", which will also be taught (in Spring 2018) as a globally networked course, and a new course for the Jewish studies minor.
Archaeological Conservation Internship Program
Professor Joe Alchermes (Art History) and Denise Pelletier (Studio Art) accompanied students on the 2016 and 2017 archaeological conservation program organized by the Centro di Conservazione Archeologica, and which art and art history majors are now able to participate through the College's funded summer internship program.
Read more
In his final report, Professor Alchermes writes "We spent most of the month at the Museo Civico in Cabras (Sardinia), the repository for major new finds of nearly 3000-year- old, large-scale fragments of limestone statues. Here we catalogued, cleaned and sorted over 400 pieces, under the direction of the Centro di Conservazione Archeologica founders, Roberto Nardi and Andreina Costanzi Cobau. Working with these world-renowned conservators introduced students to the thrill of direct, physical contact with ancient cultural artifacts, opening for them an extraordinary a window into a civilization that flourished 3,000 years ago and providing an opportunity to reflect on the ways in which our world today understands and uses the past."
