SIT experts contribute to NAFSA book on research abroad

Announcement Date: May 8, 2020

SIT faculty and staff are among the contributors to a new book, Undergraduate Research Abroad: Approaches, Models, and Challenges, published this week by NAFSA.

The volume is edited by Kate H. Patch, senior director of global initiatives at Grinnell College, and Louis M. Berends, vice president of academic affairs at CEA Study Abroad. It was released May 4 and is available for download from NAFSA.

SIT contributing authors are Academic Dean Brian Hammer, Academic Director Victor Tricot, and and Mory Pagel, executive director of institutional relations and strategic partnerships.

Tricot, academic director for the SIT program Spain: Policy, Law, and Regional Autonomy in Europe, wrote the chapter "Colonialism and the Ethics of Undergraduate Research Abroad."

Hammer, SIT's academic dean for the Asia/Pacific region, and Pagel penned "Ethics and Reciprocity: SIT’s Perspective."

... engaging undergraduates in research activities in unfamiliar milieus can enrich their college experience and add to the betterment of the host community,"

"Meeting the growing interest for undergraduate research abroad requires program leaders and student advisers to consider new opportunities beyond those common to traditional study abroad experiences," writes NAFSA. This book explores various institutional and organizational perspectives on program models, faculty and student recruitment, ethics, and best practices.

Reviewers are praising the book as an important contribution to the field. “The contributors illustrate why and how various approaches to engaging undergraduates in research activities in unfamiliar milieus can enrich their college experience and add to the betterment of the host community," writes George D. Kuh, chancellor’s professor emeritus of higher education at Indiana University

J. Kline Harrison, associate provost for global affairs at Wake Forest University, calls it “a timely and valuable resource for educational institutions seeking to begin or enhance undergraduate research abroad. … Those in the field of education abroad will be well served by this publication.”

“The authors provide not only foundational knowledge and standards for designing high-impact research abroad programs, but include expert perspectives from a variety of institutional types, program providers, and academic disciplines” wrotes Amanda T. Kelso, executive director, Global Education Office for Undergraduates at Duke University.