A global perspective has been a part of a Walsh education since the University’s founding in 1960 by the international order of the Brothers of Christian Instruction. With the onset of COVID-19, Walsh was one of the first Universities to bring students home from its global learning programs. During this pause on global travel brought on by the pandemic, Walsh’s Office of Experiential Learning has been hard at work exploring new options and partnerships for the benefit of not only Walsh students, but faculty as well.
Over the years, global learning programs have often centered on the Brothers’ presence in countries such as Rome, Haiti and Uganda. More recently, the University began to explore additional opportunities to supplement its existing programs. Even before COVID hit in March, Walsh had begun to pursue partnerships with other U.S. universities to collaborate on global learning programs and international campuses.
“This is an effective strategy that will offer more location options for our students and faculty, as well as a more diverse portfolio of academic experiences,” said Dr. Rachel Hosler, Associate Dean of Experiential Learning.
In the spring, Walsh signed a partnership with Franciscan University to offer their Austria program to Walsh students. This opportunity will be open to not only our students but also Walsh faculty who aspire to teach globally. The Franciscan campus in Gaming, Austria is located at the Kartause, a restored 14th century Carthusian monastery in the foothills of the Austrian Alps. Walsh is also pursuing partnership options in Rome, Italy and Carlow, Ireland. Additional locations are also being explored in South Korea, Vietnam, and Singapore. Our new partnerships will be available once borders open up and students are able to safely travel internationally again.
Even with global travel suspended, Walsh is continuing to dedicate its resources to providing a global perspective and offer educational opportunities that apply to students learning outside the traditional walls of the classroom. These include a project with Associate Professor of Government & Foreign Affairs Dr. Carl Taylor's class to create a voter education and registration drive on campus to prepare for the 2020 election. In addition, Dr. Hosler is working with the Alliance to End Hunger on advocacy training for Walsh's learning community students, while another group of learning community students are researching options on how to develop a water source to the campus farm.
