WEST VALLEY COLLEGE GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP COMMITTEE
STRATEGIC PLAN
FALL 2014 through FALL 2019
INTRODUCTION
West Valley College strives to be a leader in Global Education and acknowledges that Global Education helps to meet the college’s mission: “The West Valley College community supports students along their pathways to reach transfer and career goals in an environment of academic excellence.” Located in Silicon Valley, in the affluent hub of technological innovation that is surrounded by pockets of economically poor and culturally segregated neighborhoods, WVC welcomes the obligation to awaken and nurture students’ awareness of our globalized world and to enable them to participate in creating just, equitable and sustainable global communities.
The West Valley College Global Citizenship Committee is committed to helping the college distinguish itself from other colleges by infusing Global Education precepts in all parts of the college life. Inherent in this aim is the understanding that global interdependency is necessary for the economic, social, and cultural development of our current society and that global competence must be an integral part of every student’s education.
This strategic plan builds on the work started by the committee in 2006 and strengthened in late 2007 with the opening of the WVC Global Citizenship Center. This plan for fall semester 2014 to fall semester 2017 is an overview of the goals, objectives and strategies that the GC Committee intends to implement.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
- Strengthen and grow the mission and vision established for the WVC GC Committee and Center.
This goal will be accomplished through the GC Committee’s collaboration with various departments, divisions and individual colleagues at WVC, with the WVC Student Global Club, and with colleagues at neighboring institutions and organizations.
Objective: Identify and secure internal and external sources of stable funding for a reliable yearly budget.
Objective: Use the budget to grow the foundational work that has been accomplished in the three target areas identified by the WVC GC Committee: curricular, co-curricular, and faculty development.
Objective: That is, use the budget to develop curricular projects, offer co-curricular activities for students, and engage students, faculty members, administrators and staff in global citizenship professional development opportunities.
Objective: Present committee updates to the WVC Academic Senate and to the West Valley Mission Community College District Board of Trustees once per semester.
Objective: Work with the Counseling Department to help identify and increase the number of students who earn and wear Global Citizenship stoles on graduation day.
Objective: Design and distribute a pamphlet describing the Global Studies Area of Emphasis.
Objective: Work with the State Chancellor’s Office and the State and WVC Academic Senates, and the WVC Curriculum Committee to develop C-ID descriptors for a Global Studies Area of Emphasis Transfer Model Curriculum.
- Strengthen awareness of global citizenship practices and pedagogy across the curriculum.
This goal will be accomplished through the GC Committee’s collaboration with various departments, divisions and individual colleagues at WVC.
Objective: Strengthen the content in the Global Citizenship webpage and blog with practical information about enacting and infusing global citizenship precepts across the curriculum.
Objective: Work with the Counseling Department to streamline and focus the list of courses required of students completing an emphasis in Global Studies.
Objective: Provide at least one event/venue per semester for faculty to learn about global citizenship pedagogy and for sharing ideas and tools for applying global citizenship practices.
Objective: Create at least one opportunity per semester for counseling staff to understand and promote the Global Studies Area of Emphasis at WVC and the Global Studies Certificate at San Jose State University and the articulation agreement that allows students at WVC to complete the first two courses of the SJSU Certificate at WVC.
Objective: Begin the work of designing core introductory courses on Global Studies.
Objective: Begin the work of creating a Global Studies AA/ADT.
Objective: Work to underscore the importance of experiential learning (particularly in the areas of Study Abroad and Service Learning) as an integral part of courses taught.
- Create and deliver co-curricular events, programs and activities that promote awareness and critical engagement with global issues.
This goal will be accomplished through the GC Committee’s collaboration with various departments, divisions and individual colleagues at WVC, with the WVC Student Global Club, and with colleagues at neighboring institutions.
Objective: Plan and deliver at least three major events per semester.
Objective: Support the faculty advisor for the Student Global Club to lead and grow this student organization.
Objective: Promote the social integration of international and diasporic students with mainstream students—starting with the Global Student Club actively recruiting and growing the club’s membership.
Objective: Work with Division Chairs and colleagues in order to plan and deliver a series of lectures and activities especially for faculty.
- Provide opportunities for faculty development in global education.
Objective: Apply for the 2015-2016 NEH Bridging Cultures at Community Colleges grant to create opportunities for faculty members to study together while improving their capacity to teach the humanities; focus the application on “Latin@ Cultural Memory.”
Objective: Apply for the 2015-2016 Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program in order to bring the Salzburg Global Seminar’s Director of Education, Dr. Jochen Fried, for a five-month residency at WVC; focus the application on how Dr. Fried will help to strengthen and expand Global Citizenship at WVC.
Objective: Continue to plan and deliver the Annual Global Citizenship “Mini-Salzburg Seminar” Conference in order to provide at least one event for faculty, administrators and staff to focus on Global Citizenship.
Objective: Send at least two faculty members per academic year to conferences and seminars where they will learn about Global Citizenship.
Objective: Maintain a page on the WVC Global Citizenship blog with information about places, scholarships, fellowships, seminars, and opportunities for faculty to develop their skills in Global Citizenship.
THE WVC GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Dr. Cynthia Napoli Abella-Reiss, Chair of the GC Committee, WVC Academic Senator and Professor of Art History
Dr. Anna Brichko, Chair of World Languages Department and Professor of French
Cigdem Bulut, Professor of Interior Design
William Clay, Professor of Theater
Heidi Brueckner, Professor of Fine Arts
Karina Dundurs, Professor of Computer Applications
Gretchen Ehlers, Lead Coordinator of First Year Experience and Professor of Mathematics
Dr. Dulce María Gray, Professor of English and Women’s Studies
Dr. Victoria Hindes, Vice President of Student Services
Vicky Kalivitis, Professor of English
Maryanne Mills, Instruction and Outreach Librarian
Katherine Moore-Wines, Professor of Child Studies
WVC Global Citizenship 