AAC&U and the US-UK Fulbright Commission Announce Recipients of the 2024-25 Global Challenges Teaching Awards

Washington, DC—The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and the US-UK Fulbright Commission today announced the recipients of the 2024–25 Fulbright Global Challenges Teaching Awards (GCTAs). These pioneering awards support teaching faculty from the United States and the United Kingdom in co-delivering interdisciplinary virtual exchange and collaborative online international learning (VE/COIL) courses that address pressing global challenges.

As part of the GCTA, each faculty recipient will collaborate with a counterpart across the Atlantic to cocreate a VE/COIL course that addresses one of four key global challenges: climate change, inequality, polarization and division, or racial justice. In addition, each instructor will be supported by a team of colleagues from their institution who will collaborate to expand the US-UK institutional partnership while also exploring how to advance VE/COIL within their shared institution.

Launched in 2022 by the US-UK Fulbright Commission, the Global Challenges Teaching Awards are managed and delivered in a unique partnership between the Commission and AAC&U’s VE/COIL Initiative. Their aim is to foster international collaboration and innovation in higher education that will provide invaluable cross-cultural learning experiences for students on both sides of the Atlantic. Faculty members and their support teams embark this month on a yearlong journey of professional development, online collaboration, and in-person faculty/staff exchanges with their partner institutions, culminating in the implementation of shared VE/COIL courses in the fall of 2025.

AAC&U and the US-UK Fulbright Commission will provide awardees and their teams with ongoing support, including specialized clinics focused on advancing VE/COIL initiatives, open educational resources, and networking events to help foster successful partnerships and enhance their course and institutional-level project development.

“Higher education—and liberal education, in particular—plays a critical role in helping students understand global issues and in preparing them to address significant problems at the local, national, and international levels after graduation,” said AAC&U President Lynn Pasquerella. “This includes ensuring that all students have opportunities, through in-person or virtual learning experiences, to cooperate with peers of different nationalities and cultures.”

"We are incredibly excited to move forward with such an outstanding group of educators from a diverse range of higher education institutions," said Veronica Onorevole, director of innovative global education initiatives at AAC&U. "Their commitment to expanding access to international experiences and their innovative approaches to teaching and learning align perfectly with the goals of the GCTA."

"We have seen a tremendous response to this program, with applications increasing by over 60% compared to the first cycle," said Jessica McIvor, head of special projects at the US-UK Fulbright Commission. "The enthusiasm for using education to tackle global challenges and the high quality of the applications have been truly inspiring."

Maria Balinska, executive director of the US-UK Fulbright Commission, added, “The Fulbright Global Challenges Teaching Awards are the Commission’s flagship initiative because they’re about democratising global learning and developing new inclusive ways of supporting international education exchange. We are tremendously excited to be enabling connections between classrooms in Northern Ireland and Ohio; the Midlands and South Carolina; Scotland and Massachusetts and the North of England and Georgia. We cannot wait to see what transatlantic collaborations come about as a result.”

The following faculty members and institutions have been selected for the GCTAs in these four award categories:

Polarization and Division

• Mark McLay, Lecturer in 20th Century US History at Lancaster University (UK), will enhance his course “American Carnage: The United States in the Age of Polarization, 1960–Present” in partnership with Ava Thorpe, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Fort Valley State University (USA), and her “Minorities” course. This Award is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Inequality

• Philip McGowan, Professor of Arts, English and Languages at Queen's University Belfast (UK),will enhance his course “Incorrigibly Plural” in partnership with Julia Paxton, Professor of Economics at Ohio University (USA), and her “Economics of Poverty” course.

Racial Justice

• Dionne Taylor, Associate Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University (UK), will enhance her “Black Studies Project” course in partnership with Kameelah Martin, Associate Professor of African American Studies & English at the College of Charleston (US), and her “Ancestries of Enslavement” course.

Climate Change

• William Quirke, Teaching Fellow at the Strathclyde Institute of Education at the University of Strathclyde (UK), will enhance his “Learning for Sustainability: Theory and Practice” course in partnership with Colleen Hitchcock, Associate Professor of Ecology at Brandeis University (US), and her “Biology of Climate Change” course.

For more information about the GCTAs, this year’s awardees, and the AAC&U VE/COIL Initiative, please visit https://aacu.org/vecoil and https://fulbright.org.uk/.

About AAC&U

The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) is a global membership organization dedicated to advancing the democratic purposes of higher education by promoting equity, innovation, and excellence in liberal education. Through our programs and events, publications and research, public advocacy, and campus-based projects, AAC&U serves as a catalyst and facilitator for innovations that improve educational quality and equity and that support the success of all students. In addition to accredited public and private, two-year and four-year colleges and universities, and state higher education systems and agencies throughout the United States, our membership includes degree-granting higher education institutions around the world as well as other organizations and individuals. To learn more, visit www.aacu.org.

About the US-UK Fulbright Commission

The US-UK Fulbright Commission works to advance knowledge, promote civic engagement and develop compassionate leaders through education exchange between the peoples of the US and the UK. A 1948 treaty between the US and the UK governments specifically established the US-UK programme, one of the first bilateral Fulbright commissions in the world. Over the last 76 years, it has offered immersive education exchange programmes on both sides of the Atlantic that span generations, investing in human potential, advancing knowledge and bringing together the diverse perspectives of the UK and the US to address shared challenges. Postgraduate, academic and professional awards cover study, travel and living costs and, to date, have been granted to over 25,000 recipients, many of whom would not otherwise have had the opportunity to develop their knowledge and expertise internationally. Our vision is a world where there are no obstacles to learning, understanding and collaboration. Our mission is to advance knowledge, promote civic engagement and develop compassionate leaders through education exchange between the peoples of the US and the UK.