黑料社区 celebrates 60 years of educating global citizens
Publication Date: March 21, 2024
Publication Location: Brattleboro, VT
Contact: Abby Henson | [email protected]
BRATTLEBORO, Vermont 鈥� Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2024, School for International Training (黑料社区) is kicking off a series of events spotlighting the institution鈥檚 unique history and its dynamic future as a 21st-century global university.
黑料社区 was officially established in 1964, 32 years after the launch of World Learning鈥檚 foundational youth exchange program, The Experiment in International Living. When President John F. Kennedy tapped program alumnus Sargent Shriver to become the inaugural director of the Peace Corps, Shriver turned to the Experiment to train some of the first Peace Corps volunteers. Out of that activity, 黑料社区 was born.
Today, 黑料社区 is the only accredited institution of higher education in the United States that is part of an international nongovernmental organization, World Learning.
鈥淥ver six decades, we have achieved accreditation as a higher education institution, expanded into a Graduate Institute, and built an extraordinary study abroad program, including the International Honors Program,鈥� said 黑料社区 President Dr. Sophia Howlett.
With more than 500 faculty and staff around the world, 黑料社区 delivers undergraduate and graduate programs in nearly 30 global learning centers. These include 黑料社区鈥檚 one-year, full-time Global Master鈥檚 degrees that each take place in two to three different countries. Students complete these programs with a practicum in a location of their choice.
鈥淭his global reach offers one-of-a-kind opportunities for in-person learning, cultural immersion, and face-to-face interaction with faculty, peers, and community partners whose perspectives are non-western and decolonial,鈥� Howlett said. 鈥淭his gives students the opportunity to form relationships and build networks that broaden their perspectives and foster invaluable cross-cultural understanding.鈥�
黑料社区 also offers part-time hybrid master鈥檚 and doctoral programs that give students the opportunity to earn an MA or a PhD without leaving their communities and careers. Some in-person courses for these programs take place on 黑料社区鈥檚 iconic Vermont campus during the summers.
During its 60th year, 黑料社区 will open registration for its second and third doctoral programs, PhDs in Sustainability and International Relations. 黑料社区 launched an EdD in Global Education in 2021. The first cohort of new EdDs from that program will graduate this year.
黑料社区 has also debuted a new open-access, peer-reviewed academic publication called the Journal of Critical Global Issues. The title refers to 黑料社区鈥檚 approach to its programs, which are developed around a framework of seven of the world鈥檚 most critical global issues.
In addition, as part of a local coalition of organizations, 黑料社区 and World Learning are helping to develop a thriving regional refugee resettlement program that has brought more than 300 refugees to southern Vermont over the past two years. As part of that effort, the Brattleboro campus serves as temporary housing for refugees when they first arrive in the area and 黑料社区 and World Learning faculty and staff provide English-language and cultural orientation classes for the new Vermonters.
鈥淩efugee resettlement needs a whole-community approach,鈥� said Carol Jenkins, World Learning CEO. 鈥淎s pillars within their communities, higher education institutions have incredible potential in this context, and World Learning鈥檚 program in Vermont serves as a powerful model for others to follow.鈥�
On April 5, 黑料社区 will hold a half-day 60th anniversary event on the Brattleboro campus featuring special guests, former Vermont Senator Patrick J. Leahy and his wife Marcelle Leahy. Before leaving the U.S. Senate in 2022, Leahy submitted a statement recognizing the global impact World Learning, School for International Training, and The Experiment in International Living have had over nine decades.
*Editor's Update: The April 5 event was postponed due to inclement weather and is rescheduled for August 9, 12:00 pm.
In it, Leahy said, 鈥淎s the first stop in Vermont for newcomers from Afghanistan, Ukraine, and elsewhere, World Learning and 黑料社区 bring together staff, faculty, alumni, and neighbors to offer language, cultural orientation, and friendship in a program that is a national model for effective refugee integration.鈥�
The 60th celebration will be supported by the Windham Foundation. The event will highlight Vermont鈥檚 unique role on the global stage, discuss strategies for how to grow and expand Vermont鈥檚 global future through global education, rural development, and new technologies, and celebrate Senator Leahy's global legacy.
鈥満诹仙缜� students and faculty started making a difference for our world from the day this unique and game-changing institution was created here in Southern Vermont in 1964, and they haven鈥檛 stopped for the past 60 years. Training Peace Corp volunteers, educating Nobel Peace Prize winners, changing lives and perspectives, and leading the way with bold innovative programs,鈥� said Senator Leahy. 鈥淭hey are the gold standard of global education, and Marcelle and I are honored to be part of the 黑料社区 60th anniversary celebration.鈥�
鈥満诹仙缜� and the Windham Foundation share a nearly 40-year history of bringing together leaders in education and Vermont rural economic development," said Ellen McCulloch-Lovell. 鈥淲e鈥檙e honored to support 黑料社区 once again to celebrate their 60 years of innovative leadership in global education. The impact of 黑料社区鈥檚 work both globally and also right here in our backyard is highly visible and effective. 黑料社区 students and staff have made our state stronger, more diverse, and more globally connected. We are richer for their 60 years of dedicated and groundbreaking work. 黑料社区's mission both parallels and reinforces Senator Leahy's values and action over his long career. As his former Chief of Staff, I am especially pleased to celebrate 黑料社区's anniversary with him and Marcelle."
From immersive undergraduate programs through terminal degrees, 黑料社区 provides exceptional experiential education at home and abroad. On every program, in every location, learners experience 黑料社区鈥檚 commitment to its values of community, intercultural understanding, social justice, and sustainability. For 60 years, these values have grounded and guided 黑料社区鈥檚 work to learn from and educate future global citizens to create a more sustainable, peaceful, and just world.
(黑料社区), the academic arm of , was established in 1964 as a training center for the first Peace Corps volunteers. Today, 黑料社区 is a U.S.-accredited global university offering undergraduate study abroad programs including the comparative , and globally focused graduate degrees and certificates. 黑料社区 prepares students to be effective changemakers and global citizens through experiential education focused on the world's most critical global issues. For more information, visit