Evaluating the study site in Loiza, Puerto Rico.
The Office for Global Engagement is pleased to award a 2021 Global Learning Across Disciplines (GLAD) Grant to Drs. Ivis Garcia and Divya Chandrasekhar.
The $2,500 award will help support the Puerto Rico Resiliency LAB —a new studio course in the department of City and Metropolitan Planning.
The course seeks to develop—alongside students, faculty, and community organizations—planning solutions that promote sustainability, resiliency, and equity in a recovery scenario while enhancing global learning.
Students enrolled in the course will work directly with a Puerto Rican community affected by the 2017 Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Through participatory action research, they will learn how people in other parts of the world live with water and flooding risks, with special focus on low-income communities of color. The psychophysical resiliency demonstrated by these communities will also be investigated. Students will strengthen their intercultural competency by working reflectively in essays and vlogs, and presenting their work.
The course will be taught online with community partners, including the municipality of Loiza, Puerto Rico, and area non-profits. Students and faculty at the U will also collaborate with peers at the Iowa State University, University of Puerto Rico (UPR) and the University of Urbana-Champaign. A total of 20 students per year might benefit directly from the course, while many more will benefit from lectures.
“Drs. Garcia and Chandrasekhar are cultivating extraordinary opportunities for student learning, and for the U to serve the global community. The Office for Global Engagement is delighted to support this innovative course through the GLAD program,” said Sabine Klahr, Associate Chief Global Officer.
Since its launch in 2015, the GLAD award has supported 22 U faculty projects–providing a total of $210,000 for team awards to infuse global learning across academic programs, and $2,500 for individual course development. The next call for proposals will be announced in October 2021. Learn more about the GLAD program here.