2022-2023 KUIA Annual Report

SAGE Selected for Passport Project

Last fall 95 KU freshmen were selected to receive free U.S. passports as part of the IIE American Passport Project, a grant initiative sponsored by the Institute of International Education.

The IIE American Passport Project, which started in 2021, seeks to promote diversity, inclusion, access and equity in study abroad and encourage students to go abroad who would otherwise not participate in an international experience as part of their college education. For students of limited means, studying abroad can require long-term planning and involve financial hurdles, like the cost of a passport, which could bar them from moving forward.

IIE selected KU as one of 40 institutions to receive this unique funding opportunity. Through the IIE American Passport Project, Study Abroad and Global Engagement received grant funds for 25 U.S. passports. Through the generosity of donors, SAGE contributed additional financial support, enabling up to 95 Pell Grant-eligible KU freshmen to obtain a U.S. passport in fall 2022.

“One of the primary goals of KU Study Abroad and Global Engagement is to increase the number and diversity of students participating in education abroad, such that the population of study abroad students mirrors the KU undergraduate student population across all student profiles (academic discipline and student demographics),” Study Abroad and Global Engagement Director Angela Perryman said. “The American Passport Project directly supports this goal by providing students access to a passport and the resources and motivation to use it during their time at KU.”

KU Launches Global Conversations

Following last fall’s protest in Iran, KU launched the series Global Citizenship: Critical Conversations about Equity Around the World. A second event was held in the spring on the political situation in Brazil and a third reexamined the ongoing unrest in Iran.

The Global Conversations series focuses on critical conversations about equity in a global context with the hopes of expanding campus literacy on important issues that shape the world. These conversations leverage the knowledge and experience of campus experts as well as students, faculty and staff as they come together to discuss social, cultural and political reverberations of major world events.

The series is sponsored by International Affairs; Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging; and The Commons.

During the current fall semester, the series will include conversations on the conflict between Israel and Palestine and modern trade and China.

These events emphasize the value of internationalization and understanding the intersections of culture and identity as a core framework of Jayhawks Rising.