First Year Report on the Global Partners Project
To The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Three consortia -- the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, the Associated Colleges of the South and the Great Lakes Colleges Association -- offer their thanks to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for underwriting the expenses of an exciting new joint venture, the Global Partners Project. This report describes the activities of the first year of the program, all of which will benefit our institutions. Thanks to the support of the Foundation, the three groups are off to a strong start, establishing a foundation for the remaining period of the grant.

The report begins with the networks established and proceeds to the three overseas centers, the "best practices" initiatives, and the resource network. Finally, there is a discussion of evaluation efforts.

Organization

Considerable effort at the outset of the program was focused on organization. A coordinating committee was established, representing equally the three consortia. The coordinating committee designed the overall organizational framework and the relationships between itself and the other groups that would be established. The committee also clarified the decision-making authority, pinpointing the key roles of the council of deans in each consortia. The attachments provide further details on the definition of roles and responsibilities for the coordinating committee.

Task forces were established to cover the major features of the project. Each consortium took the lead in assembling specific task forces for one of the three centers plus the best practices and resource network areas. An additional task force to focus on language issues was formed in mid-year.

The Overseas Centers

Closely following the outline contained in the proposal to the Foundation, the three consortia have initiated efforts to establish three centers and programs overseas with ACM taking the lead for the Central Europe/Russia effort, ACS taking the lead for a program in Turkey, and the GLCA playing the principal leadership role in East Africa. Each program has taken a different tack with separate points of emphasis. The Central Europe/Russia program has emphasized faculty development, with seminars and grants being provided to faculty members from the three consortia. The Turkey program has concentrated on establishing a study abroad program for students, to begin in the fall of 2001. East African programs have emphasized faculty development opportunities, pointing toward an overseas faculty seminar for 18 faculty members in summer 2000.

The Center in Central Europe/Russia -- led by the Associated Colleges of the Midwest

The task force for Central Europe and Russia Centers met in October. The membership includes four representatives from ACM, two from ACS, and two from GLCA. Members represent regional experts, language and literature faculty, and individuals with interdisciplinary interests in international education. Helen Scott met with the task force representing the Coordinating Committee. The task force is working particularly with Cheryl Jacobsen, the Administrative Fellow at ACM supporting the activities of the Global Partners Project, and with several ACM staff members.

At their initial meeting, the ACM staff reviewed for the task force the current consortial programs jointly recognized by ACM and GLCA, based at Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic, and Kuban State University in Krasnodar, Russia. The task force encouraged ACM to extend these program opportunities to the colleges of ACS, and to work with these institutions for faculty development activities. ACM staff have discussed the proposed Global Partners activities with colleagues in Olomouc and Krasnodar and have met with a warm response.

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