Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Professor of Dance Ting-Yu Chen ’19, Ed.D., will present alongside Director of Collaborative Online International Learning Younus Mirza, Ph.D., and Associate Provost and Director of General Education Amy Sarch, Ph.D., at the 2022 Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) annual meeting to be held from Wednesday, Jan. 19, through Monday, Jan. 24, in Washington, D.C. This session will discuss how Shenandoah University is connecting global learning to the effort in inclusion, diversity and equity (IDE). In particular, SU global virtual learning leads faculty and students to think more intentionally about power dynamics between themselves and international partners, and how such differences may affect the long-term sustainability of the relationships. Dr. Chen has co-designed a workshop in which the SU and international faculty participants examine issues of privileges related to language, time zone and technology of choice when conducting intercultural educational collaboration. Openly discussing these power dynamics provides a framework transferable to the domestic and local IDE work that SU is undertaking. Thinking critically about power dynamics with international partners may help in reflecting on power dynamics between racial groups here in the United States and how certain structures may favor one group over another. It is hoped that such international work will provide new insights on how to best combat racism and structural inequality on campus and the United States.
