InteRDom: Enriching Learning Experiences for HBCU Students in North Carolina
New York, August 16, 2010

InteRDom is excited to announce a partnership with North Carolina’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to create a groundbreaking program that will encourage global exposure and learning amongst their students. The Study Abroad /Global Engagement Consortium (SAGE) will implement a program at each of the state’s eleven HBCUs in an effort to increase the global exposure and number of African American and Latino students participating in international education programs.

“The signing of this agreement means North Carolina HBCUs have boldly taken lead to privately collaborate and publicly demonstrate their commitment to expand academic capacity via the impact of study abroad on students and their professional outcomes as we prepare them for the next level, the global society,” said Dr. Jimmy R. Jenkins, Sr., President of the Consortium’s head institution, Livingston College.

InteRDom’s partnership with the NC-SAGE Consortium makes it an affiliated program, opening the door to students and professors who wish to participate in internships and research overseas, especially in fields related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEMS) studies.

In collaboration with the International Education Resource Center (IERC) Education Foundation, one of the founders of the NC-SAGE consortium, InteRDom is developing a special agenda of promotional activities on North Carolina’s HBCU campuses to spark interest and discussion among students, administration and faculty. InteRDom will facilitate the internationalization plan of the collective campus curricula, giving important exposure to Latin America, especially the Caribbean region.

NC-SAGE is part of several integrated HBCU efforts to boost students’ employability and increase access to internships and research experiences among a nontraditional population of students. It is a result of a state-wide initiative to promote international study.

The Consortium represents eleven schools, 42,000 students and 7,000 graduates annually. North Carolina’s eleven HBCUs are the most located in any one state in the United States, and they include: Barber-Scotia College, Bennett College, Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, Johnson C. Smith University, Livingstone College, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University, St. Augustine’s College, Shaw University and Winston-Salem State University.

The internship program, InteRDom, an initiative of Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), is the premier internship, research and academic study program in the Dominican Republic. It offers international students the opportunity to research important topics at the forefront of the United Nations agenda, obtain professional experience by interning with Dominican organizations and businesses related to their fields of study and/or earn academic credits by taking courses and seminars at a local university.