Responding to the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis: The University as Community Sponsor

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable Session 3:05 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Geopolitics and Global Crises: Regionalism, Internationalization, and Higher Education (Table 29)

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the exceptional response of University X as a case study of a unique account of universities’ role in responding to global injustices. Through semi-structured interviews, observations, and documentation, we ask: what motivated – both personally and pragmatically – the launch of University X’s rapid response to the war in Ukraine? We analyze the political context, institutional processes, and individual ambitions that led to the development of this initiative and find that – in contrast to traditional visions of universities’ democratic responsibility – this unique, institution-wide initiative presents an strikingly cosmopolitan vision of the purpose of universities in an increasingly precarious global society.

Authors

• Megan Bogia, Fordham University

• Alysha Banerji, Harvard University