Better together: Pursuing global racial equity collaborations in higher education

• In Event: Addressing race & racism in global higher education through research, teaching, and praxis

Proposal

PRESENTER 5 will discuss the importance of community, collaboration, and coalition building in the pursuit of global racial equity work within the field of higher education. The relationships between institutionalized racism, coloniality, globalization, and capitalism are found throughout the world in broader society, and higher education specifically (Stein & Andreotti, 2017). Yet, while many countries have their own national education priorities and initiatives, there are fewer cross-country or cross-region dialogues for improving racial equity in higher education, which misses an opportunity for collaboration globally and comparatively (Clancy & Goastellec, 2007).

Using a transnational framing, this presenter argues for greater intentionality in linking local advocacy for racial equity and justice in higher education towards a vision for racial justice and equity in higher education across nations. She will share three of her experiences as illustrations of the challenges and opportunities in pursuing global racial equity collaborations in higher education: (1) her experience as a co-founder and co-convener of the Critical Internationalization Studies Network (CISN) Race + Racism subgroup, a global network for students, scholars, and practitioners interested in the ways race and racism are present in higher education internationalization; (2) her participation in a Global Racial Equity Summit held in the Netherlands in which a group of U.S.-based faculty, graduate students, and practitioners partnered with colleagues from institutions and agencies in the Netherlands to learn about our respective efforts in advancing racial equity in our unique contexts; and (3) her leadership as principal investigator of a collaborative research project with partners in England, Ghana, India, Ireland, South Africa, and the U.S., which focused on developing a multi-country and comparative approach to student diversity and equity in higher education.

Author

• Chrystal A. George Mwangi, George Mason University