Fulbright-Hays grant will take Ohio educators to Ghana
The four-week trip is designed to strengthen existing ties between OHIO and the West African region
October 25, 2024
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OHIO’s Center for International Studies (CIS) is recruiting Ohio educators from all levels (kindergarten through post-secondary) for "Transnational African and African Diaspora Identities," a three-week curriculum development trip to Ghana in June 2025. All travel expenses for selected participants, including airfare, in-country travel, accommodations, meals, tickets to museums and historical sites, and instruction, will be provided through a Department of Education IFLE Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) grant.
“We hope the participants will gain insight and new perspectives on the historical and contemporary relationship between Ghana and the United States,” said Cat Cutcher, CIS associate director, who is leading the program with Assan Sarr, associate professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Travel and training
The trip runs from June 16-July 14, 2025. Participants will be selected by the end of the calendar year, with spring semester devoted to Ghana-focused training modules. An in-person workshop will be held in April on Ohio University’s Athens campus.
“The training will cover content that will help prepare participants for the travel, introduce them to Ghanaian history, culture, and historical connections with the U.S.,” said Sarr. “Broadly speaking the training will offer crucial background information about Ghana and West Africa.”
In addition to developing curriculum materials and lesson plans to take back to their classrooms, participants will also gain proficiency in the Akan/Twi language through online learning leading up to the trip and immersion while in Ghana.
“We also hope they gain some new knowledge about the heritage of people of African descent in the diaspora, particularly through the study of Ghanaian and Black Appalachian writers and historians from the Appalachian region and the state of Ohio,” Cutcher said.
The trip includes five nights in the capital city of Accra, five nights in Kumasi , the capital of the Ashanti region. The group will travel to Cape Coast and end their experience back in Accra. A more detailed itinerary and application information are available on the program’s website.
Longstanding connections
“It is special that this program will include travels to not only Accra and the Cape Coast–two of the most popular destinations in Ghana—it will also include travel to the interior of the country, to the historical capital of what was the precolonial West African Asante state,” said Sarr. “Established around 1680, Kumasi was a major commercial, cultural and political center in Ghana. It is located in the rich tropical rainforest of southern Ghana.”
The program will expand a strong existing connection between OHIO and Ghana. There are more than 3,000 OHIO alumni in the country; program participants will connect with many of them and visit some of the top universities and schools where they work.
“We are recognized as a national leader in teaching, research, and service in African Studies,” Cutcher said. “We were one of the first institutions to teach African languages in the U.S.”
The University’s extensive ties with Ghana were forged through partnerships and study abroad programs established by former and current faculty members, including a fellowship for language instructors and an enduring relationship with the National Theater and National Dance Company.
“Currently, Ohio University is the top destination for Ghanaian students studying in the U.S., with 232 Ghanaians currently enrolled,” Cutcher said. “Our alumni in Ghana have been instrumental in creating a recruitment pipeline for friends and family to apply and attend each year.”
Sarr travels to Ghana frequently and teaches there over the summer.
“Our faculty has ties with Garden City University and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi as well as the University of Cape Coast,” said Sarr. “Over the years, we also have recruited many graduate students from these universities.”
The application for “Transnational African and African Diaspora Identities” is open, with a deadline of November 17.