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Diversity Commitment

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We’re proud that our students are as diverse as the countries where they study abroad.

Integral in fulfilling our mission is a commitment to the representation and integration of diverse perspectives, cultures, and ideas.

At IES Abroad, we understand that diversity must be cultivated and supported in several ways and at multiple levels—from accessibility and inclusiveness of a diverse student body to the learning environment and courses offered. We are dedicated to broadening access and cultivating a diverse, globally-savvy workforce.

We’ve had a front-row seat to observing how study abroad changes people—no matter who they are. Study abroad humanizes us. It expands our potential by honing our language, intercultural, and other skills, and, deepening our capacity for humility, empathy and fairness. It forces us to reconsider how we think about history, politics, migration, commerce, technology, health care, education, and community. We use our knowledge of travel, cultures, and places to cultivate global citizens who reflect the world’s rich diversity. This is our form of social justice. This is our platform for change.

What We're Doing

And by 'doing' we mean 'have been doing' and 'will continue to do'. In our more than 70 years of educating students around the world, we strive along a continuum of deepening and expanding diversity, equity, inclusion and antiracism at IES Abroad. Our work to best foster an inclusive learning and living community for students and workplace community for staff—in the United States and at our locations abroad—spans the entire organization.  

Have a look at the comprehensive and ongoing efforts to further this mission and know that we're always striving to do more and updating this section as we do.

By the Numbers

The numbers below represent this increase in access, depth of conversation, and richness in education experiences for ethnically-diverse students.

Overall 2019-20 Academic Year Enrollment Diversity: In Fall 2019, year-over-year growth in ethnically-diverse students across all programs was 13.6%.

  • In Fall 2019, year-over-year growth in ethnically-diverse students rose 18.4% in standard study abroad programs.
  • In Summer 2019, year-over-year growth in ethnically-diverse students rose 3.75% in standard study abroad programs.
  • In Summer 2019, year-over-year growth in ethnically-diverse students in Customized & Faculty-Led Programs rose 45%.
  • In Fall 2019, IES Abroad enrolled largest number of ethnically-diverse students for any fall term to date.
  • In Fall 2019, IES Abroad experienced the highest percentage of enrollment of ethnically-diverse students in Standard Programs ever for a fall term, at 28.7%.
  • In the 2019-20 Academic year, 869 underrepresented students were served by IES Abroad Scholarships & Aid.
Initiatives & Resources

Initiatives 

  • Diversity Initiative (2008) - We launched our first-in-the-field Diversity Initiative in 2008 to creatively address the relatively low participation of underrepresented students in study abroad. IES Abroad defines students of diverse and underrepresented backgrounds broadly, according to how students self-identify by race, first-generation college status, financial need, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or learning disability, mental health history, or any intersections of these identities. In 2011, it was formally named the Initiative to Diversify Education Abroad (IDEA).

    As part of the IES Abroad Diversity Initiative, participating leaders from academe, not-for-profits, and industry convened in Chicago to discuss the importance of and barriers to underrepresented students participating in international education programs. IES Abroad has produced a monograph of this event that includes a background concept paper on the lack of diversity among study abroad students and a summary of the discussion and recommendations of the Think Tank.

    In the 10+ years following the launch of IDEA, we have built a dedicated Diversity Team, expanded the financial and informational resources for students—including our Social Identity Resources section, collaborated with new partnerships, increased participation in outreach activities, and more. Since launching the Initiative, we have increased enrollment of ethnically-diverse students across all our platforms (study abroad, internships, and customized programs) by 112%; and in 2018-19, ethnically-diverse students made up 27% of the IES Abroad student body.
     
  • Take Off with IES Abroad (2017)- An initiative created out of more than fifty years of partnerships with Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) to educate and support their students in their study abroad journeys
     
  • Tu Mundo (2017)- an initiative designed to help more students from established and emerging Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) study abroad
     
  • Global Speaker Series (March 2019) - In 2019, IES Abroad launched a traveling Global Speaker Series, which brings together alumni, students, and guests for networking and conversation on global topics; a core practice of this series is bringing together a diverse (age, gender and ethnicity) featured alumni panel. Read about the inaugural event in New York City.

Resources

Academics & Scholarships

Academic Efforts at Our Centers (Ongoing)

  • Community-Based Learning: A number of IES Abroad Centers connect with NGOs and other organizations to enable student hands-on learning for credit that also supports minority and/or marginalized local communities. 
     
  • Dialogues on Difference Seminar: Cape Town, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and occasionally other Centers offer this seminar for academic credit that centers on various issues related to diversity and inclusion while focusing on the development of students' listening and dialogue skills.
     
  • Grupo Panas: IES Abroad Quito partners with this group of local university students from diverse backgrounds (indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian, LGBTQ+) that organizes activities with our students and leads discussions on current events in Ecuador.
     
  • Center Diversity Plans: All IES Abroad Centers have comprehensive diversity plans that they update periodically.
     
  • Center Speaker Series: A number of IES Abroad Centers invite speakers from NGOs and advocacy groups to discuss current topics and issues (from social unrest/protests to relations between ethnic groups), often from a cross-cultural perspective.
     
  • Center Field Trips: A number of IES Abroad Centers have reimagined field trips to move away from traditional/canonical emphases to focus on reclaimed histories and diverse minority perspectives, including those of Jewish/Sephardic, Black, and Muslim histories.

Scholarships & Aid

We are committed to fostering and supporting a diverse student body. Our diversity scholarships and grants encourage and support students from a range of institutions and underrepresented populations. In addition to need-based financial aid, IES Abroad offers a number of donor-funded scholarships for underrepresented students:

Recent Customized & Faculty-Led Programs

Customized, faculty-led, and short-term programs by their very nature can make study abroad more accessible; whether it’s a shorter program to minimize costs for students from low-income backgrounds or the level of support and comfort that comes from attending a program comprised of your home school faculty and classmates. The ability to create a program from scratch based on specific students’ needs or catering to a set of students creates opportunity. A few recent examples include:

  • Arrupe College of Loyola University - Culture & Regionalism in Spain (July 2019): At former President & CEO Dr. Mary Dwyer’s initiative, IES Abroad Customized & Faculty-Led Programs fully funded a faculty-led program in Barcelona where the participants were all first-generation college students who identified as Latinx.
     
  • Tuskegee University & University of Redlands - Storytelling in London (June 2019): IES Abroad awarded HBCU Tuskegee University in partnership with University of Redlands a $10,000 grant to host a joint London summer program centered around storytelling through photography and narrative writing.
     
  • University of Montana - Music in Vienna (May-June 2019): This program led a group of septuagenarians to Austria to explore its capital city, rich culture, and music history. The student group was comprised of several LGBTQ+-indentifying students as well as a Montana State Senator representing the 49th District in Missoula, Montana.
     
  • University of Texas at Austin - Entrepreneurship in Beijing (May-June 2012-2019): Every other spring, IES Abroad partnered with University of Texas at Austin’s Division of Diversity & Community Engagement to send approximately 50 first-generation students who primarily identify as Black to study entrepreneurship at IES Abroad's Center in Beijing.
     
  • University of Texas Rio Grande Valley - History & Culture in Tokyo (June-July 2018): The collaboration between IES Abroad's Tu Mundo, Customized and Faculty-Led Programs, and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) made it possible for several Latinx students to participate on a study abroad program exploring the history and culture of Japan. UTRGV serves the largest number of Latinx students of all Texas universities and eleven of its students from the inaugural Tu Mundo cohort embarked on this journey of powerful experiences.
Internal Growth & Development
  • IES Abroad Diversity-Led Guided Conversation: Internal, virtual all-staff discussion led by IES Abroad Assistant Vice President, Diversity Relations & Recruiting, Gretchen Cook-Anderson in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. (July 2020)

Trainings

  • Global Diversity Awareness Training (Started 2019)
    • On-site, in-person global training initiative at all IES Abroad Centers designed to educate our faculty, staff and homestay family members abroad on non-discrimination, various types of harassment, sexual assault, mental health, and to provide them with a better understanding of the unique needs and backgrounds of our diverse student body.
    • Secondary focus on the expectations of students, parents, and U.S. higher education institutions concerning the way our staff, faculty, and homestay family members treat our students and address current social issues/movements in the United States (e.g., the Me Too Movement, Black Lives Matter, Title IX, microaggressions, trigger warnings, and more). 
News & Publications

Recent Diversity-Related IES Abroad News Articles:

Publications

  • "Your Passport to Social Identity Abroad"  (2020) print and digital companion resource to Social Identity Landing Pages
     
  • "Parents Guide to Study Abroad" published and printed in English (2020), Spanish (2020), & Mandarin (2019)
     
  • Diversity & Identity sections in Parents' Guides and student Predeparture Guides (ongoing)
     
  • "Latinx Students’ Guide to Global Programs" (2019) in partnership with Diversity Abroad
     
  • "Navigating Identity & Diversity Abroad" predeparture guide (2018) distributed to all confirmed students three weeks prior to U.S. departure
  • Why You Should Study Abroad  (ongoing)- a book written in collaboration with Diversity Abroad 
     
  • "The Diversity Issue" (2018) of IES Abroad's alumni magazineThe Exchange 
     
  • Diversity Boarding Passes (2013-2020) - a series of individual boarding passes addressing the following concerns: disabilities, financially challenges, first-generation students, non-traditional majors, LGBTQ+, students of color/religious ethnicitY
     
  • Monograph Report of the Diversity Think Tank (September 2008) that includes a background concept paper on the lack of diversity among study abroad students and a summary of the discussion and recommendations of the Think Tank
Partnerships & Awards

Ongoing Partnerships

Awards

  • NAFSA Region V Conference Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in International Education Award: Hernando Sevilla-Garcia (2020)
  • WIE Lifetime Advocate for Inclusivity Award: IES Abroad President & CEO Receives Lifetime Advocacy Award from Lead5050 and the Global Leadership League (2019)
  • GoAbroad.com's Innovation Awards: Innovation in Marketing & Digital Media - Finalist for Global Citizen of the Year Awards (2017)
  • Diversity Abroad's Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion in International Education (EDIE) Award (2016)
  • GoAbroad.com's Innovation Awards: People's Choice Award - Finalist (2016)
  • GoAbroad.com's Innovation Awards: The STA Travel Start the Adventure Award - Student Finalist, Sergio Rodriguez Camarena (2016)
  • GoAbroad.com's Innovation Awards: Innovation in Diversity - Finalist for IES Abroad/The University of Texas at Austin, Cape Town: Maymester Program for Traditionally Underrepresented Students (2015)
  • GoAbroad.com's Innovation Awards: The STA Start the Adventure Award - Finalist for Gretchen Cook-Anderson, Director of Diversity Recruiting & Advising (2015)
  • Excellence in Diversifying International Education Individual Award – Diversity Abroad – Gretchen Cook-Anderson, Director of Diversity Recruiting & Advising (2014)
  • GoAbroad.com's Innovation Awards: Innovation in Access & Equity Award – Finalist for IES Abroad IDEA Bloggers (2014)
  • GoAbroad.com's Innovation Awards: Access & Equity Award – Finalist for Diversity Boarding Passes (2013)
  • GoAbroad.com's Innovation in Access & Equity Award - Finalist: Chicago Scholar's Abroad Diversity Initiative (2012)
Student Voices & Alumni Perspectives

Student Voices

Alumni Perspectives

Webinars & Virtual Events
Videos

View our Diversity at IES Abroad playlist on YouTube, or watch these highlighted videos:

Social Justice-Related Programs

Looking for social justice study abroad programs? Look no further than our handy filter for programs featuring courses, community-based learning opportunities, and trips and events related to social justice. And watch this space for additions—as our program offerings and courses update, we’ll add more programs to this list.

View Programs
Diversity Relations Team
smiling headshot of gretchen in a patterned top with long hair

Gretchen Cook-Anderson

As the Assistant Vice President, Diversity Recruiting & Advising, Gretchen oversees efforts to increase enrollment and enhance the study abroad experience of diverse students. She serves as the main point of contact for the Take Off with IES Abroad initiative, which provides dedicated tools, information, and outreach to students attending Historically Black Colleges & Universities. An award-winning marketing and PR professional, Gretchen has more than 10 years of experience in international education. Gretchen studied abroad with IES Abroad Nagoya and holds a Bachelor's degree from Spelman College and a Master's degree in International Economics from Johns Hopkins University. 

smiling photo of hernando in a suit with a red tie

Hernando Sevilla-Garcia

Hernando is the Senior Diversity Relations Manager at IES Abroad and serves as the main point of contact for the Tu Mundo initiative, which aims to support Latinx students in their study abroad journies. He holds a Bachelor's degree in History and Political Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a Master's degree in Higher Education Administration and Policy from Northwestern University. While at the University, Hernando studied abroad in five different countries: short-term, faculty-led programs in Costa Rica, Cuba, and China, as well as spending a semester each in Spain and Brazil. He was also a recipient of the Gates Millennium and QuestBridge scholarships.

student in yellow dress leaning on a colorful mural

Don't go just yet, we've got so much for more for you to explore. Check out our Student Diversity & Access section featuring resources, testimonials, and helpful partner content in the form of blogs, videos, and articles (not to mention our Intercultural Reading & Podcast lists you won't want to miss!).

Resources