Worlds of Impact

Studying abroad is a defining part of the DU experience—a chance to see the world and return with fresh perspectives. But that global curiosity doesn’t stop with students. Each year, hundreds of faculty members travel abroad to collaborate with partners, conducting research, teaching, and strengthening DU’s connections to the wider world. 

“DU is very globally engaged,” says Leasa Weimer, director of global partnerships in the Office of Internationalization. “Our study abroad program is one of the strongest in the country, and many of our faculty members are similarly eager to collaborate with colleagues around the world—and bring global perspectives back to DU.” 

From the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program to Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) courses, the Office of Internationalization connects faculty with opportunities and international partners, and supports them at every stage, helping them develop ideas, apply, and carry out projects. In addition, some colleges and schools maintain their own partnerships and programs, creating additional pathways for engagement.  

Getting a 30,000-foot view

For Rashida Banerjee, professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning Sciences in the Morgridge College of Education, going abroad to India this academic year was a full-circle experience. 

Originally from Calcutta, Banerjee began her career as a special education teacher before earning her master’s and doctoral degrees in Kansas and then coming to Colorado as an academic. “I was like a child in a toy shop when I came to the U.S., soaking it all in,” she says. “Once you’ve crossed a few thousand miles, you gain a global perspective that stays with you.”

On sabbatical in her home country, Banerjee made new connections as a scholar in residence at the India Institute of Management Indore. Her work there centered on two main areas—special education and education systems—as she delivered workshops on topics such as social-emotional learning, inclusive pedagogy, and the research process to various audiences, including those focused on business. 

That experience sharpened her interest in collaboration. “Coming back to DU, I want to focus more actively on interdisciplinary work,” she says, including partnerships with units such as the Daniels College of Business and the Graduate School of Professional Psychology. “How can we be more impactful by moving out of our discipline silos?” 

Banerjee plans to build on the connections she’s made through COIL sessions, joint research projects, and student-faculty exchanges—while acknowledging that the environment for global activity in higher education has become more challenging. “Understanding that from a 30,000-foot view helps me look at it more objectively,” she says. “Instead of complaining about it, we can become better problem solvers.” 

Same question, different country

While Banerjee returned to familiar ground abroad, Kim Bender stepped into a new cultural context when she traveled to Taipei, Taiwan, in 2023 as a Fulbright scholar. 

Bender, the Philip D. and Eleanor G. Winn Professor for Children and Youth at Risk in the Graduate School of Social Work, specializes in participatory research methods such as photovoice, in which participants—often from marginalized communities—use photography and storytelling to document their experiences and advocate for change.

In Taiwan, Bender collaborated with scholars to explore how youth participation is understood in a more collectivist culture and delivered workshops on photovoice to researchers and practitioners across disciplines. 

During her six-month stay, Bender also partnered with a community-based organization to conduct research with youth in an after-school program. Eager to keep the collaboration going, she applied for a COIL grant when she returned, enabling her to co-teach a research course last fall with a Taiwanese colleague. 

They explored social issues that vary across cultural contexts, including wellness, substance use, and aging. “It was a beautiful way to learn through teaching—which is part of our teacher-scholar model,” says Bender. 

The experience continues to shape her work. “Learning about completely different ways of thinking about our responsibilities to one another and about social change has been incredibly refreshing,” she reflects. “It felt like expanding what’s possible.” 

Learning by living it

Expanding possibilities was also central to Keith Miller’s time in Italy last fall. A chemistry professor in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Miller has also held a range of student-facing leadership roles at DU, including director of the Honors Program and faculty athletic representative to the NCAA. 

When the opportunity came to serve as a visiting scientist at a national laboratory in Pisa and to teach a chemistry lab at the Instituto Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence, Miller focused not only on advancing his own research but also on building connections for DU and better understanding the student experience abroad.

Outside the lab, he immersed himself in Italian culture, taking a class in art restoration, visiting wineries and a cave where fontina cheese is aged, and traveling to Murano to see its famed glassmaking tradition. “I approached everything as a scientist, observing and taking it all in,” he says. 

Experiencing Italy as a learner himself has influenced how he approaches teaching and mentoring back at DU. “It was pretty powerful to be able to reflect on what students go through,” he says. “Now, when I’m designing a course or a research project, I’m thinking more about their experience. What do they need? How do I support them through the milestones of their learning?” 

Miller plans to continue collaborating with the national lab, where he worked on analyzing proteins in pollen. “It’s amazing to learn how scholars in different places view your work and your discipline,” he adds. “A global perspective is deeply meaningful to what we do at DU.”