The Stanford EPIC fellowship for community college instructors

Since 2012, SPICE has been proud to collaborate with Stanford Global Studies (SGS) on Title VI-funded initiatives aimed at internationalizing community college curricula. Initially conceived as the Stanford Human Rights Education Initiative (SHREI)—which focused strictly on international human rights issues—in 2014 the initiative evolved into the Education Partnership for Internationalizing Curriculum (EPIC) with a broader focus on international topics relevant to the community college classroom.

SPICE is involved with EPIC primarily in three ways: working directly with community college instructors taking part in the EPIC fellowship program; helping organize the annual EPIC symposium on international curricula for community college instructors; and coordinating educative workshops on international topics for community college instructors.

Each year, 10 community college instructors are selected to participate in the EPIC fellowship program. As part of the program, fellows work with Stanford faculty and staff on projects aimed at internationalizing course curricula and producing innovative curriculum materials for use in the community college classroom. The current 10 fellows hail from seven different community colleges in California and Texas. They represent several different disciplines, including business, psychology, law, and English as a Second Language (ESL). 

Applications are currently being accepted for the 2019–20 EPIC fellowship program. The fellowship is open to all California community college faculty and academic staff. Beginning with a three-day summer intensive workshop at Stanford University, fellows will then meet for real-time online seminars each month during which they will explore cutting-edge research in global studies with Stanford faculty and staff and develop innovative curricular materials and extra-academic programs to implement in their classrooms and at their home campuses. The application deadline is May 5.

The fellowship culminates with the annual EPIC community college symposium at Stanford University where fellows present their projects. The symposium brings together faculty and administrators from community colleges and four-year universities committed to fostering global studies on their campuses. Registration for this year’s symposium on May 18 is currently open. The event is free and open to all community college faculty, administrators, librarians, and counselors. Registration is required by May 5.

In addition to working with EPIC fellows and helping to organize the annual EPIC Symposium, SPICE and SGS offer half-day professional development workshops at Stanford University for community college instructors who wish to internationalize their courses by incorporating recent global studies research and materials into their teaching. The workshops feature guest speakers from Stanford University and participants typically receive books and curriculum materials suitable for community college classrooms. Recent workshops have covered topics such as Russia, North Korea, immigration, and governance. Guest speakers have included leading scholars and experts such as Michael McFaul, Francis Fukuyama, William J. Perry, and Tomás Jiménez. The workshops are open to all community college faculty and staff.

For information on future EPIC workshops, please sign up to the SPICE mailing list or visit the K–14 workshops page on the Stanford Global Studies website.

Related articles:

• “From Cold War to Hot Peace: An Ambassador in Putin’s Russia,” a book talk for educators by Ambassador Michael McFaul
• 2018–19 EPIC Community College Faculty Fellows Program
• Integrating global issues into community college curricula