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ASSESSMENT
The Williams in Africa Committee will work with the Director of
Institutional Research, the Coordinator of Experiential Education and
the Associate Dean of the Faculty to development an assessment plan for
both the pilot Policy in Action Program and the Uganda summer project
pilot.
WILLIAMS IN AFRICA OFFICE
In order to send students to South Africa, Uganda, and Senegal and
to assure their safety and a rigorous experiential and intellectual
engagement, we propose that Williams College establish a Williams in
Africa office on campus, with a part-time Director, Administrative
Assistant, and an oversight committee. Frankly, Africa can be a
particularly challenging place to work, and organizing projects there
from Williamstown can be overwhelming. If we want students and faculty
to go there more and learn about local cultures, economies and politics,
we must have a person whose job it is to talk them through the process,
and actually facilitate their on-the-ground networking and planning.
This person would advise them on safety and health issues, for example,
and on some of the common pitfalls people fall into when working with
local NGOs or CBOs. The Director would also take trips to the three
countries on a regular basis in order to help deepen and broaden our
networks, and facilitate summer projects and travel WSPs.
Moreover, we need a Williams in Africa office because it is burdensome
for faculty with full-time teaching engagements to commit themselves to
creating new projects, traveling to Africa to do the preparatory work as
well as the project itself. We need someone who has paid time to
initiate new projects, seek out faculty to work on them, and work
closely to develop new ideas that come from faculty. This person will
develop increasing experience and history and thus help provide
coherence to the program.
The director would assist faculty who have ideas for new summer projects
or WSPs to realize them, by talking to people on the ground, finding
accommodation and local NGOs or other partners, and other local
housekeeping matters. S/he would also work with the Associate Dean for
Study Away, serving as a resource for students who want to go to Africa,
connecting them to internships, and running specialized orientations
before they leave.
The administrative assistant would ensure continuity when the director
is traveling, and would keep track of finances, coordinate email lists
and website, organize meetings, and so forth.
We are also proposing that the college establish an oversight committee
for the program to ensure that the Director has people s/he can consult
with on a regular basis. This committee would be a repository of
knowledge and history on the program in the absence of the director and
would also help provide coherence to the program.
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