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CAORC-WARC FACULTY DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR

West Africa and The Americas: Continuities and Transformations

Senegal

Seminar Overview

 

To support U.S. colleges and universities, CAORC offers fully-funded overseas seminars that help faculty and administrators gain the requisite first-hand experience needed to enhance courses, curricula, and teaching materials.
 

This seminar, administered by CAORC in collaboration with the West African Research Association and its member center in Senegal, the West Africa Research Center, funds participation in a two-week workshop in Dakar that will also include visits to Gorée Island, Toubacouta, and Saint-Louis, among other locations. This seminar will feature lectures, site visits, panel discussions, and film screenings on the history, culture, arts, economy, and political life of Senegal. ​Round-trip travel, accommodations, in-country transportation, and selected meals will be provided for the seminar.

Note: This program is contingent upon funding

Program Dates: January 3 - 23, 2026

Meet the Senegal Seminar Team

Mbye Cham Headshot - WARA.jpg

Mbye Cham
Professor, Howard University 

Cinder Cooper - WARA Headshot.jpg

Cinder Cooper Barnes

Professor, Montgomery College

Program Expectations

 

As an outcome of the Overseas Faculty Development Seminar program, participants are required to develop and implement a project on their campus. Details and examples of these projects will be shared with awardees during pre-departure orientation. Projects should be implemented within one year of the conclusion of the program, at which time participants will be asked to share curriculum and/or documentation and submit a project report. To learn more about the projects and see examples, sign up for one of our OFDS webinars. 

Eligibility

 

The program is open to full-time or part-time faculty and administrators at U.S. colleges and universities. The program is open to faculty in all fields, at all academic ranks, and from any academic or administrative department.  

Applicants must be U.S. citizens at the time of application and must hold a valid, current U.S. passport that does not expire within six months of the last date of the program.

 

Previous Overseas Faculty Development Seminar awardees are requested to observe a one-year waiting period before applying for another program. For example, a January 2025 participant would next be eligible to apply in January 2026, and participate in Summer 2026. 

Application Process

Applications can be accessed via CAORC's SM Apply application portal. You must sign up for an account to access the seminar application. This will allow you to save and return to your application before submitting. Please save your login/password information for future applications.​

The application consists of four questions to be answered in essays of 500 words or less. In addition, applicants are required to:

  • Upload a current cv/resume (maximum of 2 pages)

  • Request a letter of support from a department chair, academic division head, or academic dean at your college or institution. You will be able to send a link to your recommender via the online grant portal, SM Apply, by entering their contact details, which will trigger the system into sending an automated email. Your recommender will then be able to upload their letter. Recommendation letters will be confidential in the system.

​In their letter, the recommender should address the following questions/points:

  1.  Please tell us why you support the applicant’s participation in the CAORC faculty development seminar. From your perspective, how will they benefit professionally from the program?

  2. Please describe the applicant’s engagement with your institution’s internationalization efforts and how their participation in the seminar might benefit students, colleagues, and the broader campus community.

  3. Please discuss the applicant’s collegiality, teamwork, and professionalism. How have they demonstrated the ability to cooperate, work, and share with others to achieve goals and positive outcomes?

  • It is advisable to enter your recommender's contact details into the recommendation letter section of the application as soon as possible (and click 'mark as complete') so that they have sufficient time to complete and upload their letter. The applicant is responsible for checking in with their recommender to ensure the letter is submitted by the recommender deadline. CAORC is not able to reach out to recommenders on behalf of the applicant. 

 

​Opening date for applications: May 9th, 2025

Application deadline: September 2, 2025 at 5:00pm ET

Recommendation letter deadline: September 5, 2025 at 5:00pm ET

Notification of award decisions: October 3, 2025

If you have questions, please email: fellowships@caorc.org or sign up for an informational session here.

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