University establishes Presidential Global Engagement Fund

The Presidential Global Engagement Fund, established by the Office of the President, the Office of Global Affairs and International Studies, and the Division of Research, aims to increase OHIO’s global engagement to advance academic excellence and innovation in regions of the world and with selected partners of strategic interest to Ohio University.

This includes international disciplinary and interdisciplinary activities that promote research and creative activity, education, experiential learning and/or recruitment and alumni initiatives.

As part of OHIO’s Global Strategy, the PGE Fund is intentionally and directly linked to leveraging past, current and future investments in OHIO’s globalization efforts, including the most recent university-wide capacity building Global Connections Program and Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Initiative.

The PGE Fund will provide up to $200,000 per year of seed funding for three years to support competitively reviewed and approved projects (requests ranging from $5,000 to $20,000).

Funding is for a maximum of 18 months and the fund allocation will be structured in four categories to promote a diversity of activities, partners, and regions of the world for the global engagement. The categories include:
 

1. International Research & Creative Activity
2. International Institutional Partners
3. Selected Regions and Countries of the World
4. Excellence and Innovation

The definition of the institutional partners and the selected countries are listed on the PGE Fund website (https://www.ohio.edu/global/resources/PGEFund.cfm).

“This new fund aligns well with our Fearlessly First Strategic Initiative to Amplify Research, Scholarly Production, and Creative Activity,” President M. Duane Nellis said. “As part of this initiative, we are striving to expand global partnerships, research opportunities and academic excellence. I am looking forward to seeing the proposals that we will be able to support with the Presidential Global Engagement Fund.”

The call for applications will be announced in October with an application open date on Nov. 1, 2019. The full proposals will be due Jan. 31, 2020, and the recipients of the fund will be announced in March 2020.

The investment profile of the PGE Fund will align with university priorities proposed by University International Council (UIC) and approved by the President, in consultation with the Office of Global Affairs and International Studies as well as the Division of Research. The PGE Fund will be led through a subcommittee of the UIC Global Relations and Profile Committee, and administered through the Office of Global Affairs. 

The PGE Fund Review Committee will be co-chaired by Christopher Coski, Professor and Chair of Modern Languages, and a faculty representative of UIC, and Joseph Shields, Vice President for Research & Creative Activity and Dean of the Graduate College.

For any questions or comments, please contact the Office of Global Affairs at globalaffairs@ohio.edu.