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Core Commitment

Global Teaching and Research

In today’s global society, the translation of effective interventions and approaches transcends disciplines and geographies. There are many valuable opportunities to improve lives with bidirectional learning between St. Louis and other communities, the nation and the world.
In the past decade, the Brown School has expanded our depth of global teaching, scholarship, and student and faculty representation, and we are uniquely positioned to help foster new solutions for communities around the world with scarce resources. Students across our three programs are eager to further their international experience and apply that competency across contexts.

Progress Reports

Progress Report 2022

Focused on expanding the Brown School’s global visibility and communications, the global teaching and research committee launched a new website showcasing the rich and diverse global research, practices, and engagement opportunities offered by the Brown School. The global newsletter has also undergone a redesign with the goal of boosting audience engagement and the creation of a LinkedIn global Brown site aims to engage students and alumni.

Turning inward, the team is reviewing its MSW, MPH, and MSP program syllabi with a focus on the current global content. Discussions are underway to build global content and consciousness into existing courses. Faculty, staff, and students are engaged in this analysis. Additionally, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic curbing global travel and programming, efforts are being made to explore different models of university partnership and global engagement. This has already resulted in the global office supporting new partnerships with Brazil and Mexico.

Goals and Objectives

Goal 1: Ensure that the Brown School Community (including students, staff, and faculty) is globally conscious.

Objectives: 

  1. Create a global competency in the MSW, MPH, and MSP programs to ensure that selected global content areas are adequately covered in the curricula.
  2. Create a variety of faculty and staff development programs/activities to ensure that all faculty and staff are globally conscious/aware.
  3. Further strengthen global learning opportunities, research, and dissemination efforts via practicum, field-based courses, research assistantships, increased subscription to globally focused peer-reviewed journals, collaborations, and partnerships with other units of Washington University pursuing global work.
Goal 2: Develop and implement a model of global scholarship, services, and research for Brown School, built around high-impact priorities where faculty, staff, students, and scholars can collaborate to achieve impact.

Objectives: 

  1. Connect Brown School Community to other Washington University units and departments that focus on global work in order to pursue shared interests and global partnerships.
  2. Incentivize global research through pilot funding, postdoc education funded pipelines, and fully funded global research office.
  3. Establish a school-wide global journal to showcase innovations in global work across Washington University and the entire global community.
Goal 3: Prepare Brown School students to be leading professionals in global social work and social welfare, global health, and social policy.

Objectives: 

  1. Establish a master’s degree program in global health and development or sustainable development.
  2. Attract and recruit top students who focus on global social work, public health, and social policy.
  3. Maintain an active engagement with alumni worldwide and create opportunities for them to contribute to online teaching, research, and student recruitment.
Goal 4: Enhance integration of community-engaged research, practice, advocacy, and technology to address global disparities.

Objectives:

  1. Expand current options for flexibility in teaching schedules and formats, including online courses to enable global research and teaching by faculty and students.
  2. Leverage and strengthen the existing visiting scholars program to contribute needed expertise, provide innovative curricular content, and foster research collaborations.
  3. Establish mechanisms and necessary supports for strengthening existing partnerships and building new partnerships with universities and other organizations worldwide.
  4. Take a leadership role in advocating for global equity and addressing disparities.
Goal 5: Establish the necessary infrastructure and financial supports to enhance global impact, partnerships, research, and curricula.

Objectives:

  1. Identify and implement a key global branding message for Brown School.
  2. Prioritize accessibility, inclusiveness, and reliability of Brown School’s technology infrastructure.
  3. Identify ways to further strengthen the global research infrastructure at the Brown School and Washington University to facilitate smooth implementation of global research projects.
  4. Strengthen the financial health of Brown School’s global programs.
Jessica Levy

“Our world’s largest social and health problems are rooted in issues that cross geographic borders. We need to cultivate solutions that reflect this increasingly interconnected world and find new and better ways to work together as a global community.”

–JESSICA LEVY, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PRACTICE
Driving Equity 2030

Brown School Releases Progress Updates on its Strategic Plan

Driving Equity 2030, the Brown School’s 10-year strategic plan, is only a little more than a year old, but it’s already making early progress, according to updates from the plan’s leaders. The progress report takes stock of early achievements in the plan’s four core commitments and four strategic priorities.

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