Undergraduate students in all majors and colleges are invited to a drop-in event from 1-2 p.m. Friday, April 28, in the Student Success Center, room 324 in the Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence, to learn about on-campus and study abroad opportunities with Arkansas Global Changemakers during the 2023-24 academic year. 

Arkansas Global Changemakers is a multidisciplinary initiative at the U of A aimed at improving local solutions to global challenges by connecting communities in Arkansas with partners in cities around the world. The program shows how community organizations across sectors — including social businesses, public agencies and nonprofit entities — tackle global social and environmental challenges at the community level.

Students participating in Changemakers programs learn about global issues and social business models, develop intercultural competence skills and practice social innovation techniques. The programs deal with a wide variety of issues, including food security, housing access, job skill development, juvenile justice and urban resilience. Studies include both domestic and international perspectives, and faculty and students work together to apply insights to enhance the work of partner organizations. 

At the information session, students can learn about relevant on-campus courses offered during the fall and spring semesters, as well as Changemakers study abroad programs in Europe and Asia. The program co-founders - Laurence Hare, associate professor and chair of the Department of History, and Rogelio Garcia Contreras, clinical faculty in the Department of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Venture Innovation - will also be on hand to provide information about scholarships and internship and research opportunities.  

The Changemakers initiative was founded in 2018 and has since offered a number of study abroad experiences for students across disciplines. 

As Hare explains, "Students in our program have taken part in study abroad through intersession programs in Barcelona and through summer and semester programs at the University of Arkansas Rome Center. We hope in the coming year to expand these programs into new parts of the world, and we have added some terrific opportunities for engagement on campus."

Interested students, faculty and community members can also learn more about Arkansas Global Changemakers online and through their podcast, Points of Departure, which is produced by KUAF public radio and is available on their website.