Submitted by Saint Martin’s University
Saint Martin’s University will welcome Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow Marcia Grant, Ph.D., renowned for her ability to create and transform international higher education institutions, for an intensive, five-day visit on the Lacey campus beginning Monday, February 1.
Grant, a veteran higher education administrator who has served colleges in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, will take part in classroom discussions, lectures, workshops and seminars, as well as meet with students and faculty throughout the week at Saint Martin’s.
She brings her special skills in diagnosing problems within existing university programs and creating appropriate solutions to help faculty and students succeed as they navigate a variety of cultures.
“During the past 20 years, I’ve been working in universities overseas and I truly enjoy visiting American liberal arts colleges to find out what they’re doing,” says Grant, who is provost of Ashesi University College, located near Accra, Ghana. “The university where I work is a new, private university and is noted for having an honor code and for promoting discussions about ethics with its students. I’ll be very interested to learn more about the Benedictine philosophy of education at Saint Martin’s and what impact it has on the students.”
A highlight of Grant’s visit will be her appearance as guest speaker at the Robert A. Harvie Social Justice Lecture, which is free and open to the public, and is scheduled to be held Wednesday, February 3, beginning at 7:30 p.m., in the University’s Norman Worthington Conference Center.
In her talk, entitled “Liberal Arts and the Global Community: Lessons from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Ghana,” Grant will discuss how liberal arts programs in developing nations expand opportunities and transform lives. The Robert A. Harvie Social Justice Lecture Series was created to raise awareness of social justice issues within the community.
Before going to Ghana, Grant spent more than six years in Pakistan, working to implement new programs using participatory pedagogy and teaching critical thinking. She was director of planning for the faculty of arts and sciences of Aga Khan University in Karachi, and then Vice Rector of Forman Christian College, where she was in charge of academic affairs. Before going to Pakistan, Grant worked to help HRH Princess Lolowah al-Faisal start Effat University for women in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows program, which is administered by the Council of Independent Colleges in Washington, D.C., brings prominent artists, diplomats, journalists, business leaders and other professionals to campuses across the United States for a week-long residential program of classes, seminars, workshops, lectures and informal discussions. For 35 years, the Visiting Fellows have been introducing students and faculty members at liberal arts colleges to a wide range of perspectives on life, society, community and achievement. Grant is Saint Martin’s University’s first Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow.
Grant’s visit is, in part, related to Saint Martin’s University’s membership with the United Nations Academic Impact. Saint Martin’s joins nearly 1,000 colleges and universities in some 120 countries that are working with the United Nations on a global initiative to promote global priorities that include peace, human rights and sustainable development.
