A delegation from Carolina visited King’s College London to celebrate ongoing collaborations and discuss new opportunities for faculty engagement.
For 20 years, UNC-Chapel Hill and King’s College London have demonstrated a commitment to building and maintaining a robust partnership. The UNC College of Arts and Sciences, King’s School of Arts and Humanities and King’s School of Social Science and Public Policy first collaborated in 2005, and the strategic partnership between the two universities has since expanded to include study abroad, teaching and research across numerous schools and departments.
Earlier this month, Vice Provost for Global Affairs and Chief Global Officer Barbara Stephenson led a delegation from Chapel Hill to London. Noreen McDonald, senior associate dean for social sciences and global programs in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences; Elizabeth Olson, interim director of the UNC Institute for the Arts and Humanities; Jason Kinnear, associate dean of study abroad and exchanges; and Krista Northup, director for global partnerships, joined Stephenson to meet with key leaders at King’s to reaffirm the partnership and explore new areas for collaboration.
“The disciplinary variety makes this partnership unique and productive, and it allows us to sustain collaborations over time and constantly spark new ways to work together,” said Northup, who supports faculty looking to engage with Carolina’s strategic partners.
Much of the visit celebrated the many ways in which faculty from the two universities have collaborated over the years. Departments in the arts, humanities and social sciences — including English, classics, geography, history, music and philosophy, and some newer areas of study, like American studies, digital humanities, global studies and communication — have been critical to the health and vigor of the partnership. To date, UNC-Chapel Hill faculty in more than 30 departments have collaborated with King’s faculty on more than 100 joint seminars, workshops and research projects and more than 800 joint publications. Together, they have organized annual joint conferences involving faculty and graduate students, while regularly visiting their institutional partners to give lectures, advise graduate students and pursue collaborative research.
The delegation met with King’s faculty like Joe Fort, a senior lecturer and director of performance in the King’s music department. Fort discussed his unique, music-based collaboration with Michael Kris, a teaching professor of music at Carolina and Duke. (Photo submitted)
“It’s easy to measure the partnership with King’s in terms of new books, articles and successful grants, but the visit made it clear to me that the most beneficial aspect is in the development of our esteemed faculty and students,” McDonald said.
The delegation also emphasized the role of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) in expanding the partnership. Since fall 2020, faculty at both universities have used COIL to connect students through eight different courses, many of them in the arts and humanities.
Many of these collaborations between Carolina and King’s have been made possible by the King’s College London Collaboration Grant, administered by the Institute of the Arts and Humanities (IAH). Faculty and graduate students from participating units at UNC-Chapel Hill may apply for the grant to support projects or events that advance the King’s partnership.
“Our partnership with King’s faculty in the arts and humanities is the longest standing collaboration between the IAH and any of UNC’s global partners,” Olson said. “Meeting with faculty at King’s underscores the importance of sustaining funding for innovative scholarship that can only happen through partnership.”
Since 2008, the IAH has partnered with the dean’s office and other departments in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences to support more than 129 initiatives through the grant. The call for the next round of funding is now open to participating departments.
“Our strategic relationship with King’s has all the ingredients of a successful global partnership, with the most important being committed faculty at both institutions,” Stephenson said. “By working together on this visit, UNC Global Affairs, the College of Arts and Sciences and the Institute for the Arts and Humanities demonstrated Carolina’s commitment to this partnership. Together, we can optimize institutional support for the partnership.”
In addition to strategic meetings at King’s, the delegation attended The Global Well: London — part of UNC-Chapel Hill’s signature series of global networking events for Tar Heels living abroad. The UNC Office of University Development organized the event, which brought together more than 150 Carolina alumni, families and friends based in the United Kingdom to connect with University faculty and leadership — including Chancellor Lee H. Roberts — and strengthen ties with Carolina’s global network. Next month, Tar Heels will gather for another Global Well event in Tokyo.
Learn more about how to engage with Carolina’s global partners, including the deadline for fall 2025 Global Partnership Awards.
Courtesy of UNC Global Affairs