University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff associate professor Suzzette Shaw Goldmon, Ph.D, recently participated in the Council on Foreign Relations College and University Educators Workshop.
The national program is designed to help faculty incorporate global policy and international affairs topics into their teaching.
Goldmon, program coordinator for hospitality and tourism management in the UAPB School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences, was the only higher education faculty member selected from Arkansas to participate in the workshop. A total of 97 educators from across the U.S. attended the training.
“I felt this was an amazing privilege to represent not only my educational institution but the great state of Arkansas,” Goldmon said.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The workshop focused on providing faculty with information, classroom resources and teaching tools related to foreign policy, global economics and international cooperation. The experience will directly benefit students in the hospitality and tourism management program as well as students across the university, she said.
“I gained pertinent information for hospitality students and global education opportunities for both undergraduates and MBA hospitality students,” Goldmon said. “Additionally, the education sections provided resource links and teaching tools such as classroom simulations that are packaged and ready to use immediately in my classrooms.”
Goldmon said one of the most impactful parts of the program was an interactive policy simulation exploring international governance of outer space.
“The moment that changed how I think about global policy was when Col. Corey Trusty from the U.S. Space Force provided thorough and complex opening statements for the simulation titled ‘Who Owns Space?'” she said.
The workshop also included discussions on global security, economic trends and the ways educators can help students understand the growing connections between local communities and international systems.
Goldmon said those connections are especially important for students preparing for careers in fields such as hospitality and tourism, which operate on a global scale.
“It is important for faculty at institutions like UAPB to actively engage in conversations about foreign affairs and global policy because higher education does not exist in isolation from the world,” she said. She added that advances in technology and global markets have created a world where international developments can quickly affect communities everywhere.
“Through digital communication, global markets, international supply chains and social media platforms, our students are constantly interacting directly or indirectly with global systems,” Goldmon said. “Decisions made in one country can influence economic stability, public health, environmental policy and social movements in another.”
By participating in workshops like this one, Goldmon said faculty can better help students understand those connections.
“As educators, we are responsible not only for transmitting disciplinary knowledge but also for preparing students to navigate an increasingly interconnected global society,” she said.
“As faculty, we must understand these global dynamics in order to contextualize course content and help students make informed connections between local experiences and international realities.”
Goldmon said the training, coupled with her recently becoming a National Gilman Study Abroad Scholarship adviser, strengthens her ability to support students in their global pursuits.
Will Hehemann is an extension specialist for communications with the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences.
