Global Affairs is pleased to share the recipients of the 2025 Peter and Marion London Global Learning Expansion Grant Program. In its inaugural year, the grant supports faculty in developing or enhancing global learning components in their courses.

The program aims to foster a robust global learning environment at UC Davis by encouraging innovative, globally engaged teaching that aligns with the UC Davis Global Learning Outcomes. The grant provides up to $3,000 to support course development that may include online intercultural exchange, local engagement with global issues and integration of campus global diversity and cultural wealth.

Faculty become eligible to apply for this grant upon completing the Teaching for Global Learning Program, a Global Affairs professional development opportunity that equips instructors with tools and strategies to deepen global learning in their courses.

2025 Grant Recipients

Melissa Bender

Continuing Lecturer, Writing Center
Undergraduate Education

This project redesigns UWP 101: Advanced Composition to explore writing as a form of action through the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Students analyze and write about local issues using selected SDGs, connecting global challenges to their own communities.

Andre Daccache

Associate Professor, Biological and Agricultural Engineering
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and College of Engineering

This project enhances ENG 106: Engineering Economics by integrating real-world case studies and project-based learning to increase student engagement and demonstrate the practical relevance of economic reasoning in engineering decisions. The course prepares students for key licensure exams and real-world project evaluation.

Jens Pohlmann

Lecturer and Researcher, Science and Technology Studies
College of Letters and Science

This project develops STS 180: Free Speech Online and the Regulation of Internet Platforms to examine global approaches to regulating speech on social media. Students explore legal frameworks in the U.S. and Germany and analyze the complex relationships between governments, platforms and users.

Ulfat Shaikh

Professor, Pediatrics
School of Medicine

This project supports Powering up Global Health Learning through Podcasts to enhance global health education through accessible, engaging audio content. Students explore key global health topics and communication strategies by creating episodes of the podcast and radio show Mapping Healthcare to promote critical thinking and cross-cultural understanding.

Shingirai Taodzera

Assistant Professor, African American and African Studies
College of Letters and Science

This project launches the first Human Rights summer abroad program at UC Davis in Johannesburg, South Africa, linked to the recently introduced course AAS 103/HMR 137: The Black Human Rights Tradition. The program immerses students in South Africa’s human rights history and culture through a global Black Studies perspective, fostering deeper understanding and inspiring cross-cultural activism.