May 2025 Global Engagement Insider
Global Engagement Insider Newsletter - May 2025
Funding, opportunities, announcements and resources for UC Davis globally engaged faculty and staff
Global Funding and Engagement
UC Davis Opportunities
Thinking Food: Imagining and Enacting Just Food Futures
The two-day concluding colloquium for the Thinking Food at Intersections Sawyer Seminar critically engages justice-centered visions for the future of food through community engagement, scholarship, art, activism and the senses. Register to attend.
Deadline: May 30, 2025
Sponsors: Manetti Shrem Museum, Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life and the Darrell Corti Endowed Professor in Food, Wine and Culture.
University of California Opportunities
Apply for the UCEAP Academic Integration Grant Program
Adding study abroad to the college experience prepares undergraduate students to thrive in increasingly global workplaces. A $3,000 Academic Integration grant funds efforts by faculty and staff to better integrate study abroad into curricula and remove academic barriers to international education for undergraduate students. View call for proposals and grant application form. Contact Tiffany Macias-Silva (tamacias@ucdavis.edu) for more information.
Deadline: May 23, 2025
Sponsor: University of California Education Abroad Program
External Opportunities
Rapid Response Bridge Funding Program for NSF Grant Terminations
The Spencer Foundation’s Rapid Response Bridge Funding Program offers $25,000 grants to scholars impacted by recently terminated NSF education-related grants. Targeting STEM and education research, the program supports short-term project needs.
Deadline: May 30, 2025 and June 15, 2025
Sponsor: Spencer Foundation
Funding Fest 2025 Workshops
The 2025 Funding Fest, hosted by the Torrey Pines Training Consortium, offers online workshops for postdoctoral researchers focused on identifying funding opportunities, writing grants and applying for awards. Events in May and June include expert-led sessions, a fellowship panel and a non-federal funding fair.
Deadline: June 30, 2025
Sponsor: Torrey Pines Training Consortium
Academics Without Borders USA
Academics Without Borders (AWB) supports faculty-driven projects that strengthen higher education institutions in low- and middle-income countries, fostering sustainable development through capacity-building initiatives. AWB provides funding and logistical support for projects that enhance teaching, research and institutional governance, creating meaningful global impact. UC Davis faculty are encouraged to explore funding opportunities to collaborate with international partners and advance education worldwide.
Deadline: Ongoing
Sponsor: Academics Without Borders USA
Global Spotlights
Engineering Change: Bridging Continents through Leadership Training and Civil Transportation Reform
Meet Roy Akumu, an M.S. student in Civil Engineering at UC Davis and a 2023–24 Mandela Washington Fellow. From transportation work in Somalia and Uganda to researching sustainable transit at UC Davis, Roy exemplifies the global spirit of the Young African Leaders Initiative and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Fulbright
Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Virtual Information Session for UC Davis
June 10, 2025, 12-1 p.m., Zoom
Join Global Affairs to learn about Fulbright opportunities and hear this year’s updates and priorities to inform and strengthen your submission. IIE program staff will discuss the process and answer questions. Register to attend.
Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program
The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers over 400 awards in more than 135 countries for U.S. citizens to teach, conduct research and carry out professional projects around the world. The 2026-27 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Competition is now open.
Deadline: September 15, 2025
Fulbright Programs in Türkiye
Explore Fulbright opportunities in Türkiye for U.S. faculty to teach, research or study across a range of disciplines. Türkiye is actively seeking applicants for 2025.
Deadline: September 15, 2025
Global Events and Programs
Connecting Sustainable Development Goals to Disaster Resiliency
May 22, 2025, 9-10 a.m., Zoom
How do we prepare for disasters, and respond, recover and rebuild? Why is disaster resilience important for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals? Join the UC Davis SDG Interns for a virtual event to discuss disaster resiliency and supporting communities, including through governmental and university initiatives.
Co-Sponsored Events
At the Crossroads: Honoring Global Impacts Amidst Funding Challenges
May 19, 2025, 3-6 p.m., International Center Multi-purpose Room
Join us to celebrate globally impactful research, reflect on achievements despite USAID’s closure and explore future pathways amid funding challenges. Hear from researchers and engage in critical dialogue on sustaining UC Davis’s international contributions. Register to attend.
A Bowerhaus for a Post-Anthropocene World
June 6, 2025, 8-9:30 p.m., UC Davis Arboretum
Experience "A Bowerhaus for a Post-Anthropocene World," a moving performance of music, art and nature that explores habitat protection and sustainability and features student artists, faculty, and guest musicians. This event begins at the T. Elliot Weier Redwood Grove—come ready to walk! This innovative production was made possible through a Grant for Advancing Sustainable Development Goals.
UC Davis Events
Remember & Reflect: Join the 2nd Annual Remembrance Ceremony
May 19, 2025, 12-12:30 p.m., UC Davis Conference Center
Join us as we honor and remember community members who have passed over the last year. Following the ceremony, participate in a meaningful ribbon activity and take a self-guided journey along the Davis Reflection Route to continue remembering in a personal and reflective setting. Register to attend.
Announcements
Federal Government Updates for International Students and Scholars
Services for International Students and Scholars is publishing relevant federal updates for international students and scholars at UC Davis. Find the latest news here.
New Executive Order Impacting Gender X Passports (February 27, 2025 update)
On January 20, the President issued an executive order, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth, to the Federal Government, specifically addressing Gender X passports. As of today, the PDF passport application form has not changed, and X is still shown as an option. We recommend that future travelers applying for a passport now select M or F as the U.S. Department of State removed reference to X on their website travel.state.gov. Additionally, current passport documents no longer allow the selection of Gender X.
REAL ID Act Enforcement Starts May 7, 2025
All U.S. travelers should be aware that the REAL ID Act is being enforced starting May 7, 2025. Travelers 18 and over will need a REAL ID-compliant license or another acceptable ID (Passport, etc.) to board commercial domestic flights and access federal facilities.
Merit and Promotion Guidance for Globally Engaged Scholars
In August 2023, the Academic Affairs “Annual Call” introduced an optional Statement of Contributions to Public and Global Impact that faculty can now include in their merit and promotion dossiers. The statement encourages candidates to “tell the story” of their public and/or global engagement in ways that reveal its full breadth and impact to the colleagues who will evaluate their accomplishments, especially when that impact may not be evident in MIV and the Candidate’s Statement alone.
International Visitors and Agreements
Recent International Delegation Meetings (April 2025)
- Inter-African Coffee Organization | Cote D’Ivoire
- Institute of Science Tokyo | Japan
- SDU | Kazakhstan
- Universidad Autónoma de Baja California | Mexico
- University of Waikato | New Zealand
Recent International Agreements Signed (April 2025)
- CV Raman Global University | India
- Autonomous University of Baja California | Mexico
- Central Philippine University | Philippines
Learn more about hosting visitors from around the world, or the international agreement process on the Global Affairs website.