Kennesaw State Spotlights U.K. With Yearlong Program as U.S. Marks 250th Birthday

As Kennesaw State University rounds the bend toward the close of its Year of the United Kingdom, celebrations of the 250th birthday of the U.S. are just starting to ramp up. 

The full year of programming gives  students, faculty and community members a glimpse of how Georgia, founded as a British colony in the 18th century, maintains modern relationships across the pond. 

Examining that historical evolution from enmity to “Special Relationship” is just one way the “Year of…” country study program helps students wrestle with the complexities (and embrace the opportunities) of international engagement. 

“This annual program rotates through four regions of the world, so that by the time a student graduates, they’ve had the opportunity to study four different cultures — their people, the history, the present-day circumstances — and it helps us reach our mission of preparing global citizens for the world of work,” says Shae Smith, director of community engagement for KSU’s Office of Global Education. 

And with the U.K., the award-winning program that was launched more than 40 years ago, takes on even greater diversity, as it’s home to four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Faculty from across various disciplines have been involved in designing a yearlong set of programs to challenge, entreat and enrich students, mixing lectures in with film series, art workshops, book clubs, concerts, and tea times. Early in the series, the dining halls even got engaged, aiming to hook students with a taste of fish and chips, while a British car show was among the kickoff events. 

“It’s everything from the Titanic to Darwin to the 250th ‘celebration,’ if you will, of our independence from the U.K.,” Ms. Smith said, nodding to events and lectures looking back on 1776. “It’s powerful to build bridges in spite of any historical and present-day challenges, to keep those relationships moving forward.”

Those ties include Kennesaw’s deeper connection with the British Consulate General in Atlanta, whose top diplomat has been telling Georgians Brits hold no hard feelings for the ugly breakup that happened two and a half centuries back. (Things look a bit different since the first British consulate opened in Savannah in 1802.) 

“The things that kind of divided us 250 years ago — freedom, liberty —  are actually the things that we together work on around the world,” Consul General Rachel Galloway recently told Global Atlanta of the countries’ enduring alliance. “So we sell it as the greatest reconciliation in history.”

Offering Students On-ramps to Global Engagement

That the U.K. consistently ranks among the top study-abroad destinations for American students is an added benefit of focusing on the country, given how Year Of… helps “break down some mindsets or barriers students would have in thinking about going other places,” Ms. Smith said.  

“Studying abroad can be costly and it doesn’t always fit in their degree programs,” Ms. Smith said, “so, while the goal is to create global citizens and give them meaningful on-campus experiences, our true desire is that these students become more interested and more likely to actually immerse themselves in the culture by going abroad, and that is what we find to be the case.” 

Alumni are getting into the act as well, with an upcoming trip to Scotland, as the campus programming closes out with a Belfast-tinged St. Patrick’s Day celebration, a World Cup symposium and a watch party focusing on the Welsh soccer team’s quest to qualify for the tournament (Scotland and England are already in). 

Economic Focus: Building on Canada, Looking Toward Thailand

Each spring, the program turns to exploring economic engagement with the focus country, Ms. Smith said, a practice that draws in guest speakers whose lectures appeal to students across academic boundaries. 

Last year’s Year of Canada program included discussions on the business of hockey, the economic legacies of Canada’s bilingualism, and even a look at film production in the streaming era. In reviews of the program, students said they were highly engaged, even though they had little prior knowledge of the subjects.  

“It opens the door to having these conversations with students from every discipline,” Ms. Smith said, noting that their well-roundedness will make them more “hireable” in a globally integrated economy. 

Next year’s itinerary will move across the world to Thailand, the Southeast Asian kingdom that is also a manufacturing powerhouse. 

The 2027 year will return to Africa, following up on 2023’s Year of Senegal, which included a few student favorites: West African dance performances and Goats on the Green.

Kennesaw State University is also sponsoring an upcoming luncheon in Birmingham, Ala., with British Consul General Rachel Galloway to showcase the achievements of the Year of” program beyond Georgia’s borders. Learn more and sign up for that event here:

Britain to Alabama: Connecting Through Commerce and Culture