The Tribune

THE College of the Bahamas has been reaching out to form links with other educational establishments around the world.

College administrators and faculty have been leading discussions and helping to facilitate groundbreaking work with Spelman College, Harvard University, Rhode Island College and Suffolk University.

A statement for the college said that one of the most promising examples of the vitality of its internationalisation agenda is the budding collaboration with Spelman College of Atlanta, Georgia, America’s oldest historically black college for women.

Recently, students who are part of the Spelman Independent Scholars (SIS) programme came to the Oakes Field Campus to present the results of their oral history research conducted in the Bahamas.

Dr Gloria Gayles, founding director of the SIS, led the contingent, which included sophomores, juniors and seniors, majoring in African American studies, biology, economics, English, math, political science, psychology, philosophy, sociology, Spanish, and women’s studies.

Director of the college’s oral and public history institute Dr Tracey Thompson, college librarian Dr Berthamae Walker and special collections librarian Kenyatta Dean received the work on COB’s behalf, noting their anticipation of the rich rewards of the promising relationship.

Dr Gayles was also optimistic about the potential for further collaboration.

“My goal is to begin a collaboration between Spelman and COB that, hopefully, will increase the number of Bahamian students at Spelman and give the Commonwealth of the Bahamas greater visibility and importance in discourse on Caribbean culture and history,” she explained.

Building a university means being measured by international standards. It also means forming relationships with peer and aspirant institutions that strengthen the academy.

The college recently signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Havana and the University of Information Science, both in Cuba, to facilitate institutional strengthening; further academic development and research opportunities; and increase faculty, staff and student exchanges.

COB administrators are also seeking to solidify a partnership with the University of Miami and its Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science to build research capacity in marine science; the sustainability of recreational bone fishing in Andros; and the viability of fish farming in Bahamian waters.

Research is the linchpin of a thriving university and one of the priorities in the growth agenda for the College of the Bahamas.

In this vein, assistant professor of sociology Dr Nicolette Bethel is leading the COB contribution to “A Sustainable Future For Exuma: Environmental Management, Design, and Planning”.

It is an ecological planning project that also involves the Government of the Bahamas, the Bahamas National Trust, and Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD).

Seven COB students completing field experience have teamed up with 16 students from the Harvard Department of Anthropology and the Graduate School of Design to conduct ethnographic field studies.

“What’s exciting about it is that we’re working together on a piece of ethnography that is put together like a mosaic,” explained Dr Bethel in her blog.

“Ethnography, the in-depth study of a single community at a single point in time, is traditionally done by a single anthropologist who goes to a different society from her own and lives there for an extended period – at least 15 months.”

She said what’s happening in this case is something a little different.

“Researchers from Harvard have been working since 2012 on different elements and the project will continue through 2015 – a five-year span that will incorporate perspectives from a wide range of researchers.

“Some are student researchers and some are working on doctorates and post-doctorates. Some are established researchers as well… It’s the mosaic approach to ethnography and now, in 2014, the voices of Bahamian students of the College of The Bahamas have been added,” she noted.

In other areas of the academy, new faculty connections are being forged to reinvigorate the student experience.

For instance, School of Communication and Creative Arts Lecturer Keisha Oliver and some of her students met recently with visiting artists and professors Lisa Brown from Suffolk University and James Montford from Rhode Island College at Hillside House Gallery.

They reviewed student portfolios and discussed creative and academic opportunities including scholarships, internships and residency programmes.

Students from other colleges and universities also regularly visit the college to broaden their perspectives.

Recently, a ladies chorale from Lee University in Tennessee, performed in concert at the Oakes Field Campus and nine students from Iowa State University spent a week at COB as part of a tourism management course, attending lectures and learning best practices in the field from Bahamian tourism professionals.