Savannah State University (SSU) has received a $91,236 grant award from the U.S. Department of Education for the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad program under the direction of Emmanuel Naniuzeyi, Ph.D., director of the International Education Center and professor of political science at SSU. Leading the program with Naniuzeyi is M. Ann Levett, Ed.D., chief academic officer of the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS).

This grant will support overseas projects in training, research and curriculum development in modern foreign languages and area studies for teachers and faculty engaged in a common endeavor.  “This grant will directly benefit the faculty of SSU and teachers in the SCCPSS,” Naniuzeyi says. SCCPSS and SSU have a large number of African American students who need to know more about the connection between Savannah and West Africa.” The project targets professors and teachers who can expose students to this knowledge. 

The Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad program to be pursued at SSU will underscore the historically significant relationship that exists between Savannah and the West Coast of Africa with emphasis on Ghana exposing participants to the Twi language.

In spring of 2016, a group of 13 educators from SSU and SCCPSS will travel to Ghana for four weeks to do research, conduct workshops and attend lectures on Ghana’s history and culture, including lectures, workshops, visits to historic, meetings with kings and an introduction to Twi. Upon their return, the information and materials collected in Ghana will contribute to curriculum development at both SSU and the public school system in order to enhance students’ knowledge in social studies.