Meredith College Italian Getaway for Employees Featured in Inside Higher Ed 

Meredith College’s Italian Getaway for faculty and staff was featured in Inside Higher Ed on November 28, 2022. 

The article, titled Ciao, Italia!, covered the College’s program that provides employees with a low-cost opportunity to travel to Meredith’s study abroad site in Sansepolcro, Italy for a weeklong visit.  The program started in 2017 and was last held in 2019 before a pandemic pause. Employees apply for the program and are not required to use vacation days to participate.

Director of International Programs Brooke Shurer and Professor Emerita Catherine Rodgers, who led the College’s Italy programs prior to her retirement, were interviewed for the article along with program participants. 

“This has been a really wonderful professional development opportunity for colleagues on campus to see an aspect of our international education that’s such a critical component of what we do here, so they’re able to return to campus and speak about their experiences and share that with students,” Shurer said in the article. “It also has connected employees, faculty, and staff with colleagues on campus who they may not normally interact with. There have been some really wonderful bonds and relationships formed from colleagues who traveled together.”

Director of Career Planning Dana Sumner, a 2017 participant, and Associate Director of Admissions Grace Sugg, a 2019 participant, discussed the lasting impact of their visit to Sansepolcro. 

The getaway opportunity will take place twice during the 2022-23 academic year, first in December 2022 and then in May 2023.

Mattie Hawkins, the School of Natural and Mathematical Sciences administrative assistant, and Donna Kocur, field placement coordinator in the Education program, who were chosen for the May 2023 program, were interviewed about the getaway’s benefits as an employee morale booster.

An online news outlet focused on higher education issues, Inside Higher Ed publishes each weekday and averages 2.3 million readers each month.

Read the full article 

Photo Information: 2017 Faculty/Staff Italian Getaway participants