FRESHMAN YEAR, REFRESHED

Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts and Global Citizen Year Announce Partnership

A Global Citizen Year fellow in the field (courtesy Global Citizen Year)

NEW YORK, September 13, 2012 - In countries as diverse as Japan and The United Kingdom, taking a year off between high school and college is the norm. It is not only accepted, often mandatory, helping incoming college freshman center themselves, bring into sharper focus what they want out of their college experience, and, in many cases, give back to the world by volunteering (a common gap year activity). This fall, Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts launches an innovative partnership with Global Citizen Year, an organization that is unleashing the potential of the next generation of global leaders through a transformative "bridge year" in the developing world. Students accepted at Lang College and also in the Global Citizen Year program will earn 30 college credits - the equivalent of a full academic year - for their time spent abroad supporting local development projects.

Global Citizen Year was founded by in 2009 by Harvard Business School graduate Abigail Falik, as part of "Pitch for Change," a competition of short, 'elevator pitches' for start-up ventures that will have a significant social impact. She had a bold vision that one day, a global bridge year will be the norm, not the exception, in how young Americans transition to college. Global Citizen Year launched its pilot program in the 2009-10 academic year, and since that time it has engaged 100 diverse, high-potential Fellows from across the country. This is their first partnership with an institution of higher education.

"This program offers incoming freshmen the intellectual, civic, global, and personal growth of a gap year without sacrificing a year of their college education. It's not a 'gap year' at all, more of a freshman-year abroad that includes field work and academic work" says Lang Dean Stephanie Browner, who will personally be designing some of the curriculum for the participating Lang College Students."We think this is especially well-suited to the kind of focused and self-directed students who study at Lang College."

As a Lang/Global Citizen Year Fellow, students will participate in Global Citizen Year's intensive 10-month service learning and leadership program - for academic year 2012-2013 programs will be located in Senegal, Brazil, and Ecuador - and receive training and mentorship through individualized apprenticeships with local partners and Global Citizen Year field staff.

At the same time, students will be formally enrolled in Lang College, completing assignments crafted by faculty to augment their time abroad. When they return, the Lang/Global Citizen Year Fellows will take a course that allows them to reflect on their experience.

"This fellowship allows our students to develop tools for understanding and critiquing complex global issues and amass a wealth of experience that will prime them for success at Eugene Lang College," said Dean Browner. "Their studies will not only be grounded by a sense of purpose, perspective, and passion, but will also be enriched by the global perspective that is required for success in their professional life." In its initial phase during the 2012-2013 school year, the program will enroll three to five fellows.

"We're delighted to have the opportunity to work with The New School in this innovative partnership." says Falik. “This program will 'turbo-charge' students' college experience by developing their global fluencies and entrepreneurial skills - before they set foot on campus. Our vision is that this partnership will inspire scores of other schools to follow suit -ultimately, re-imagining higher education on a national scale."

"This program will help students turbocharge their next few years of college. We hope this partnership will be an example for other like-minded schools."

About Global Citizen Year
Global Citizen Year sees the path to college as an extraordinary - and untapped - opportunity to unleash the potential of a new generation of global leaders. To harness this opportunity, each year the organization recruits and trains a diverse corps of high-potential graduating high school seniors and supports them through an intensive 10-month “bridge year” of service learning and leadership training in merging economies, before college. Through world-class training, mentorship and individualized apprenticeships, Global Citizen Year Fellows develop the skills and perspectives that prepare them for a lifetime of global citizenship. By nurturing a dynamic network of alumni over time, Global Citizen Year is building a pipeline of new American leaders, and catalyzing a paradigm shift in the way our nation's youth prepare for success in college, careers, and 21st century challenges. To learn more about Global Citizen Year, please visit www.globalcitizenyear.org.

About The New School
The New School, a leading progressive university in New York City, was founded in 1919 as a center of intellectual and artistic freedom. Today The New School is still in the vanguard of innovation and experimentation in higher education, with more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students in design and the social sciences, the humanities, management, and the performing arts and thousands of adult learners in continuing education courses. Committed to public engagement, The New School welcomes thousands of New Yorkers yearly to its celebrated public programs and maintains a global presence through its online learning programs, research institutes, and international partnerships. Learn more at www.newschool.edu.

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