Accepted Proposals

01. What if Hamilton emerged as a top supporter of international students in the U.S., by creating a cross-campus committee dedicated towards internationalization and support?

May 16, 2025

The collaboration led by: Anna Wise 

With collaborators: Omobonike Odegbami 

Headed by Dr. Omobonike Odegbami and Dr. Anna Wise, the GRRC will form a cross-campus initiative "Global Recruitment and Retention Committee" aimed at fostering a supportive, inclusive, best-in class living and learning environment for international students. This group would meet quarterly to ensure cross-campus collaboration, preparation and delivery of targeted support. Centralizing Hamilton's response to the current context for international applicants and students will allow the College to collaborate effectively and ensure Hamilton remains a leader in global education and inclusion.

The proposal was submitted for SPARK funding (under $2,000) and was ranked medium with respect to the other proposals based upon the evaluation rubric.

The committee applauds the proposers for:

• A thoughtful strategy to expand and strengthen the support of International students.

The points that the committee recommends the proposers continue to develop include:

• Bring on more collaborators for developing this idea.
• Further develop a budget that takes into consideration the on-going costs and potential gaps identified by the new committee

From the committee’s perspective, the next phase of this project should include:

• Full review of potential collaborators and expansion as appropriate,
• Consideration of future and on-going costs, and 
• Submitting a budget for the 2026-27 budget request process to request the necessary budget to meet the goals of this committee going forward. 

The committee recommends funding the next phase of this proposal for $1,636 to move this idea forward for further aspirational design and development.