UWC-USA, in partnership with TIAA and Longview Asset Management in Santa Fe, recently launched a retirement savings plan with a particular focus on investments that mirror UWC values.
“Our mission is to make education a force to unite people, nations, and cultures for peace and a sustainable future,” said Dr. Victoria J. Mora. “It is in line with our values to create a plan that considers positive social outcomes while helping our faculty and staff prepare for a secure retirement.”
The new plan made waves in the world of education and retirement planning and was featured in a number of journals dedicated to financial planning.
UWC-USA will host its first ever TEDx event in November featuring nationally acclaimed and student speakers. Organized under the theme FORWARD, the event seeks to address problems and issues that impede forward progress. Internationally recognized journalist, David Barsamian, will speak on the media and the challenges it faces in an ever-changing world. Best known for his collaborations with Noam Chomsky, Barsamian brings over fifty years of experience and advocacy to bear on his topic. Other speakers include Kristina Yu, a professor of architecture from the University of New Mexico, who will be addressing the power of imagination and design. TEDx UWC-USA will also feature seven student speakers from highly diverse backgrounds who will share their perspectives on topics ranging from cultural appropriation to a “zero waste lifestyle.”
Sponsored by UWC-USA’s Bartos Institute for the Constructive Engagement of Conflict, this event has been organized to a very high degree by students. Franziska Balzer ’19 is excited to see the program come together and feels it reflects the UWC mission. “While UWCers typically want to get right to the action part of making the world a better place and solving problems, the speakers and topics we’ve lined up will help us move forward more deliberately and thoughtfully.”
This event is free and open to the public and will be streamed live via Facebook
When: November 17 from 1:00 – 6:00 pm (intermission from 2:50 – 3:30 pm)
Where: Kluge Auditorium on the UWC-USA campus
Andrew Nalani ’12 recently recounted his educational journey from Uganda to present day at Goalkeepers, a forum hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in connection with the UN General Assembly. Andrew spoke about how his understanding of education changed fundamentally as a result of his UWC experience. “I was invited to ask my own questions and to imagine my own answers for the first time,” Andrew said from the stage at Goalkeepers. The focus of the forum was exploring concrete ways to meet the UN’s Global Goals for Sustainable Development and Andrew was asked to speak as a leader in the field of education. Andrew is currently a Doctoral Fellow in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. His pitch to the thought leaders from around the world was pretty simple in the end: “If we can get each young person on this planet access to a transformative education, we will leave this world a much better place.” You can watch Andrew’s presentation here.
UWC-USA math teacher Ellen Thompson has co-written a book that focuses on the new International Baccalaureate math syllabus, which will be taught starting in the fall of 2019.
Oxford University Press approached Ellen about helping with the book, which is entitled “Oxford IB Diploma Programme: IB Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches, Standard Level, Print and Enhanced Online Course Book Pack.”
Ellen was joined by five IB math teachers from around the world. She began working on the book’s first two chapters in January 2018. The target release date for the book is February 2019.
Ellen, who also teaches French Ab Initio at UWC-USA, spent 21 years teaching the IB in schools in her native Canada. This is her third year at UWC-USA.
