Social Justice and International Education: A Call to Action

Join Dr. LaNitra M. Berger for a talk and interactive discussion about the intersections of social justice and international education and where we can take action during this pivotal cultural moment. How can we make access to and inclusion in international education equitable for all students? What are ways in which intercultural learning can happen in our own communities, especially during a pandemic which limits international mobility? The first part of the event will feature a lecture by Dr. Berger, followed by a facilitated discussion. All Loyola community members (undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, and alumni) are welcomed to participate in this important and timely conversation. 

Dr. LaNitra M. Berger is the senior director of the Office of Fellowships in the Office of Undergraduate Education at George Mason University. In this role, she leads one of only a few fellowships offices in the nation with a social justice focus. Throughout her career, she has worked toward helping underrepresented students gain access to transformational educational opportunities. Since joining Mason in 2010, Dr. Berger has helped secure more than 50 prestigious national scholarships and fellowships such as the Boren, Fulbright, Truman, and Critical Language Scholarship, many of whom are first-generation, low-income, or minority students. She has received the Spirit of King Award and the Margaret C. Howell Award for her work at Mason to diversify education abroad. Dr. Berger serves on several education abroad advisory boards, including NAFSA: Association of International Educators, where she is currently the Vice President of Public Policy and Practice, the AIFS Academic Advisory Board, and Globalize DC. She previously served as director of leadership and international programs at the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), where she organized three national dialogues on diversity in international education, bringing together historically black college presidents, federal agencies, and nonprofit leaders together to improve access to study abroad. Dr. Berger received her MA and PhD in art history from Duke University and a bachelor’s degree in art history and international relations from Stanford University. She has studied abroad in Paris, was an exchange student at the Free University in Berlin, and conducted field research in Cape Town. She is the author of two books, Exploring Education Abroad: A Guide for Racial and Ethnic Minority Participants (NAFSA, 2016) and and the monograph, Irma Stern and the Racial Paradox of South African Modern Art: Audacities of Color (Bloomsbury, November 2020). She is also the editor of Social Justice and International Education: Research, Practice, and Perspectives (NAFSA, 2020).