History Department Chair Tom Taylor received a university global grant to develop a pilot service learning project in Chiapas, Mexico.  The award was made by Provost Isiaah Crawford.

“Our students will work with the Jesuits of the mission of Bachajon to help develop sustainable, social, economic, and spiritual communities with the Tseltal people of the area,” said Taylor.

The indigenous peoples of the area were involved in a series of uprisings between local groups and the federal government during the latter part of the 1990s. After 2000, the situation stabilized, but lack of housing and infrastructure remain pressing concerns. Approximately 40% of the homes do not have running water, and 30% do not have electricity.

The Jesuit mission opened in 1958 and has played an important role in education, health care, sanitation, agricultural projects, and economic development. Students will join the work of the mission in the spring quarter.

The Global Grants program supports initiatives that make an ongoing contribution to the global mission of Seattle University.

Taylor directs the Global Awareness Program, a specialization available to students of any major in any college in the university. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and joined the faculty in 1988. A prolific scholar, he received a Dean’s Research Fellowship in 2011. He is currently working on a world history text to be published later this year.

The College of Arts and Sciences, the largest college in Seattle University, offers 33 undergraduate and 7 advanced degrees.