NYU’s recently announced study away location in Tulsa, Oklahoma will be open to students during the coming spring break for a service program, with two internship programs planned for the summer. In a written statement to WSN, university spokesperson John Beckman said this is “just the start.”
The Tulsa program will be part of NYU’s Alternative Breaks program — which allows students to spend their winter or spring breaks doing community service across the world. The location will be open to students this spring break, in which students will take part in service-based learning with Gathering Place, a public park that focuses on serving low-income families through enrichment programs. At the park, students will implement community outreach and placemaking projects that will help the park’s visitors have a better understanding of Tulsa’s ethnic and cultural history.
Starting this summer, students will also have the chance to partake in paid internships with the George Kaiser Family Foundation, a Tulsa-based multibillion-dollar organization focused on fighting generational poverty, and the investment firm Atento Capital, which has sponsored programs at NYU in the past. The firm recently became an important sponsor of a hospitality innovation hub in NYU’s School of Professional Studies.
“Going forward, there will certainly be other programming and opportunities of interest to both students and faculty, covering a range of subjects,” John Beckman wrote to WSN. “This is a long-range, exciting opportunity for NYU, we feel very positive about Tulsa.”
NYU president Linda Mills first announced the new Tulsa program and partnership with the George Kaiser Family Foundation during an alumni weekend-themed conversation in October. Mills said the study away program would focus on Indigenous studies, arts and engineering, as well as emphasize community-based learning, civic engagement and inclusive economic development.
A university spokesperson did not respond to multiple requests for comment regarding the specific structure and future of the program.
Contact Dharma Niles at [email protected].
