Where We Work > Program List
Supporting Higher Education in Refugee Resettlement (SHERR)
COUNTRIES: United States
DURATION: 02/01/2023 - 01/31/2026 (projected)
FUNDER: U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
CONTACT: [email protected]
DURATION: 02/01/2023 - 01/31/2026 (projected)
FUNDER: U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
CONTACT: [email protected]
Program Description
Supporting Higher Education in Refugee Resettlement (SHERR) builds the capacity of higher education institutions across the U.S. to support refugee resettlement with the aim to improve newcomers’ experiences and outcomes upon their arrival into the United States.
SHERR identifies and strengthens “pathways of engagement” for U.S. colleges and universities to participate in refugee resettlement; develops a suite of resources, tools, and trainings to support the work of the institutions; and creates networks for institutions to share best practices.
SHERR is led by World Learning in collaboration with the Ethiopian Community Development Council, the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, and Welcome.US.
The innovative program is funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.
Since January 2022, World Learning and its higher education branch School for International Training have run a community-based refugee resettlement program in southern Vermont that has successfully welcomed more than 300 refugees from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Guatemala, and other countries.
Program Goals
Contribute to improved outcomes for refugees, in their first 90 days in the United States and beyond, by:
- Expanding and coordinating a network of higher education institutions across the United States committed to engagement in refugee resettlement.
- Identifying ‘pathways of engagement’ for higher education institutions to directly support refugee resettlement, including working in partnership with the nation’s 10 resettlement agencies.
- Designing and coordinating toolkits, curricula, briefings, webinars, virtual trainings and communities of practice to support those pathways of engagement.
- Administering small grants to support collaborative initiatives that strengthen refugee resettlement.
