St. Ambrose University Awarded Refugee Resettlement Grant

In collaboration with World Relief Quad Cities, St. Ambrose University's Institute for Person-Centered Care was awarded a 12-month grant to help improve refugee resettlement efforts in the Quad Cities area.

The Supporting Higher Education in Refugee Resettlement grant is designed to support engagement in refugee resettlement on the part of higher education institutions.

Students, faculty, and staff at St. Ambrose will work directly with refugee populations in our bi-state region to map affordable housing opportunities, deliver person-centered refugee health care into existing curricula, and develop and deliver career-focused ESL language learning for St. Ambrose's Every Campus a Refuge family and other resettled families.

These efforts will provide opportunities for students to better understand and respond to the specific needs of newly arrived and resettled refugees, by engaging with and listening to the voices and leadership of the refugee community in the Quad Cities.

"The Supporting Higher Education in Refugee Resettlement grant bolsters St. Ambrose and the Institute for Person-Centered Care's mission to promote interdisciplinary collaboration through a person-centered lens; reshaping systems of care and service delivery into environments where everyone can thrive," says Ann Garton, DNP, director of the IPCC. "Because of the support of this innovative program, our students will acquire skill sets that contribute to a healthier and more just world."

St. Ambrose became the 16th chapter of Every Campus a Refuge in 2023, the first in the State of Iowa. Every Campus a Refuge is on a mission to partner every U.S. higher education institution with local refugee resettlement agencies as co-sponsors to host refugees on campus and support their resettlement.

This Supporting Higher Education in Refugee Resettlement grant builds upon this effort already underway on the St. Ambrose campus.

"This grant opportunity fits our values perfectly," says Melissa Sharer, PhD, director of the Master of Public Health program. "This social justice work is linked to those most marginalized and isolated globally - refugees."