Rollins Faculty Expedition to the Antarctic

As part of the President’s Internationalization Initiative (PII), a group of 10 Rollins faculty, representing nine academic disciplines, traveled to Antarctica this past December, to spark their intellectual curiosities and further the College’s internationalization efforts.

The two-week Antarctic expedition was led by Associate Professor of Art Rachel Simmons. Simmons had previously traveled to the Antarctic in December 2008 as part of a McKean Grant she received from the College. The extraordinary encounters she experienced during her solo trip led Simmons think about the multitude of interdisciplinary learning opportunities she could develop with the help of her Rollins colleagues. 

As part of the interdisciplinary preparation for the trip, Simmons directed a 12-week series of academic seminars where each member of the expedition researched an Antarctic issue related to their area of scholarship or teaching. 

“The seminars touched on many diverse aspects of the 'white continent' such as a feminist critique of Ernest Shackleton’s legendary leadership, the geo-politics of the Antarctic Treaty System, the Antarctic ozone hole and climate change, and the art of the polar regions,” said Simmons.

To read more about the Antarctic expedition, click here.