Duke Global Baton Returns for Summer 2023

Instagram project to showcase Duke faculty and staff summer experiences abroad

-By Charles Givens

June 1, 2023

The Duke Global Baton, the Office of Global Affairs’ collaborative Instagram project, is back for its ninth edition this summer. From June to August, the Instagram account is taken over by a different participant each week, showcasing faculty and staff experiences traveling abroad for their Duke-related summer programming.

“We’re particularly excited to focus on the work of our staff and faculty who work abroad to support our students’ experiences and to connect Duke with the world,” said Eve Duffy, Associate Vice Provost for Global Affairs.

Throughout the course of this project, the Baton will “travel” over 30,000 miles between the eight participants, visiting seven unique countries along the way.

A collage of three different locations across the world, featuring remote temples, busy city streets and European architecture.
A sample collage from last year’s Global Baton. Each week features a different Duke participant in a different location around the world.

The baton will kick off on June 7th with Alex Ferrone, a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Theater Studies, who will be in London, England with Duke Theatre Studies. The baton will then travel to France, where it will be passed to Christelle Gonthier, a Lecturing Fellow of Romance Studies. Traveling across continents and time zones, the Baton will head to South Korea with Amy Bowes, Associate Director of the Global Education Office. Annalisa Kristoffersen, the Director of International Academic Programming at the Sanford School of Public Policy, takes the Baton over with a stop in Switzerland.

The Baton will quickly hop over to France for a second time with Deb Reisinger, Associate Professor of the Practice of Romance Studies. Traveling across the Atlantic Ocean for the first time this summer, the Baton heads to Costa Rica, where it will be passed to Elizabeth Bucholz, Associate Professor of the Practice in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. There’s a quick stop in the United States with OGA’s own Chuck Givens before the Baton makes its final destination in Singapore with Sean Firoz Chan, Social Media Assistant Manager at the Duke-NUS Medical School.

Through the lens of these participants, the Global Baton embarks on a virtual journey, celebrating the rich tapestry of cultures that make our world so fascinating. Follow along on Instagram as the Duke Global Baton reignites our sense of wonder and appreciation for the world we share.

Participants and locations:

Alex Ferrone – England
Christelle Gonthier – France
Amy Bowes – South Korea
Annalisa Kristoffersen – Switzerland
Deb Reisinger – France
Elizabeth Bucholz – Costa Rica
Chuck Givens – United States
Sean Firoz Chan – Singapore