SPAN - Student Project for Amity among Nations

04/17/2026

Hello SPANners. We are delighted to let you know that the SPAN legacy continues on under a new name - URSA. The program is now being run by faculty at the University of Minnesota Duluth. We have retooled some of the elements to meet administrative concerns, but the DNA of SPAN runs throughout URSA. It's the same rigor, independence, and intense cultural immersion that SPAN has stood for all these years. We hope you'll continue to follow and support the students who sign up to do this incredible experience that is SPAN/URSA. You can find us over at URSA now. Check out the recent student experiences. See you over there.

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UMD's URSA program is a unique opportunity for bright undergrad students to do research abroad.

04/23/2024

A great post-retirement gig! I have been doing it for 13 years and now it’s time to really retire. Help young students have a life-changing experience!

04/23/2024

Hello SPANners and supporters! 🙂🛩📚

The SPAN Association is actively pursuing board members, volunteers, and donations.

As several of our long-time members are aiming to retire, (which they very well deserve) there are areas of need that we hope passionate volunteers will step into.

Whether your skills are in finance management, event planning, alumni relations, database management, communications and marketing, grant making/fundraising, or another area, your involvement would be greatly welcomed and highly valuable. As we continue to grow and evolve as an organization, the invaluable insights and experiences of our alumni remain at the heart of our mission.

Thank you for considering this opportunity to help our beloved program and to keep the SPAN spirit alive. ❤️ We look forward to potentially having you join us in this important and fulfilling work. Reach out to us via message on this platform, or email [email protected] for more details. 🙂

“It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness” 🕯 - SPAN Executive Board

12/16/2023

Warm wishes for a blessed holiday from SPAN

10/31/2023

Here's an opportunity to meet returning SPANners and learn more about this amazing program. Participants in this program do their own independent research on a topic of their choice. And become global citizens with a deep appreciation for the world in which we live.

10/31/2023

Billl Taufic, who went to Liberia in 1975 with SPAN, met two even earlier SPANners at the Minnesota State Capitol recently. They are Evelyn Hovda Anderson, Morocco 1962, and Charlaine Tolkien, Uganda 1967. Bill's fantastic photo exhibit (now on its way back to Austin) shows how his hometown of Austin, MN, has welcomed immigrants from all over the world. The photos are featured in the book. "Our Austin, Our America" published by Riverdale Community College, and were exhibited in the Capitol Art Gallery for several months.

08/08/2023

Nice shoutout to Niki Stavrou, a former SPANner to Greece, who owns Victor's 1959 Cuban restaurant in Minneapolis. Her dad, Dr. Theo Stavrou, was SPAN's executive director for many years. The story mentions the booths with graffiti. One booth is dedicated to SPAN. Great little neighborhood restaurant!

There were fancy nuggets and pastries, a new discovery, pickle power and a breakfast with staying power.

07/26/2023

The London 2023 SPANners are completing their research and heading back to Minnesota soon. It has been an unforgettable experience with memories to last a lifetime!

07/26/2023

"I owe much of my good fortune to the opportunity afforded me by SPAN." said William Taufic, Liberia 1975, in a recent email.
"Hello fellow SPANers,
In 1975, as a student at St. Olaf College, I participated in a SPAN project in Liberia, West Africa where I made many of the best photos of my career. These photos led to a story in the Minneapolis Tribune Picture Magazine about SPAN. The photos also led to my getting a job right our of college in New York City working for a top advertising photographer, which led to my proudly successful photography career of over 40 years.

I returned to my hometown of Austin, MN in 2018 to begin a photography project about the new immigrant situation there where the town, most unusually, has welcomed people from over 40 countries with open arms. The project is called “Our Austin, Our America”. In 2022 we published a book, which can be purchased at the Minnesota Historical Society. Thank you SPAN."

William's photography for the Austin project is currently on exhibit in the Minnesota State Capitol Art Gallery on the 3rd floor. The show willl remains through the middle of October. He invites fellow SPANners to see the stories of "many of our fellow humans who are starting a new life in my hometown of Austin, Minnesota."

06/03/2023

The 2023 SPANners are heading to London in a few days. They are eager to begin their research! At a recent "High Tea" event, they met alums from the 2022 group and members of the Board. They each presented their proposed research and, most importantly, were given their scholarships. Board members shared their insights and the history of SPAN. The Hamline faculty is extremely enthusiastic about continuing the legacy of Minnesota's oldest study abroad program.

10/20/2022

Learn more TODAY about Minnesota's longest-running travel and research abroad program now based at Hamline University