Center for Global Studies presents faculty, students with awards

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Center for Global Studies (CGS) recently presented $73,800 in awards to faculty members and students whose work advances research and projects in global studies. The principal mission of the center is to “cross boundaries and build bridges” by linking themes of sustainability, social justice and ethical leadership within a global context.

These awards are intended to encourage Penn State faculty, students, and affiliates to engage in cross-disciplinary teaching, outreach and research that will allow for sustained and engaged dialogues on issues of vital importance to understanding key global issues facing all regions across the world.

Faculty awards

The 2018 CGS Faculty Career Development Award

The CGS awarded individual prizes of up to $2,000 to support the professional development of early career faculty on a tenure track (having received a doctoral degree no earlier than 2010) through international research and travel. This award was presented to Kai Schafft, associate professor of education (Educational Leadership) and rural sociology, Elaine Sio-ieng Hui, assistant professor of labor and employment relations and Asian studies, and Marsha Modeste, assistant professor of education.

The 2018 CGS Graduate Career Development Award

The CGS also awarded individual prizes of up to $2,000 to support the professional development of liberal arts doctoral students. This award was presented to Elizabeth Tuttle (Department of French and Francophone Studies) and Victoria Lupascu (Comparative Literature and Asian Studies).

The 2018 CGS Fellow Award

Humanities graduate students Alexander McAllister (SIP/Dual Title in Hispanic Linguistics and Language Science), Chris Valesey (History), and Isabel Deibel (SIP/ Dual Title in Hispanic Linguistics and Language Science) received the CGS Fellow Award for working in the field of global studies, and will be able to use their award money for further research. The Global Studies Dissertation Fellows program operates in conjunction with the College of the Liberal Arts' Departmental Dissertation Release Awards.

The center grant augments the Department Dissertation Release Award by providing a $1,000 grant to support research-related activities for the semester in which the student has received a Department Dissertation Release Award. In addition, award recipients will have the title of Center for Global Studies Fellow.

Summer 2018 Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships assist graduate and undergraduate students in achieving competency in selected foreign languages and conducting research in related international and area studies. The FLAS Fellowships are authorized under Title VI of the Higher Education Act and are administered by the U.S. Department of Education.

Graduate students have received awards totaling $7,500 and undergraduate students have received awards totaling $37,500 for tuition/fees and stipend to be used for intensive foreign language study in the U.S. or abroad. Graduate awardees listed with language and major include: Katrina Ihrer, Arabic, International Affairs

Undergraduate awardees listed with language and major include: Angelika Brown, Chinese (language and major); Erin Flannery, Chinese (language and major); Megan Heffelfinger, Russian, international politics; Natasha Kisak, Russian (language and major); Aimee Pizarchik, Chinese, Asian studies

Undergraduate Thesis Awards

The CGS awarded a total of $2,000 to four who have completed commendable thesis projects that advance a global perspective. These awards are intended not only to recognize the excellent work of students who combine studies in the Liberal Arts with a concern for global issues, but also to encourage these students in continuing their contributions to the field of global studies.

This award was presented to Benjamin Black (Asian studies, international politics), Ashlyn McKee (Chinese, international relations), Shannon Reinke (Spanish and global and international studies), and Sarah Bastian (Chinese).

Commonwealth Campuses Travel Funding

The CGS supports the professional development of faculty and staff engaged in global studies at Penn State DuBois, Fayette, Hazleton, and Mont Alto. For the 2017-18 academic year, the CGS has committed over $14,800 to the following faculty: Don Liddick, associate professor of criminal justice at Penn State Fayette; Daniel H. Mansson, associate professor of communication, Arts and Science and Program coordinator for corporate communications at Penn State Hazleton; Curtis W. Hoover, director of student affairs at Penn State Mont Alto; Aris Karagiorgakis, assistant teaching professor of psychology at Penn State Fayette; Kira Hamman, lecturer in mathematics, at Penn State Mont Alto; and Dinesh Patel, assistant professor of chemistry, science department, at Penn State Hazleton.

2018 Global Studies Teaching Fellowship Award

Christine Morris, social studies faculty member at Bellefonte Area High School, was awarded the 2018 Global Studies Teaching Fellowship Award. Winning fellows must be K-12 teachers in the Centre Region and/or Penn State faculty in Commonwealth Campuses in DuBois, Fayette, Hazelton, and/or Mont Alto who have shown substantial commitment to incorporating global studies into the school or classroom.

Additional information on these awards and other CGS funding opportunities can be found at http://cgs.la.psu.edu/funding.

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