October 12, 2016
Fourteen projects receive Global Impact Awards to advance VCU global priorities
By: V. Renee Russell
VCU Global Education Office
Phone: (804) 828-3636
vrrussell@vcu.edu
RICHMOND, Va. (Oct. 12, 2016)−Virginia Commonwealth University’s Global Education Office has awarded fourteen grants to projects that support the university’s global priorities to improve the recruitment and retention of international students and scholars, increase the global engagement of VCU students and faculty, and expand VCU’s global footprint through research, teaching and global engagement.
Quest Global Impact Awards were announced at a reception on Sept. 30.
Joann Richardson, Ph.D., interim chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences in the College of Humanities and Sciences and former award recipient, delivered the keynote address, citing the transformative impact of global engagement on the student experience and the communities served. Richardson has led multiple study abroad programs and undergraduate research projects in Jamaica, participated in the GEO’s Faculty Development Seminar in South Africa, and will serve as a faculty fellow for VCU Globe next spring.
“Students have come back from study abroad with completely different outlooks on their career aspirations,” she said. Richardson noted two students, in particular, who were inspired to pursue a Peace Corps assignment and a Fulbright grant, respectively, as a result of participating in her program.
Richardson also noted how the communities with whom she works are affected.
“When you go into communities where access to healthcare is extremely limited, and are able to deliver services, those communities are transformed,” she said. “This past summer, we were able to directly touch over 800 people [in Jamaica] in two weeks, providing services that they otherwise would not have had. And 600 of those people were children. We’re transforming those communities.”
The projects funded through the awards take place during the 2016-17 academic year, with the exception of International Teaching Fellow assignments which took place during summer 2016.
The following grants were awarded:
Awards in Education Abroad
Jeff South, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Journalism in the Richard T. Robertson School of Media & Culture in the College of Humanities and Sciences served as a Summer International Teaching Fellow at Fudan University in China.
Vivian Dzokoto, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of African American Studies in the College of Humanities and Sciences served as a Summer International Teaching Fellow at the American College of Greece.
Amy Cook, Ph.D., assistant professor in the criminal justice program and Kimberly Urban, Ph.D., instructor in the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs served as Summer International Teaching Fellows at Sant’Anna Institute in Italy.
Thaddeus Fortney, instructor in the Department of Focused Inquiry in the University College and Catherine Viverette, student adviser in VCU Life Sciences were appointed as Generation Study Abroad Fellows.
Collaborative Degree Awards
QiQi Lu, Ph.D., associate professor the Department of Statistical Sciences and Operations Research and D’Arcy Mays, Ph.D., chair and associate professor in the Department of Statistical Sciences and Operations Research in the College of Humanities and Sciences will develop an combined bachelor’s and master’s degree in statistics and data sciences between VCU and the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China.
Yaoying Xu, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Counseling and Special Education in the School of Education will establish a formal collaboration in the areas of teacher education, student exchanges and culturally comparative studies between VCU and Jiangnan University in Wuxi, China.
Global Visiting Scholar
Kelli Williams Gary, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy in the School of Allied Health Professions will host Helga Koch Lister, professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.
Youngmi Kim, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Social Work will host Eunsu Ju, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Welfare at the University of Ulsan in South Korea.
Ananda Pandurangi, MD, professor in the Department of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine will host Dr. Mohan Agashe, professor of psychiatry at the B.J. Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital in Pune, India.
International Course Threads
Catherine Ingrassia, Ph.D., professor in the Department of English, Brooke Newman, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of History and Oliver Speck, Ph.D., associate in the School of World Studies in the College of Humanities and Sciences will develop a three-course thread cluster entitled “Enslavement, Race and Representation in the Atlantic World.”
Christine Cynn, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies, Marcus Messner,Ph.D., associate professor in the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture and Judyth Twigg, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Political Science in the College of Humanities and Sciences will develop a three-course thread cluster entitled “Exploring Global Health.”
Urban and Maureen Moslow-Benway, instructor in the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness in the L Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs will develop a thread cluster entitled “Mexico’s Health, Regional Stability, and Connections to U.S. National Security.”
Virtual Global Classroom
Yan Gao, Ph.D., instructor in the School of World Studies will enhance the Chinese language curriculum at VCU by allowing students to collaborate online with their counterparts at Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages in Taiwan.
Applications for the 2017-18 Quest Global Impact Awards will open on Oct. 30. Information sessions will be held in the University Student Commons Forum Room on the Monroe Park Campus on Wednesday, Oct. 19 from noon-1 p.m. and in the Larrick Center Church Hill Board Room on the MCV Campus on Wednesday, Nov. 2 from noon-1 p.m.
For more information, visit global.vcu.edu/qgia.
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