Eight UW–Madison Graduate Students Receive Scott Kloeck-Jenson Travel Award

Global Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has awarded the Scott Kloeck Jenson Award to eight outstanding graduate students whose work will deepen international understanding and global social justice concerns.

The grants given to the eight students are in memory of Scott Kloeck-Jenson and his family. Scott was completing doctoral work on rural poverty in Mozambique province of Zambezia with his family on a Fulbright scholarship. There, he was also the field director for the Land Tenure Center’s Mozambique project. He was due to return to the United States in January 2000 to complete his dissertation with UW–Madison but, tragically, on June 23, 1999, Scott, his wife, Barbara, and their two children, Zoe and Noah, were killed in a car accident in South Africa.

Upon his death in 1999, his remaining fellowship funds and contributions from Scott’s family and friends were pooled to support UW–Madison graduate students. That same year, Global Studies named its annual Summer Travel Grants Program in memory of Scott and has since diligently worked to raise appropriate funds for graduate students competing for the Scott Kloeck-Jenson Award.

To date, 65 UW–Madison students have received the Scott Kloeck-Jenson award.

The following graduate students will conduct their studies in the memory of Scott and his family with their work on social justice issues around the world this summer: Catherine Sikubwabo Honeyman (Educational Policy Studies), Erika Robb (Anthropology), Huai-Hsuan Chen, (Cultural Anthropology), Joseph Harris (Sociology), Karin Butterworth (Cultural Anthropology), Kristen Molyneaux (Educational Policy Studies), Özlem Altiok, Sociology and Rural sociology), and Sarbani Chakraborty (Curriculum and Instruction).

For more information on the Scott Kloeck-Jenson Fellowships please visit global.wisc.edu/skj/

Contact: Steve Smith, Global Studies, University of Wisconsin–Madison, (608) 262-0646, sksmith@wisc.edu

WAGE announces individual research award winners

The UW-Madison Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE) is pleased to announce the winners of our 2008 Individual Research Award competition. WAGE will provide $10,000 to support each of three research projects that explore the consequences of and challenges posed by economic globalization and its governance. Four faculty, Allison Christians (Law), Zhongdang Pan (Communication Arts), Yongming Zhou (Anthropology), and Jason Yackee (Law) will pursue important research respectively on tax norms and global governance, Chinese intellectual property rights, and the impact of international investment law on foreign direct investment.

Please join us in congratulating these faculty!

Allison Christians, Assistant Professor of Law
“Tax Norms and Global Governance: A Study of The Emergence and Influence of Transnational Epistemic Communities.”
Although traditional conceptions view taxation as an inherently nationalistic subject, much tax policy today is the product of transnational collaboration, especially within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).  This research project identifies and analyzes the OECD’s network of tax experts as a pivotal epistemic community, which, despite its nonlegal status, defines issues for national decision-makers, frames legal norms to respond to these identified issues and, ultimately, shapes the focus and content of national law.

Zhongdang Pan, Professor of Communciation Arts
Yongming Zhou, Associate Professor of Anthropology
“Counterfeiting Order: Intellectual Property Rights and Luxury Brand Piracy on a Global Stage”
This project aims to move beyond the existing knowledge of the Chinese intellectual property rights (IPR) regime and to obtain a deeper understanding of its multidimensionality by examining 1) the spatial distribution of IPR infringements, including the making, distribution, and consumption of counterfeits on a global stage; 2) the historical, cultural, and socio-economic factors behind the counterfeiting; and 3) the dynamic power relationships among multiple players (transnational, national and individual) that have played major roles in shaping the IPR today.

Jason Yackee, Assistant Professor of Law
“International Investment Law and the Foreign Investment Decision-Making Process: the View from the General Counsel’s Office”
This project examines how multinational corporations use international investment law to reduce the political risks of investing abroad.  Professor Yackee will survey a large sample of attorneys working in the general counsels’ offices of U.S.-based corporations with overseas operations.  The survey will provide one of the first examinations of how the knowledge and advice of in-house legal counsel about international investment law helps to shape the investment decision-making process.

Alumni Donations Make Study Abroad Possible: 2008 Study Abroad Award Ceremony

This year 50 undergraduate students received scholarships to study abroad in 23 different countries. The students come from all over Wisconsin and the U.S. and are highly diversified in majors and destination countries.

At the award ceremony in April two UW seniors and former study-abroad scholarship recipients, Stephanie Koczela, who studied in Nairobi, Kenya, and Ben Harguth, who studied in Budapest, Hungary, gave advice and insight on what incredible adventures the students were about to encounter.

“Being there [Nairobi] I realized that the goals you have for yourself are often shaped by experiences that you have, and I hadn’t had enough experiences to understand how I could have the impact I wanted to have.” said Koczela. “I then realized that my goals could be better met by taking a different path than I had originally intended before studying abroad.”

“You will change,” said Harguth. “You’re going to learn a lot about yourself, others, and different cultures.”

Both Koczela and Harguth expressed their gratitude for the scholarships they received to make their study-abroad experiences possible and discussed how they will apply their new perspectives in their future careers.

From Mexico to China, UW students will create mind-opening experiences for themselves and bring their international awareness back to campus, all made possible by the generous donations of UW alumni. There are currently seven study-abroad scholarships available to students through alumni donations: Study Abroad Telethon, Chuo-Kuo-Ping, Gerend, Joe Elder, Makward, Chicago Rothschild Fund and Pritzker Pucker. This year, these funds were able to award a total of $84,500.

UW Receives Large Grant from German Government for German and European Studies

Contact: Elizabeth Covington, Executive Director, European Studies Alliance, (608) 265-4778, eecovington@wisc.edu

The Center for German and European Studies (CGES) at University of Wisconsin–Madison has received a grant for $530,000 from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) renewing the center’s funding through 2012.

“Writing a successful grant this time was a terrific challenge because DAAD had decided to shift from a center-focused to a project-focused funding model,” says Myra Marx Ferree, CGES director. “However, our faculty rose to the challenge beautifully, and we put together a compelling package that really spoke to cutting-edge concerns and will allow us to work synergistically across disciplinary lines.”

CGES proposed four international, interdisciplinary plans to DAAD including: After the Violence: The Work of Memory in German Culture and Society (Leader: Marc Silberman); Positioning ‘Modern’ Germany in the World: Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism Colonialism, Migration, (Leader: B. Venkat Mani); Transforming European Governance (Leader: Jonathan Zeitlin); Work, Family, and Education in Europe: Challenges of Globalization and Gender (Leader: Myra Marx Ferree).

DAAD’s reviewers recognized that “social science-based proposals have great potential as break-through ventures for newly integrated knowledge about major social transformations in western societies.” What is more, they wrote, humanities projects represent a “comprehensive effort to broaden existing research in German culture, political history, and mental transformation since the 19th century.”

DAAD established the CGES in 1998 under the German Marshall Plan with matching grants from UW–Madison and the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. Devoted to the development of the next generation of scholars and the production of new knowledge relating to Germany and Europe, the center supports research, teaching, and outreach in a broad range of fields and disciplines. At the heart of the center’s activities is a unique series of research projects focusing on Germany and Europe from a trans-Atlantic perspective, involving faculty, graduate students, and visiting scholars.

“CGES is a model for cutting-edge social science- and humanities-based interdisciplinary, international research and graduate education,” says Gilles Bousquet, dean of the Division of International Studies. “This highly competitive new award is a tribute to the leadership of Professor Myra Marx Feree.”

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UW–Madison Receives Federal Grant for Middle East Studies

The Middle East Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to increase expertise among students and faculty on this strategically important region. The grant will allow UW–Madison to expand the available pool of knowledge of Middle East languages and cultures across the campus.

“This grant allows the Middle East Studies Program to meet the demands from undergraduate students wanting more and higher language and culture programs,” said Uli Schamiloglu, Director of Middle East Studies. “Not only can we now meet these demands but we can also provide a strong dependable resource for a better understanding the region.”

With the grant the Middle East Studies program plans to develop advanced Colloquial Arabic courses as well as regularize the offering of three levels of Persian. It also plans to enhance the Persian summer immersion program and expand in its study-abroad programs for students. The program will reach out to the campus and community by improving their resources in library holdings, films, speakers, and faculty development grants. It will also create relationships with institutions in the Arabic world that will strengthen its resource base and available opportunities for students.

The Department of Education awards Title VI A funding to develop, enhance, and apply international undergraduate programs to strengthen and advance foreign languages and studies.

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UW to launch Islam radio program [The Daily Cardinal]

By: Grace Kim /The Daily Cardinal

The national Social Science Research Council awarded a grant of more than $90,000 to UW-Madison’s eight Title VI National Resource Centers and Middle Eastern Studies to support the public communication regarding Islamic issues.

According to Tom Asher, SSRC program officer, nine universities in addition to UW-Madison received the grant, including Harvard University, University of California-Berkeley, University of California-Los Angeles and University of Minnesota, among others.

“We are really trying to push academics for working on the subject of Islam to be a part of the broader conversation taking place in the society right now and within the U.S,” Asher said. “I hope that [UW-Madison] will be able to reach out to people living in the surrounding areas of the state and really start a conversation that needs to take place.”

The grant allows UW-Madison’s nine international studies programs, Wisconsin Public Radio and UW-Madison’s Division of Information Technology to host a 12-month radio program and website called “Inside Islam: Dialogues and Debates.”

Shihoko Fujiwara Honored With 2008 Distinguished Alumni Award

Shihoko Fujiwara, of Tokyo, Japan, is among seven alumni of the University of Wisconsin-Madison who will be honored next month with the 2008 Distinguished Alumni Awards, presented by the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA).

A 2003 graduate of UW-Madison with a degree in International Studies, Fujiwara is a coordinator with the Polaris Project, a nonprofit organization that combats human trafficking — a form of modern-day slavery. Based in Tokyo, Japan, Fujiwara provides food, shelter, medical assistance and other support to human-trafficking survivors, educates law enforcement about how to identify victims, and advocates for improved public policy.

The Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Wisconsin Alumni Association. The award celebrates outstanding UW-Madison graduates whose professional achievements, contributions to society, and support of the university exemplify the Wisconsin Idea.

“Through their one-of-a-kind endeavors, these UW alumni are credited with some of the world’s most innovative and important contributions,” said Paula Bonner MS’78, WAA’s President and CEO. “We’re proud to recognize them as part of the worldwide community of 370,000 passionate, inspired UW-Madison alumni.”

The recipients will be honored at an awards program at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 8, at the Wisconsin Union Theater in Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St. The awards program is free and open to the public. Details and registration are at uwalumni.com/daa.

Contact: Kate Dixon, Wisconsin Alumni Association, 608 265-8769, news@uwalumni.com.

WAGE awards three research collaborative grants related to globalization

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE) announces the three winners of its research collaborative competition, each receiving $100,000 during a three-year period.

Through these awards, WAGE seeks to catalyze cutting edge research on important challenges related to globalization and its governance. The three collaboratives cover the critical topics of import safety, energy and biofuels, and the changing role of law and the state in economic development.

Professors John Ohnesorge (law), Gay Seidman (sociology) and Aseema Sinha (political science) serve as principal investigators for the first collaborative, titled “Governance in Economic Development: Law, Politics and the Role of the State.” This collaborative analyzes ways in which the role of the state is being reinterpreted and renegotiated in response to globalization and how more interventionist states will interact with today’s highly globalized international economy. They build on the observation that the era of the “Washington Consensus” is over and the activist, interventionist state appears to be making a comeback around the developing world. Four countries lie at the core of this project: Brazil, India, China, and South Africa.

The second collaborative, “Governing New Conflicts in Global Energy Futures,”

Three UW Faculty Receive Palmes Académiques for Work on International Environmental Project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3/21/08

Contact: Masarah Van Eyck, mvaneyck2@international.wisc.edu, 608-262-5590.

Three University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty will be named Chevaliers de l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques in a private ceremony with the French Consul General, Jean-Baptiste de Boissière, in Madison on March 27.

Dating from 1808 under Napoleonic rule, the L’Ordre des Palmes Académiques was established to distinguish university dignitaries and recognize service in the field of education. Today it is conferred on scholars, scientists, and those in literary and artistic fields.

The three will receive the Palmes Académiques for their efforts in building and running the intercultural program Environmental Policy, Land Use and Conservation Biology in Franco-American Perspective with the support of the New York-based French American Cultural Exchange (FACE) Foundation and the Cultural and Scientific Services of the French Embassy.

The Consul General will recognize their contribution in building strong research and education ties between the UW and the French school, l’École National Supérieure Agronomique de Montpellier. In just three years, 13 U.S. and 12 French graduate students have participated in the program, developing their scientific and linguistic knowledge and cultural insight. The program has included faculty exchanges as well.

Consul General de Boissière will deliver a public talk, “The New Context of the French-American Relation,” at noon on March 27 in 206 Ingraham Hall. Introducing de Boissière will be Gilles Bousquet, dean of the Division of International Studies and himself a recipient of the Palms Académiques.

Award recipients are:

Deadline extended for the UW-Madison/University of Bonn graduate fellowship

The deadline for the UW-Madison/University of Bonn graduate fellowship program has been extended. The new deadline is Noon on MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2008.

There are two types of awards available: one academic year award; several short term awards for research of 1-2 months or one semester in duration, depending on the needs of the research. Research on the short term award must be initiated and completed sometime between September 2008 and August 2009 and must be carried out in consecutive weeks.

Read more about the Bonn fellowship here.

UW alumni among the world’s best and brightest innovators and citizens

by Kate Dixon, UW-Madison Communications

They are innovators in business, champions for education and dedicated international volunteers — and they’re all under age 40.

The Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA) is honoring 23 University of Wisconsin-Madison graduates with the new Forward Under 40 Award.

“These young Badgers are among the world’s best and brightest innovators and citizens,” says Paula Bonner, WAA president and CEO. “Half majored in the liberal arts, half have founded nonprofit organizations, and two-thirds are teaching or mentoring the next generation.”

The award recipients are living the Wisconsin Idea — the 103-year-old guiding philosophy of UW-Madison outreach efforts to touch the lives of people in Wisconsin and throughout the world.

Honorees are featured in “Forward Under 40,” a publication to be distributed in March to 100,000 UW-Madison alumni and WAA members. Interactive profiles of the award winners are available online.

The 2008 award recipients are:

Global Studies announces WI-Global

Global Studies and the Offices of the Dean of Students are pleased to announce the creation of WI-Global, a program designed to engage UW-Madison undergraduates in issues related to globalization and its impact on the world’s communities and cultures as well as on systems of governance, exchange, and education. WI-Global has two different components, both of which offer prizes each semester for best contribution.

The WI-Global Forum is an online discussion for UW-Madison undergraduates on contemporary global topics and their relevance to and impact on local communities. The discussion will take place on the WI-Global Forum site where additional details (rules for participation, information on prizes awarded, calendar, etc) can be found. Any UW-Madison undergraduate, regardless of major, may participate in the WI-Global Forum, but must first register both with Blogger and with WI-Global. The inaugural discussion for Spring 2008 will be on world music.

The WI-Global Paper Award is designed to encourage and recognize academic excellence in the area of global studies, as well as to recognize our faculty’s efforts in training students as global citizens. Two awards will be given each semester for papers written for a Global Studies course. (Faculty members: to have a course considered for inclusion on the Global Studies course list, please complete the course submission form.) Professors of Global Studies courses may nominate one paper. The deadline for nomination for the Spring 2008 award is Friday, 23 May 2008.

Much more information available at: wi.global.wisc.edu

Scott Kloeck-Jenson International Internship and Pre-Dissertation Travel Grants

Applications are now being accepted for two graduate fellowships: Global Studies awards Scott Kloeck-Jenson International Internship Grants to doctoral students interested in undertaking practitioner internships on social justice issues and Scott Kloeck-Jenson International Pre-Dissertation Travel Grants to support summer travel for doctoral students exploring potential field research sites.

Deadline for applications is Friday, February 22, 2008. The program is open to students of any nationality who are enrolled in a doctoral program at UW-Madison. Projects which are related to Global Studies themes will receive particular attention. Specific requirements for each fellowship, further details, and application materials are available here. The entire application package (including application forms, letters and transcripts) must be received no later than Friday, February 22, 2008 at 4:00 PM. All application materials should be sent or delivered to Global Studies, 301 Ingraham Hall.

Call for Proposals

Call for Research Circles, Seminar Series, Strategic Speakers, and Development Funds

For complete information on these opportunities, click here.

The International Institute, with generous support from the Division of International Studies and Global Studies, announces a competition for new initiatives in International Studies.

I. Research Circles

The International Institute Research Circles join together groups of faculty, graduate students, and staff to advance research on particular intellectual themes of international relevance. Research Circles will be funded for three years, with starting dates staggered. Up to two proposals will be selected for the first year. The maximum total grant per proposal will be $64,000 with an approximate division of up to $16,000 in the first year, up to $32,000 in the second year and up to $16,000 in the third year.

II. Seminar Series, Strategic Speakers, and Development Funds

Study-abroad scholarship honors UW alumnus from Chicago

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Contact: Kate Dixon, Wisconsin Alumni Association, (608) 265-8769, news@uwalumni.com; Masarah Van Eyck, Director of Communications, Division of International Studies, 608-262-5590, mvaneyck@international.wisc.edu

MADISON, Wis. - More students will be able to live and learn in other countries during their University of Wisconsin-Madison studies, thanks to a generous bequest from a Chicago-area alumnus.

The Chicago chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA) has created a $50,000 endowed scholarship for study-abroad experiences in honor of Robert “Bob” L. Rothschild, a 1932 UW-Madison graduate who spent his career in the publishing industry.

The Rothschild scholarship will encourage UW students from the Chicago area to participate in international experiences and gain an appreciation of other peoples and cultural differences, said Jon Graan, a member of the WAA’s Chicago chapter and a past chair of the national WAA Board of Directors.

“It truly has become a small world,” Graan said.

Graan said creating the study-abroad scholarship pays tribute to the many years Rothschild spent as an active member of the Chicago chapter’s scholarship committee.

Gilles Bousquet, dean of the Department of International Studies, said more than 1,600 UW students participate in 140 study abroad programs in 55 countries each year. Bousquet has said he hopes to annually increase participation by 10 percent over the next several years.

“Students who study abroad are much better prepared to work in a multicultural environment in the United States,” he said. “They also contribute to solving world issues - a responsibility for a global university.”

Bousquet added that students who have international experiences are also better prepared to serve the needs of their local communities and the state of Wisconsin.

“Financial assistance is important for more students to have international experiences,” Bousquet said. “This is good news.”

Participation and membership in the Wisconsin Alumni Association and its chapters are open to all alumni, students and friends of UW-Madison. More information about WAA’s chapters and student scholarships is available at uwalumni.com/chapters.

To learn more about UW-Madison’s Department of International Studies, visit http://www.international.wisc.edu/.

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Graduate Student International Field Research Awards

An Initiative of the Division of International Studies

The Division of International Studies is pleased to announce a competition for graduate student international field research awards. These awards would enable Ph.D. students to conduct exploratory research abroad in order to develop their dissertation topics and be more competitive for extramural fellowships.

A two-step application procedure will take place. Students will apply to one of the International Institute’s area studies/member programs: African Studies, East Asian Studies, The European Studies Alliance, Global Studies, Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies, Middle East Studies, Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies, South Asian Studies, South East Asian Studies, and The Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy. Member programs will review their applications and nominate up to two finalists for consideration by the Division of International Studies selection committee.

Graduate applicants should submit a two page research proposal, budget, and a letter of support from his or her advisor to the appropriate member program. Application materials should be submitted by noon on Friday, February 22^nd 2008. It is the responsibility of the applicant to obtain a copy of their advisor’s letter of support and to deliver all application materials to the appropriate member program. Applications will not be accepted after the deadline. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Center for Global Health Educational Travel Fellowships Awarded

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Global Health (CGH) is pleased to announce the awarding of six educational travel fellowships to UW faculty and staff members.  These grants are awarded to CGH affiliates to support international travel related to educational activities, including development for global health courses, initiation of field experiences and field research, and conference attendance which pertain directly to the mission of the CGH.  Preference was given to proposals that address important global health issues, have an interdisciplinary focus, have potential for an ongoing relationship/partnership with the host country and offer tangible educational benefits.  The review panel representing the Center for Global Health Steering Committee felt that the following outstanding submissions characterize the type of interdisciplinary initiatives that the Center seeks to support.  Congratulations to these award recipients!

Call for Proposals - WAGE Research Collaboratives on Globalization

The Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE) invites all University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty to apply for a multi-year collaborative grant to increase understanding of globalization and the international economy. WAGE will award up to $100,000 to each of three separate collaboratives, with the awards spread over a three-year period.

Click here to review the full CFP (.pdf)
Application deadline: January 21, 2008
Information Session: November 8, noon – 1 PM in Ingraham 336

With this call for proposals WAGE aims to support collaborative research programs that explore the consequences of and challenges posed by economic globalization and its governance. The themes identified by these collaboratives will anchor WAGE’s programming for the 2008-2011 period.

UW–Madison a top producer of U.S. Fulbright students

UW-Madison students fared well in landing international fellowships with The Fulbright Program, which announced its 2007-2008 fellows list in this week’s Chronicle of Higher Education.

In all, 24 UW-Madison students from UW-Madison won Fulbright awards for 2007-2008, of which 18 accepted.

“Fellowships like these equip our students with the skills they need to thrive in an increasingly global environment,” says Gilles Bousquet, dean of the Division of International Studies and director of the International Institute. “We are proud that UW-Madison’s students are on the forefront of global competence and engagement; it is testimony to the strength of our area and international programs.”

New Fulbright Grant Brings Scientists to U.S.

Program aims to improve America’s ability to recruit foreign graduate students.

Read the article in the Chronicle of Higher Education