DATE: Monday, February 19, 2007
CONTACT: Ronnie Hess, Director of Communications, Division of International Studies, UW-Madison, (608) 262-5590, rlhess@wisc.edu
Worldwide Universities grants announced for UW scholars
MADISON — Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) and the Division of International Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have awarded UW-Madison and other WUN participating scholars nearly $40,000 in grants for international graduate and research partnerships. A second call for proposals, for similar levels of support for WUN-related collaborations involving UW-Madison, will be issued later this year.
“WUN is an exciting international network of research universities that are tackling major research challenges and delivering instruction in areas that no one member could address alone,” says UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley. “WUN is helping to keep UW-Madison and Wisconsin at the leading edges of research and teaching.”
WUN is an international alliance of 17 leading higher-education institutions, including UW-Madison, that have come together to create a worldwide research and graduate education partnership. These new grants start or expand collaborative research between UW-Madison faculty and faculty at other WUN partner institutions.
“There are few universities that pay more than lip service to supporting faculty in developing innovative, international, interdisciplinary research programs,” says David Pilsbury, WUN’s Chief Executive. “UW-Madison is absolutely key in driving this research forward and I am delighted that together we are able to fund proposals that have attracted some of the best scholars on campus.”
Grants awarded are:
- Philip Farrell (School of Medicine and Public Health/Pediatrics, Population Health Sciences) – The Ancient Origin of Cystic Fibrosis project is an international, interdisciplinary paleoepidemiological investigation of Iron Age Celtic people of central and western Europe. The project will lead to the creation of an international research team and produce new information on ancient DNA and environmental factors of importance in health today, particularly regarding Cystic Fibrosis. Partnering university: York. ($6,000)
- Myra Marx Ferree (Sociology and Women’s Studies) – Promoting Social Scientific and Humanities Driven International Initiatives in Women’s Studies will build on existing contacts to establish a more institutional structure for transatlantic collaboration in women’s studies, including multi-site course offerings and faculty and graduate exchange. Partnering universities: Leeds; Manchester; Sheffield; York; Utrecht; Oslo. ($6,000).
- Heinz Klug (Law) – Planning Workshop for the Law and Society in Developing Countries Project will build on the interests of a wide group of scholars at UW-Madison and WUN partner institutions and bring the insights of the “law and society” tradition to the study of legal processes and institutions in developing countries and/or those in transition to a market economy. Partnering universities: Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Washington-Seattle; Bristol; Manchester. ($6,000)
- Alfred McCoy (History) – Transitions and Transformations in the U.S. Imperial State will bring together scholars from several WUN universities to engage in interdisciplinary research on global empires, the U.S. imperial state, and the comparative character of these imperial states. Conference papers will be included in a scholarly publication. Partnering universities: Sydney; Washington-Seattle. ($5,000).
- Tejumola Olaniyan (African Languages and Literature, English) – A conference on “Diaspora and Cosmopolitanism” will advance the establishment of a WUN International Network in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies. Papers from the conference will be included in a scholarly book about contemporary discourses and practices of diaspora and cosmopolitanism. Partnering universities: Illinois, Urbana Champaign; Bristol; Leeds; Manchester; Sheffield; Utrecht; Sydney. ($5,000)
- J.M. Pfotenhauer (Mechanical Engineering) – Zhejiang Faculty Visit to UW-Madison will bring Zhejiang faculty to campus, strengthening collaborative research in the field of cryogenics, exploring joint research opportunities in building energy management, and completing preparations for an undergraduate student exchange program between the two universities. Partnering university: Zhejiang. ($4,000)
- Randy Stoecker (Rural Sociology) – Outcomes of Participatory Action Research (PAR) will create a sustainable online database of practitioners and craft a cross-national comparative evaluation protocol that will inform PAR theory and practice. Partnering universities: Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Washington-Seattle; Leeds; Manchester; Utrecht. ($5,000)
For more information on WUN at UW-Madison, go to http://www.intlstudies.wisc.edu/wun/default.asp
For more information on WUN, go to www.wun.ac.uk/
WUN participating institutions include the University of Bergen (Norway), University of Bristol (UK), University of California-San Diego, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, University of Leeds (UK), University of Manchester (UK), University of Nanjing (China), University of Oslo (Norway), Pennsylvania State University, University of Sheffield (UK), University of Southampton (UK), University of Sydney (Australia) University of Utrecht (Netherlands), University of Washington-Seattle, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of York (England), University of Zhejiang (China).
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