The Center for International Studies changes name, broadens role
To recognize a pivotal moment for international education at Wake Forest, the Center for International Studies (CIS) is becoming the Center for Global Programs and Studies (GPS).
“It’s time to both celebrate past successes and look forward to the future,” says Kline Harrison, associate provost of global affairs. “Our name change reflects a broader role as Wake Forest continues to build a community where international study and understanding are priorities.”
One of the University’s goals is to ensure that every student has opportunities throughout their four years of college to develop an awareness of and appreciation for world cultures, Harrison says. “Whether a student has traveled extensively or has yet to go abroad, global attitudes and mindsets can be incorporated into classroom and campus programming to facilitate intercultural understanding. Our team is looking forward to working with partners campus-wide to advance a more global culture.”
The Center for Global Programs and Studies aspires to…
Categories: University Announcement
External support for WFU research remains strong
The following letter is adapted from director of Research and Sponsored Programs Lori Messer’s introduction to the October issue of Research News:
Reynolda Campus research had an excellent year. For fiscal year 2013, total external support for projects exceeded $9.8 million, the second-highest amount in campus history, and that was not including five fellowships for scholarship in the arts, humanities and social sciences. The total is even more remarkable when you consider that $8.4 million, about 86 percent, comes from federal sources limited by sequestration budget cuts.
FY13 saw 22 departments and centers receive sponsored research funding, and nearly all increased its total over FY12. Health and exercise science received the most, with physics running a close second.
Faculty and staff in 32 departments and centers submitted 152 external proposals, requesting more than $38 million. Chemistry submitted the most proposals and requested the most funding.
We would like to recognize two of our former CRADLE program participants, Oana Jurchescu and Timo Thonhauser, both in physics, who received prestigious CAREER awards from the National Science Foundation. WFU has received five such awards, with Patricia Dos Santos and Rebecca Alexander in chemistry and Dave Anderson in biology already gaining that distinction.
CRADLE (Creative Research Activities Development and Enrichment) is a two-year program that helps Wake Foresters develop competitive external funding proposals.
The NSF CAREER Award is a $400,000 award given to the nation’s top junior faculty members and is meant to support their research, encourage excellent teaching, mentorship and community outreach.
Another graduate of the CRADLE program, assistant professor of chemistry Lindsay Comstock-Ferguson, received her first independent federal funding. The following faculty and staff also received their first individual external grants at WFU:
Categories: Faculty News
Friendship Family program needs volunteers
The Center for International Studies (CIS) hosted the first multi-day international student orientation for incoming freshmen, helping students acclimate to life in the U.S. as well as the time change. This year, Wake Forest has 60 new undergraduate students, and 42 of them are from China or of Chinese heritage. One student’s mother attended Wake Forest as an undergrad! Many of them have spent some time in the U.S. either by way of vacations or boarding school, but very few of them had visited Winston-Salem.
The students who sign up for the Friendship Family program have a desire to experience the U.S. at a different level than what only life on campus can provide.
CIS is looking for people interested in incorporating international students into family activities based on both your and the student’s availability and interests. The deadline to submit an application is Thursday, Sept. 12.
The application is here:
http://cis.wfu.edu/iss/friendship/sponsors/
Categories: University Announcement
July 2013 staff milestones
See a list of employment milestones reached by staff in July 2013: Read more
Categories: Staff News
Wake Forest hosts eugenics conference
As the N.C. General Assembly considers compensation for victims of a state-run forced-sterilization program, Wake Forest will host “Scarred for Life: The Legacy of Forced Sterilization at Home and Abroad,” April 4-5 in Annenberg Forum in Carswell Hall on the Reynolda Campus.
The interdisciplinary event is sponsored by Women’s and Gender Studies, the Journalism Program, the Office of the Provost, the Center for Bioethics, Health and Society, the Department of History, the School of Law, the Department of Politics and International Affairs, the Department of Communication, the Film Studies Program, the Center for International Studies, the Documentary Film Program, the Humanities Institute, and the Writing Program.
The conference will examine the history of the eugenics movement and its expression in North Carolina and Central Europe, and examine what lessons can be learned from the past as the world heads into the genomic revolution.
Genes for breast cancer, kidney disease and mental illness are being identified. How will this information be used? How might knowledge of an individual’s DNA profile affect reproductive decisions, medical insurance and employment? Read more
Categories: Events
