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Summer 2006

Fulbright-Hays awards allow doctoral students to dig into international research

Four MSU doctoral students have been awarded prestigious 2006-07 Fulbright-Hays fellowships, which support six to 12 months of dissertation research activities abroad. The awards, with an average value of more than $24,000, will allow the four recipients to conduct research in Lesotho, Paraguay, Tanzania and Moldova.

The awardees are:

Stephen Backman, Ph.D. candidate in teacher education. He will use his fellowship to investigate how elementary school teachers in Lesotho deal with a policy that requires them to teach in English even though most of their students have little knowledge of the language. This policy has been an impediment for many students in the small African country looking to advance in their education.

Aliah Carolan-Silva, Ph.D. candidate in teacher education. She will use her fellowship to examine how local participation helps shape curricula in three communities in rural Paraguay, where she spent three years as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Marita Eibl, Ph.D. candidate in anthropology. She will use her fellowship to explore issues of HIV/AIDS treatment, nongovernmental organizations and women in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Her research will focus on how antiretrovirals are made available to Tanzanian women, who are the predominantly infected group.

Nils Kauffman, Ph.D. candidate in educational policy. He will use his fellowship to study the evolution of post-Soviet education systems. Specifically, Kauffman will explore how teachers in Moldovia work to improve an educational system beset by lack of funding, corruption, rapid social change, a multi-ethnic population and even a lack of proper heating during winter months.

The Fulbright-Hays fellowship is one of the most prestigious awards for U.S. students wishing to study overseas. The fellowship is one component of the broader Fulbright Program, created after World War II and named for former U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright. The aim of all Fulbright programs is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of people, knowledge and skills. MSU has been an active participant in Fulbright programs over the years.

For more information, contact MSU Fulbright Program advisor Frank D’Itri at ditri@msu.edu or visit www.isp.msu.edu/students/funding/fulbright/