"In the News" Archives

Spring 2008

Congratulations to Lakisha Mitchell on the successful completion of her thesis, “Japan’s Renunciation of War-Clause Article 9: A case study of Japan’s journey towards ‘a normal nation.” Three cheers for Lakisha on completing her degree and for serving as an example that folks can indeed successfully finish after time away from the program. Great job!

December 2007

MAIS program alumna Danielle Monty-Mara is profiled in “Jayhawks around the World,” the cover story in the most recent issue of the KU Collegian (.pdf), the magazine for alumni and friends of KU’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. She currently serves as the program quality manager for Catholic Relief Services in Burkina Faso, Africa. Read profiles of Danielle and other alumni here.

Congratulations to Nguvi Kahiha for the successful defense of his thesis, “The European Union: Constraints v. Opportunities,” on how the European Single Market has affected US companies on Monday, December 10th. Yippee!

Three cheers to Dwight Goodwin for the successful defense of his project, “USAID and the Economic Growth Thesis: A Critical Assessment of USAID Foreign Aid Policies Post-9/11,” on Friday, December 7th. And an added pat on the back for Dwight’s earning Honors on the thesis. Great job!

Still more congratulations to Karen Muthoni Wetugi for the successful defense of her thesis, “Humanitarian Intervention in Africa: Is Tomorrow Too Late?” on Thursday, December 6th! And additional kudos to Karen for receiving Honors on her project. Hooray!

November 2007

Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) grants for 2008-09: The Center for East Asian Studies and the African Studies Center have begun their FLAS Fellowship application processes for next year’s awards. Summer fellowships cover tuition up to $4,000 and have a stipend of $2,500. Academic year awards cover up to $12,000 in tuition and have a $15,000 stipend. Our students have been very competitive in getting FLAS awards: four students in International Studies have received them in the past two years.

• The Center for East Asian Studies will give at least 1 award to a master’s student for intensive summer language study in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Uyghur or Tibetan and at least 1 award for the 2008-09 academic year. Application deadline is February 15, 2008. Visit http://www.ceas.ku.edu/flas.shtml for more information.

• The African Studies Center will award 4 academic year fellowships for 2008-09. Any KU graduate students in any academic discipline who are interested in Africa are invited to apply. Fellows are required to enroll in an African language class (Arabic, KiSwahili, Wolof, or Hausa) and an African area studies class in each semester of the year. Application deadline is February 1, 2008. Visit http://www.kasc.ku.edu/about/Awards/awards.shtml#flas for more information.

• The Center for East European and Russian Studies website lists their FLAS award process and dates, though particular information for 2008-09 has not been posted. Visit http://www.crees.ku.edu/funding/index.shtml for information if you are interested in funding to study Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Slovene, Turkish, or Ukrainian.

MAIS students Dylan Bassett and Linda Wiley will present the program "Drumming for Life: African Styles, Innovations, and Techniques," on Wednesday, November 14 at 11:30am in Alcove C at the Kansas Union (3^rd floor). The program is part of the Ujamaa Brownbag Lecture Series sponsored by the African Studies Center. Bring your lunch and stop by to learn about this West African tradition from your fellow students.

Also on 11/14, MAIS student Huma Kahn will participate in the panel discussion “Democracy or Dictatorship: How Pakistan's Turmoil Affects the World,” at 3:00pm in the Jayhawk Room at the Kansas Union. The panel is part of International Education week and besides Huma will include staff from Fort Leavenworth and a Pakistani Fulbright Scholar.

And a hearty congrats to Megan Holroyd who became the second person to complete the Program’s new non-thesis option! She passed her last hurtle, the oral exam, on Friday 11/30, and can now enjoy being focused on just one academic program, her PhD work in cultural geography. 

And finally, congratulations also go to Megan Cross, who successfully passed her thesis defense for her project “King Hassan II: Morocco’s Messenger of Peace,” on Friday, 11/30. Hip hip hooray!

A hearty congratulations goes out to MAIS program alum Carlos Centeno who landed his “dream job” in production and coordination with the United Nations Development Programme in New York!

September 2007

Congratulations to Ryan Jensen on the successful defense of his thesis, "The Differential Devolution of Scotland and Wales: Historical Underpinnings and Contemporary European Context of Nationalistic Expression." Three Cheers for Ryan!

July 2007

Congratulations to MAIS student Sumeyye Pakdil who received a paper-presenter award from the Office of Graduate Studies. She will travel to the Middle East and Central Asia Politics, Economics and Society Conference in Salt Lake City in September where she and co-author Baris Kesgin will present "The Image of Turkey's Justice and Development Party in the Global Newswires: Bias or Misperception?"

Congratulations to Meghann Martin, who passed her comprehensive exams for the master’s degree on July 19th! Three cheers to Meghann on her accomplishments, and we thank her for her willingness to be the first person to do the non-thesis option in International Studies.

Congratulations to Lori-lin Shipman on the successful defense of her thesis, "Movie Piracy in China & Its Relationship with Intellectual Property Rights,” on Friday, July 6th. Great work!

The United Nations of Greater Kansas City has a new Young Professionals for International Cooperation (YPIC) group that is meeting monthly to plan activities and goals for the coming year. It’s a great opportunity to get involved with those who share similar interests as well as a chance to have an influence as the group gets established. This letter from Maurice Brooks, Chair YPIC, offers more information about the group. You can attend a planning meeting on Saturday, August 4th at the Plaza Branch library in KCMO (see upcoming events for more details on this) or contact Maurice at mbrooks19@charter.net if you’re interested in getting involved.

Congratulations to Jeff Blendick! Jeff successfully defended his thesis, “Contagion & Convalescence: Capital Liberalization, Capital Controls, and the East Asian Financial Crisis. Case Study: Thailand & Malaysia” on Friday, June 22. Three cheers!

June 2007

Congratulations to XinhXan Bradt on the successful defense of her thesis “The City as an Agent for European Integration: Tackling Social Exclusion in Greater Paris” on Monday, June 11th. Great work!

Congratulations to Anna Lambertson who defended her thesis “Implementing a Human Rights Based Approach in Education” on Friday, June 8th and passed with honors! Way to go, Anna!

Congratulations to MAIS student Kate Austin who received a Graduate Direct Exchange scholarship to study next year at the University of Hamburg in Germany!

May 2007

Congratulations to Carlos Centeno who successfully defended his thesis, entitled The Impact of Public Pressure on Military Non-Intervention in Argentina, on May 2. Great job!

Congratulations to Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) award recipients in International Studies. Huma Khan will be headed to Morocco to study Arabic with her summer FLAS award. Megan Holroyd received the award for the 07-08 academic year and will work on Swahili while beginning her PhD in geography. Incoming MAIS student Dylan Bassett also received the academic year award to study Wolof and African culture. They follow in the esteemed footsteps of MAIS student Abdi Gutale, who received the academic year FLAS award for 06-07. All received the awards through the African Studies Center.

Congratulations to MAIS student Juliann Morland who was accepted to the KU Law School and will begin the accelerated program in June.