Fellowships awarded to graduate students in diverse research

From Arizona socio-economic conditions as seen through the camera lens to special needs education in Africa, this year's recipients of graduate Completion Fellowships are engaging in diverse research that can have an impact both locally and globally.

The Graduate College awarded 17 fellowships to students who will be completing their doctoral and master's degrees this year.

Aydin Bal, a Ph.D. candidate in the Division of Curriculum and Instruction, seeks to help educators identify the needs, strengths, and challenges of global refugee adolescents as they adapt to American urban schools. Dena Davis Freed, a doctoral candidate in the ASU Theatre for Youth, hopes that her study of the interactive Forum Theater will expand the use of drama practices as teaching techniques in religious education. The Development and Implementation of Policy for Special Needs Education in the Republic of South Africa is the dissertation subject of Josephine Polk-Matthews of the Division of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. At age 78, she is acquiring her Ph.D. after a stint in the Peace Corps in her early seventies.

"These fellowships reward graduate students for their outstanding research and academic excellence," says Andrew Webber, Associate Vice Provost. "The fellowship allows doctoral or master's degree students a semester of full-time effort to complete a dissertation or project so they can graduate."

Christine Vassett, a doctoral candidate in English, says the fellowship has allowed her to focus her full attention on research and writing. "I am grateful for the opportunity to experience this at least once in my education."

The GC Completion Fellows are:
• Quaylan Allen, Division of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
• Aydin Bal, Division of Curriculum and Instruction
• Francine Banner, School of Justice & Social Inquiry
• Sharon Chappell, Division of Curriculum & Instruction
• Claudio Dicochea, School of Art
• Dena Freed, School of Theatre and Film
• Richard Karam, Department of English
• Lars Krutak, School of Human Evolution & Social Change
• Josephine Polk-Matthews, Division of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
• Marco Rosichelli, School of Art
• Joao Salm, School of Justice & Social Inquiry
• Halit Mustafa Tagma, Department of Political Science
• Megan Todd, School of Theatre and Film
• Joe Trevino, School of Art
• Christine Vassett, Department of English
• Elizabeth Shannon Wheatley, Department of Political Science
• Byeong Keun You, Division of Curriculum and Instruction