"This is a new program, one we intend to continue every year," says Caryn White, outreach coordinator and director of PIER. All 35 educator-honorees have participated in one or more of Yale's international and area studies institutes, and several have been involved in group projects abroad. PIER includes African, East Asian, international, and Russian and East European studies. PIER Fellows have special expertise in the country or region for which they are nominated.
"The educators we have selected to be fellows are teachers who have achieved a mastery level in international studies and/or the area in which they specialize, and who have been contributors to our programs here at Yale," notes Ms. White. "Some have reviewed materials; others have created curriculum guides, led workshops, assisted with the resource collection and more. They have all given back at least as much as we have given them."
The Yale graduate students who were honored and their fields of specialty are: George Abdelnour, international studies; Katherine Darst, African studies; Jennifer Foster, Russian and East European studies; Anne C. Geoghegan, African studies; Angela Harrell, international studies; Ronke Ogunsulire, African studies; and Alexei Vassiliev, Russian and East European studies.
According to Ms. White, "These students have contributed to improving education about the world -- on the Yale campus and beyond -- by giving talks, working in summer institutes, recommending materials to the PIER resource collection, teaching uncommonly taught languages to high school students and furthering understanding of their particular world area."