| April 15, 2009 | Vol 10. No. 9 |
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Sandra P. Cookson PhD, chair and professor of English, is the recipient of a Traditional Fulbright Scholar Award. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright Scholar Program sends 800 U.S. faculty and professionals abroad each year to lecture or conduct research in various fields.
Cookson will use her 10-month Fulbright grant to teach American poetry courses at Udmurt State University in Izhevsk, Russia. She will instruct such courses as twentieth century poetry, cross-cultural poetry and modern poetry. Cookson will also help familiarize students with major American poets such as Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson.
During her time at Canisius, Cookson has taught courses which range from freshman writing and literature to honors seminars in modern and contemporary poetry. She specializes in twentieth century American poetry and currently teaches courses which include early modern through contemporary poetry, creative writing, British literature and women’s literature and film.
Cookson holds PhD, MA and BA degrees in English from the University of Connecticut.
The William J. Fulbright Scholarship is named for Senator J. William Fulbright and is the U.S. government’s premier scholarship program. It is designed to foster mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchanges, which provides recipients with tuition, fees, travel and research funds for a full year.
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Timothy H. Wadkins, PhD, professor of religious studies and director of the Institute for the Global Study of Religion, received a grant from the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation to benefit Loyola High School near Chennai, India. The $20,000 grant will allow the school to complete dormitory construction.
In 2007, Wadkins traveled to India with 10 students in his immersion program “Religion on the Road Less Traveled.” During that time, he noted the male students at Loyola High were sleeping on the desks or on the floor of their classrooms because the sleeping quarters in the dormitory were not finished. Construction was stopped due to lack of funds for the project.
“I was appalled at the conditions under which the boys were living,” says Wadkins. The school has a student body of about 800 with approximately 300 students living on the campus. Wadkins said he decided to solicit foundations for money to improve the conditions at the school before he left India.
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| Jessica Aliotta '09 with students from Loyola High School. |
According to Wadkins, the Jesuit Province in Chicago will supplement the Koch grant and construction at Loyola High School will begin very soon.
The Koch Foundation supports research and education programs that advance the well-being of mankind.
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Anne Marie Dobies ’92, MS ’99, MS ’06, associate dean of students and director of disability support services, is the recipient of the 2009 College Student Personnel Administration (CSPA) Distinguished Alumna Award. She will accept her award at the CSPA graduation luncheon on May 13. Dobies graduated from the CSPA masters program in 1999 and earned a second master’s degree in counseling in 2006. The Distinguished Alumna/us Award is given annually to honors graduates of the CSPA Master’s program for their success in and commitment to the student affairs profession. The award was established in 2007 to recognize the 10th anniversary of the founding of the CSPA program. The honoree is selected by the CSPA faculty from nominations made by CSPA alumni and current students.
Public Safety Officers Commended
This week is National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week during which public safety dispatchers are recognized for their hard work. Public safety dispatchers Lynn Ouellette, Van Powell, Vanessa Clay, Doris Edwards and Justin Brittenaur were acknowledged for their dedication to duty and life safety skills. As a small token of appreciation they received a CCPS coffee mug and certificates for Tim Horton's Coffee Shop.