World Minded fall 2015

A P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E R E V E S C E N T E R F O R I N T E R N AT I O N A L S T U D I E S AT W I L L I A M & M A R Y

VOL. 8, NO. 1, FALL 2015

Engaged Scholarship: WILLIAM & MARY’S FACULTY-STUDENT COLLABORATION ABROAD

ALSO: CELLPHONES BROADEN BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR TANZANIAN WOMEN WILLIAM & MARY DOWN UNDER

A PUBLICATION OF THE REVES CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AT WILLIAM & MARY VOL. 8, NO. 1, FALL 2015

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Alumna Profile: U.S. Ambassador Shari Villarosa, J.D. ’78

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Study of past Mideast climate links drought and empire

FACULTY/STUDENT COLLABORATION

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A new perspective on India William & Mary Down Under Cellphones broaden business opportunities for Tanzanian women

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Established in 1989, the Reves Center for International Studies is today one of the premier centers for globalization in U.S. higher education. Its mission is to support and promote the internationalization of learning, teaching, research and community involvement at William & Mary through programs for education abroad, international students and scholars, and global engagement across the university.

William & Mary is the number one public university for undergraduate study abroad participation, with over 50 percent of the university’s undergraduates studying outside the U.S. before graduation. This year, more than 800 international students and scholars from nearly 60 countries have come to William & Mary. And the Reves Center encourages and assists numerous international strategic initiatives across the university, including the William & Mary Confucius Institute, which offers Chinese language and cultural activities to the campus and community, and the Institute for the Theory & Practice of International Relations, co-sponsored by the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, which supports faculty and student collaborations to find solutions to pressing global problems.

Through global programs such as these, the Reves Center helps to realize William & Mary’s mission to give people the tools they need to change the world.

Reves Center Advisory Board Michael R. Blakey ’98

Mohammad Koochekzadeh

Lee Welton Croll, Ph.D. ’95

Richard C. Kraemer, Jr. ’94

Singapore

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ANNOUNCEMENTS NEW in PRINT VISITORS to CAMPUS

United Kingdom

Timothy P. Dunn ’83, Chair

Washington, DC

Leslie McCormack Gathy ’88

United Kingdom

Harriet M. Fulbright, DPS ’08

Judy P. Nance ’69

Richard W. Gates ’94

Luis H. Navas ’82

Barbara Glacel ’70, Vice Chair

John E. Osborn ’79

John F. Greenwood ’98

Sharon K. Philpott ’85

Michael S. Holtzman ’92

Thomas Reiser ’73

G. Hartwell Hylton ’72

Elizabeth M. Weithman, Ph.D. ’87

R. Marc Johnson ’04

Maria Zammit

Washington, DC

Oak Hill, VA

New York, NY

From left to right: MC Curran, Colin Wilson, and Harrison Adler at the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park with a rescued joey whose mother was killed on the road. Photo courtesy Christopher Ball.

Chesapeake, VA

The Plains, VA

Richmond, VA

On the Cover

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Williamsburg, VA Darien, CT

Charlottesville, VA

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Jupiter, FL Miami, FL

Seattle, WA

White Salmon, WA Houston, TX Vienna, VA

Virginia Beach, VA

FROM THE DIRECTOR s President Taylor Reveley likes None of these achievements would have been possible without the generto say, William & Mary is “on a ous support of donors who believe in roll” these days. Nowhere is our mission to internationalize W&M. that more true than in the sphere of Beginning with the initial gift by international engagement. W&M conWendy Reves in honor of her husband tinues to be the number one public Emery which established the Reves university for study abroad participaCenter in 1989, private contributions tion by undergraduates, with over half have opened doors for W&M students of our undergrads now taking part in to study overseas, for international overseas study before graduation. Over students to study here in Williamsthe past decade, we have tripled the burg, and for W&M faculty to engage number of students and scholars comin cutting-edge global research projing to W&M from around the world, ects involving hands-on participation while greatly expanding the countries by students. Such support has allowed and world regions from which they Stephen E. Hanson the Reves Center to serve W&M’s hail; a new English Language Program Vice Provost for International Affairs international efforts in a dynamic and at the Reves Center provides additional Director, Reves Center for comprehensive way. support for students for whom English International Studies is not a native language. The first gradIt is with great excitement, then, that uating class of the William & Mary/St we join with our colleagues this fall Andrews Joint Degree Programme reto launch For the Bold: The Campaign ceived their diplomas in the spring. This fall, the Faculty of for William & Mary. With additional private support we Arts and Sciences is launching a new undergraduate curriccan build on our global momentum to achieve even greater ulum within which global and/or cross-cultural study will results in the years ahead. People come to William & Mary become a graduation requirement for the first time. W&M wanting to change the world – and together, with your faculty and student research on pressing global problems – help, we will. some of which is highlighted in this issue of World Minded – is receiving increased international attention. And we are I hope that you enjoy this issue of World Minded, and I reaching out as never before to connect with W&M admitted look forward to seeing many of you on campus this fall! students, alumni, and friends on every continent.

World Minded Staff Editor: Kate Hoving, Public Relations Manager, Reves Center for International Studies Contributing Writers: Aine Cain ’16, The Flat Hat; Jim Ducibella, University News & Media; Cortney Langley, University News & Media; Chelsea Lomprey, W&M Law School Class of ’18; David Malmquist, VIMS; Sarah Mullen, Reves Center for International Studies Graphic Designer: Rachel Follis, University Web & Design

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An Alumna Abroad

by Aine Cain

WHEN UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO MAURITIUS AND SE YCHELLES SHARI VILL AROSA J.D. ’78 FIRST ENROLLED IN WILLIAM & MARY L AW SCHOOL, SHE ALRE ADY KNE W SHE DIDN’ T WANT TO BE A L AW YER.

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here are two types of people who go to law school; the ones who actually want to be lawyers... and then those who are looking for graduate liberal arts degrees,” Villarosa said. “I was in the latter category.”

Originally from Texas, Villarosa described herself as an “army brat” with a nomadic childhood and a passion for reading and history. She first visited William & Mary on a

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field trip while attending McLean High School. However, she completed her undergraduate education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she majored in international studies.

When Villarosa’s husband was assigned to work in Norfolk, she decided to apply to the William & Mary Law School. Not interested in pursuing a legal career, she gravitated toward more unconventional cours-

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es, including The Constitution and Foreign Policy. The William & Mary Law School Dean William Spong, a former United States Senator, taught the course. Villarosa said she appreciated the small class size and admired Spong, whose election helped to dismantle Virginia’s anti-desegregationist Byrd Organization political machine.

Outside of class, Villarosa volunteered at a legal aid center in Newport News, largely working to provide legal

services to individuals who could not afford a lawyer.

“The biggest lesson I learned is so often it was unfortunate mistakes that were made and people would take advantage of [the poor], which continues to be a problem unfortunately,” Villarosa said.

Because she did not live near campus, Villarosa said she did not become deeply involved in any other extracurricular activities on campus. To pass time between classes, Villarosa obtained a Colonial Williamsburg student pass with her student ID. “I loved the maze at the Governor’s Palace,” Villarosa said. “I would go back there and wander a lot.”

hard,” Villarosa said. “It’s really hard.”

Villarosa said technology and good friends help her to stay connected to home.

“When I first came into the Foreign Service there was no Internet.

It wasn’t easy to make phone calls like this,” Villarosa said. “It’s such a different experience now. You’re not quite as far away as when I went on my first tour in Bogota, Colombia.

Then, even though I was much closer to the U.S., I was gone.”

Villarosa said that she is enjoying her time in Mauritius and Seychelles, a dramatic change of pace from the crisis-prone hot spots she formerly

Living in Norfolk did come with one massive drawback – a brutal morning commute.

“That was the only time in my life I ever had 8 o’clock in the morning classes,” Villarosa said. “I used to drive to Williamsburg and I did not remember the trip. And I would park and was like, ‘Oh, I wonder how I got here?’”

Villarosa ended up carpooling with other law students, which made the hazy drive a bit more tolerable.

After law school, Villarosa worked for Congress before entering into the Foreign Service. She has served in Colombia, East Timor, Jakarta and Burma and speaks Spanish, Portuguese, Thai and Indonesian.

Villarosa acted as charge d’affaires for the United States Embassy in Burma from 2005 to 2008. At the time, there was no United States Ambassador to Burma, so Villarosa was in charge of the mission during a particularly turbulent time. During her tenure, the country experienced a devastating cyclone and brutal military suppression of popular protests. Villarosa said that several people she knew and worked with were arrested. “[When you are] talking to someone who says, ‘You know, after I finish talking to you they’re going to come by and arrest me’ and knowing that they’re probably being tortured, it’s

The 2002 opening of the U.S. Embassy in East Timor. Left to right: Villarosa; Nobel Laureate and then-Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta; and former President Bill Clinton.

found herself in. She describes them as beautiful, democratic and politically stable tropical islands. However, Villarosa noted she is grateful for all her assignments.

“I love living in different countries,” Villarosa said. “When you live in a country, you understand much more about different cultures, different peoples, why they are the way they are.

It’s been fascinating because I’ve lived in very interesting countries. I’ve had incredible experiences. I can’t imagine that there was a better career out there for me because it’s given me the variety that I really like. It’s just given me so many good memories, where at the time I was not particularly

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pleased to be in one place or the other, but with distance the good things that I got out of it... It’s just an incredible life if you want to learn about different people and different cultures and make a difference.”

Villarosa said she encourages students to reach out to her if they have questions or want to learn more about diplomacy. The test to enter the Foreign Service is free and can be taken as many times as one wants – Villarosa took the exam twice. She said she frequently hears from UNC students, but not students from William & Mary, a school that she credits with giving her more than just a J.D. “The good thing about law school for someone who doesn’t want to be a lawyer is it teaches you how to analyze issues,” Villarosa said. “I actually have to do that in my Foreign Service career. You deal with lots of challenging situations where there’s no right or wrong answer so you have to be able to look at all the things, consider all the possibilities and negotiate, try to find something that works... ” Villarosa has been to the outskirts of Williamsburg while visiting friends, but she said it’s been a while since she’s visited William & Mary. The Law School moved from St. George Tucker Hall to the new building on South Henry St. in 1980. Still, Villarosa’s favorite part of campus hasn’t been altered too much.

“The part of the campus that I know the best is the old part of the campus,” Villarosa said. “That doesn’t really change.”

Opposite page: Villarosa shares a laugh with Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, President of the Republic of Mauritius. In addition to being the first woman elected president of that country, she is a renowned biodiversity scientist and Managing Director of CIDP Research & Innovation, where she devotes her time to research the medical and nutritive implications of indigenous plants of Mauritius.

Reprinted from The Flat Hat.

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Study of past Mideast climate links drought and empire

by David Malmquist

CLIMATE CHANGE AND MIDEASTERN GEOPOLITICS ARE OFTEN IN THE NEWS. A RECENT STUDY

BY VIRGINIA INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCE PROFESSOR ELIZABETH CANUEL AND COLLEAGUES IN THE U.S. AND IRAN EXTENDS THESE TOPICS BACK TO THE DAWN OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION, SHOWING LINKS BETWEEN DROUGHT AND THE FALL OF FERTILE CRESCENT EMPIRES AS FAR BACK AS 4,200 YEARS AGO.

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Opposite page: Ali Pourmand (front) and colleagues recover a sediment core from the peat bog that lies adjacent to Neor Lake in northwest Iran. Photo courtesy Arash Sharifi/RSMAS.

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he study, published in Quaternary Science Reviews, used chemical and geologic tracers from sediment cores collected in northwest Iran to reconstruct a high-resolution history of precipitation in the region back to the waning of the last ice age 13,000 years ago.

The study’s lead author was Arash Sharifi of the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS).

Canuel’s lab studied changes in the amount of organic carbon along the length of three 7.5-meter cores, which were recovered from a peat bog near the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Higher carbon concentrations reflect abundant growth of marsh plants.

Sharifi and other members of the research team dated the core and analyzed changes in the concentration of elements associated with windblown dust. Team members hail from labs at the University of Southern California; University of California, Irvine; Mediterranean Institute of Marine and Terrestrial Biodiversity and Ecology in Marseille, France; and the Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and Atmospheric Science in Tehran.

Taken together, says Canuel, the core data point to eight major episodes of Mideast drought since the last ice age.

Comparison with historical and archaeological evidence shows that the drier conditions coincide with transitions in several of the major civilizations across this region over the last 5,000 years.

Most notably, the research confirms evidence from an earlier study suggesting that the fall of the Akkadian Empire 4,200 years ago coincided with an episode of exceptionally high input of windblown dust to the Arabian Sea. Akkad is sometimes regarded as the first empire in history. After its fall, the Akkadian people eventually coalesced into the nations of Assyria and Babylonia.

Dust layers in the Iranian peat core also

coincide with the collapse of the Ur III empire 3,955 years ago, the Elam empire 2,800 years ago, and the Medes empire 2,500 years ago, as well as the demise of the Achaemenids around 2,280 years ago, the Partians around 1,730 years ago, the Sasanians 1,300 years ago, and the Safavids 950 years ago.

“Our study shows that natural variations in climate have been an important influence on past civilizations and societies,” says Canuel. “As a result, we need to think carefully about some of the unintended and unexpected outcomes of anthropogenic climate change such as increased tensions and political instability in regions of the world that are most sensitive and vulnerable to its effects.”

One of those regions is the Middle East, where regional models project that climate change will lead to higher temperatures and more frequent droughts. “Water scarcity is, and will continue to be, an important concern in the region,” says Canuel. “While there are many reasons for the recent conflict in Syria, there are some who think that a prolonged drought and water scarcity between 2006 and 2011 contributed instability to this region by displacing people from rural, agricultural regions to urban areas.”

BORN IN WATER

In an ironic twist, the events that led to a study of Mideast drought had their roots in a flood of epic proportions – the inundation of New Orleans following the passage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“Following Katrina,” says Canuel, “I contacted several of my colleagues at Tulane University and offered refuge to them or their students in my lab.”

One of those students was Ali Pourmand, the individual who conceived the Iranian core project.

“Ali ended up spending an extended amount of time in my lab during his dissertation,” says Canuel, “an experience that convinced him of the

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VIMS professor Elizabeth Canuel inspects a sediment core.

value of cross-training students in the combined use of organic and inorganic proxies for paleo-research. We initiated the Iranian collaboration soon after he started his current position as an Assistant Professor at RSMAS.” Lead author on the Iranian-core paper – Arash Sharifi – is a doctoral student in Pourmand’s lab. “Arash has visited my lab at VIMS for two extended periods,” says Canuel, “and worked closely with my research team to learn how to perform the organic analyses.

My technician Erin Ferer-Tyler and grad students played a significant role in training Arash and performing the analyses and my entire program benefited from Arash’s extended visits, both scientifically and culturally.”

Pourmand says the core study “is the first of its kind from the interior of West Asia and unique in its resolution and multi-proxy approach.”

Sharifi adds, “The high-resolution nature of [the cores] afforded us the rare opportunity to examine the influence of abrupt climate change on early human societies. We see that transitions in several major civilizations across this region, as evidenced by the available historical and archaeological records, coincided with episodes of high atmospheric dust; higher fluxes of dust are attributed to drier conditions across the region over the last 5,000 years.”

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A new perspective on India

by Chelsea Lomprey

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or a decade, William & Mary students have traveled to Goa, India. This past summer Professor Sasikumar (Sasi) Balasundaram, a visiting anthropology professor, led the program for the first time and by virtue of his life experiences and approach toward learning – and some unavoidable itinerary modifications from previous years – Balasundaram created a magical and unique experience for 14 William & Mary students.

“The Goa study abroad program focuses on capitalism and globalization, where students learned the strong connection between India and the United States right now, especially in the IT industry,” said Balasundaram.

“I wanted to show the students how the two ‘Silicon Valleys’ are engaged and how the United States is connected to India through the global economy. We always talk about how different the cultures are, but rarely is the opportunity to see how similar the cultures are.”

The first week of the five-week program, they traveled to Bengaluru (previously known as Bangalore), India’s Silicon Valley, where they learned about development in India and the country’s direct impact on

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globalization and visited the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), where they heard from panels on Indian democracy and the law and interacted with Indian law students.

“This year was a bit unusual as compared to other recent years,” according to Molly DeStafney, associate director of Global Education programs, who also visited the program this summer for a few days. “When the program is in Bengaluru, students typically have a multi-day visit at NLSIU, meeting with students and faculty. This year our dates of the visit did not align with their availability, so we were only able to visit the institution for the day This meant that the rest of the time spent in Bengaluru was much more dependent upon the program director finding opportunities and experiences that would fit with the goals of the program, understanding globalization and development in India. Professor Balasundaram did a fantastic job locating individuals to meet with our students. They had lunch at an IT Park with a VP from Goldman Sachs, visited a non-profit that works with marginalized individuals, and in a first for the Goa program, they attended an Indian wedding!

Many of these activities were because

of Professor Balasundaram’s connections and interest in making sure his students received the fullest experience possible. I think that the wedding in particular will be something the group will remember always.”

Balasundaram, who was born and raised on a tea plantation in one of the most rural parts of Sri Lanka, also arranged for an experience radically different from the world of technology and finance.

After departing Bengaluru, he and his students trekked to the Indian rainforest where they spent three days in the indigenous community of Coorg, India, a tribal region. The students had the once in a lifetime experience of learning about how to survive and manage in a completely self-sustaining culture.

“What struck me most about the [rainforest] experience was seeing the native plant species that we use in our daily lives: coffee, pepper, cardamom, among others, and learning about how they are harvested, sold and exported,” DeStafney said. “Tasting them fresh, right from the source was something that not many of our students have had the opportunity to experience before.”

While in Coorg, students learned from individuals with extensive background knowledge in biodiversity and other specialties which allow their self-sustaining community to

flourish. One individual taught them everything they could know about the animals and insects that make up the region. Additionally, they learned from those who harvest and sell the exported coffee and spices. Working and learning alongside these individuals gave the students a unique learning experience and perspective about biodiversity and culture in such a rural area.

“I thought it would be tough for students to adjust, and that it might be uncomfortable for the students because the cultures are very different,” said Professor Balasundaram. “I was impressed by the flexibility and dynamic leadership by the students. It was a culture shock, but a positive culture shock. They didn’t want to leave.”

Balasundaram is adamant that there’s really only one way to learn about Indian culture: “For everything we did on the program, I wanted students to experience and engage. Because experience is how you learn culture, and culture is everything.”

Professor Balasundaram teaches International Terrorism, Humanitarian Aid, Culture of Capitalism, Civic Engagement, as well as a freshman seminar called Growing up Globally.

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From top: Kodagu (Coorg) hills during field visit; Professor Balasundaram purchases fabric to teach his students about Indian traditional dress; The group in front of the International Centre Goa with ICG staff.

Opposite page: The face of a 20-foot Lord Ganesh. This gigantic statue is one of the remaining ruins following the invasion and destruction of Hampi, the capital of the Vijayanagara Kingdom 600 years ago. Photos courtesy Sasikumar Balasundaram.

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William & Mary Down Under

by Kate Hoving

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WE ARE ALL VISITORS TO THIS TIME, THIS PLACE. WE ARE JUST PASSING

THROUGH. OUR PURPOSE HERE IS TO OBSERVE, TO LEARN, TO GROW, TO LOVE... AND THEN WE RETURN HOME.

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espite his friendly, easy manner and delightful laugh, it’s clear after just a few minutes with Chris Ball, that although he frequently attributes his successes to “good luck”, or “what turned out to be a good choice,” the outcomes are really the result of the serious and thoughtful planning he brings to his role of faculty program director.

When Ball, associate professor of psychology, decided he wanted to lead a study abroad program to Australia, he knew he wanted to follow best practices and that some things were non-negotiable.

First, he wanted to go to Adelaide.

Sure, the University of Adelaide is top-notch. Sure, Adelaide is also a beautiful destination. (It was the only Australian city to make the New York Times list of places to go in 2015 because of its “energetic arts scene… robust dining scene... and proximity to both wine country and beaches.”) But the decisive factor was that it’s where he grew up, went to university and where his family and countless professional and personal contacts are. “I know lots of people in Sydney, but it’s not the same as in Adelaide, where I can call on family if I need to.”

Next, he wanted the experience to be meaningful. “I didn’t want to be just a tour guide, hop on the bus and show people around. I wanted them to use public transport and get out and meet people.”

Finally, Ball wanted to incorporate research elements, and he wanted them to be relevant and contemporary, so they considered radicalization, globalization and even bullying.

“Cross-cultural psychology was a natural, and it turned out to be a great

–ABORIGINAL PROVERB

choice,” Ball decided. “Where better to examine it than in another country, particularly a country which is a little bit like America in some ways, but as soon as you get to the airport you know you’re in another country?”

Another subject relevant both to the U.S. and Australia is sustainability.

“We’re talking about a country the size of the U.S without the resources, particularly water. So we were lucky to make contact with the Department of Geography, Population & Environment, which is a very good department at the University of Adelaide.”

It seemed like a great fit, but when Ball first reached out to the members of the department, he sensed they were lukewarm and even a little wary of how the collaboration would work, not having experience with study abroad programs.

“Study abroad is not done in Australia the way it is here, so they’re not as familiar with how to approach it.

It wasn’t clear to them what would be involved, so we had to help them create their program as well.”

Undaunted, Ball set about deciding how to organize the five weeks for research in Australia. And perhaps this is where his training in psychology becomes most handy.

Of the 10 students signed up for the program, five were psychology majors or minors; the rest were business students or interested in health and medicine.

“So we had this spring 1-credit course before we went. During that process, I got to know them fairly well, so I was actually able to group them into common interests. Three of them were business students. What would be

interesting?” So he asked them to look at humor in advertising in western vs. eastern cultures.

The psychology students looked at racial stereotypes in crime reports in print media from the 1950s to the mid-2000s, recording references to Asian immigrants, white Australians and Indigenous Australians. “They’d never seen microfiche before,” Ball notes with a laugh.

The third group was interested in pre-med and health, so he assigned it the topic of the idealized body of females and how it relates to the global epidemic of eating disorders. The students researched whether gender gaps in various countries – with low gender equality vs high gender equality – corresponded to how women were portrayed in magazine cover photos in those countries.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I hadn’t done that 1-credit course where I could get to know their interests,” Ball says.

The three groups are pulling together what they learned – “some is publishable, I think” – to be posted online later this year.

Throughout the trip, Ball continued to find ways to make meaningful connections for the students and for his Australian contacts, encouraging engagement wherever possible.

The advantage of going to Australia in summer is that school is in session.

There’s also a tremendous international student population at Adelaide: 25 percent are international. “Our students lived about a half mile from Adelaide University, but were smack dab in the middle of the campus of the University of South Australia, and so we were right next to their main

Opposite page: The whole class (and their guide) at Remarkable Rocks in the Flinders Chase National Park on Kangaroo Island. From left to right: Jay, Kate Nelsen, Jiaorui Jiang, Emma Craige, Ari Hankerson, Harrison Adler, MC Curran, Leslie Tucker, Colin Wilson, Katie Potter, Lachlan Dodge.

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Clockwise, from top: The Bluff, Victor Harbor.

Professor Nick Harvey, executive dean and professor of geography and environmental studies at the University of Adelaide, is highlighting the coastal management issues along the southern coast of Australia; Posing with a koala at Cleland Wildlife Park located in the Adelaide Hills. From left to right: Kate Nelsen, Jiaorui Jiang, and Katie Potter; The students walk along the beach at Vivonne Bay Conservation Park, Kangaroo Island; Professor Ball hand feeding a big red kangaroo at Cleland Wildlife Park. Photos courtesy Christopher Ball.

buildings, with lots of bustle and young people.”

As meaningful and memorable as the research and exploration was the down time Ball organized.

The students went camping on the first weekend at Kangaroo Island, and visited Remarkable Rocks and the Admiral’s Arch. “And there were lots of kangaroos,” he concedes.

There was also lots of walking. Ball points proudly – albeit with a smile – to a handmade award the students gave him: “Most Likely to Take the Long Route.”

And as he anticipated, his personal connections were indispensable.

For instance, Ball has a friend who is a leading authority in the world in

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sports medicine, and he set up a meeting for a student interested in physical therapy. Ball’s family pitched in, too.

The students had afternoon tea at his sister’s house and went to a Pétanque (French boules) night at her club.

run by the Australian Student Environment Network. She did some social media and communications work and helped out in the office where needed. Ball intends to continue that service component next year.

Ball is optimistic about next year. The originally skeptical Department of Geography, Population & Environment is now enthusiastically on board.

So even with all his careful planning, there was something that surprised Ball: “How well the students got along together. It’s a long, exhausting trip… because of airline delays, most of them missed their connecting flights, and yet they still arrived in great spirits.”

“They’ve been in touch about how can we improve it next year. They went from a not-so-positive vibe at the beginning to embracing us. Our students helped in that, because they were serious and made such a great impression on the Australian faculty.”

As an example, Arielle Hankerson ’17 connected with the Wilderness Society and ended up helping with the planning of the annual Students of Sustainability Conference which is

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He adds, “I think I’d travel with that group again before my own family.

They were a sweet bunch and I enjoyed spending time with them.”

And the reason it all worked so well?

“We were just lucky. It just sort of happened.”

Maybe. But those of us who know Chris Ball know better.

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Cellphones broaden business opportunities for Tanzanian women

by Jim Ducibella

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF TANZ ANIAN WOMEN WHO NE VER BEFORE OWNED OR COULD AFFORD A CELLPHONE SUDDENLY RECEIVED ONE?

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hat’s the question for which Phil Roessler, William & Mary government professor and director of the Center for African Development at W&M, has sought an answer. Joining him are Brigham Young University professor and former AidData chief social scientist Dan Nielsen; Dr. Flora Myamba, the director of social protection at one of Tanzania’s leading research institutes, REPOA; and select students from both universities.

The W&M contingent received backing from the Roy R. Charles Center, the government department’s Sturm Award and the Institute for the Theory and Practice of International Relations (ITPIR). Roessler also received a faculty fellowship from the Reves Center for International Studies.

The researchers are working with Kidogo Kidogo – Little By Little in Swahili – a social enterprise founded to reduce the gender gap in mobile phone ownership in Tanzania, where women are significantly less likely to own a mobile phone than men.

Kidogo Kidogo uses proceeds from the sale of smartphone cases designed by a Tanzanian-based artist to provide cost-free mobile handsets to low-income women.

FINCA, a micro-finance organization that gives loans to Tanzanian women, joined in. Because of the explosion of mobile money – in which users can

seamlessly use their phones to save and send money – getting phones into the hands of its clients would make it easier for them to repay their loans.

Catherine Crowley and REPOA researchers conducted pretesting in the Rufiji region. This involved holding a focus group with small-scale farming women on how phones might affect their livelihoods, and distributing phones and airtime.

The project has three phases, the first of which has been completed, the second of which is about to begin.

The first phase, conducted around the city of Dar es Salaam, was implemented in the summer of 2014. Sixty women, all small business owners and market traders, were targeted.

All were interested in receiving phones because they faced constraints in communicating with customers, in getting information on market prices in neighboring villages and in being able to obtain the cheapest prices for the best-quality merchandise from suppliers.

Roessler and his colleagues used an experimental design to test the impact of mobile phone ownership.

Half of the participants were randomly assigned to receive phones and training at the outset of the study, and the other half also received the phone packages but not until after the twomonth study period was completed.

“After the two months, the women in the treatment group reported that it

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was much easier for them to obtain market information, such as real-time prices from neighboring markets on goods they were selling. Overall this improved their competitiveness as traders and small-business owners,” Roessler said. “They also reported that it was easier to communicate with their customers and grow their customer base.”

“There also was a significant uptick in the use of mobile money. By the end of the study, twice as many women in the treatment group were using mobile money as the women in the control group. And they reported using mobile money to accept payments for goods they were selling.”

But would those results last? Matthew Bondy ’18, who spent this past summer in Tanzania, helped conduct follow-up interviews with study participants, one year later. Working again with researchers from REPOA, they were able to contact around 60 percent of the women in the original study. The participants were asked approximately 25 questions about

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different – but potentially could have that much stronger an effect.”

Crowley is an international relations major with a strong interest in women’s rights throughout the world.

“Mobile phones are a simple but powerful technology. If we find that it can make that much of a difference [in peoples’ lives] and reduce gender inequality, that will have important policy implications.”

Asked what she thinks the women who will receive cash transfer will use it for, Crowley said her intuition is that they, too, will buy phones. The fact that phase two will occur during Tanzania’s political season and in the midst of an election, she said, could make a difference in what these women do.

Back row, from left: Professor Phil Roessler, Kyler Morris (Brigham Young University ‘15), Matthew Bondy (W&M ‘18). Front row: Catherine Crowley (W&M ‘17) and Dr. Flora Myamba (REPOA). Courtesy Phil Roessler

their use of digital financial services, whether or not the phones had enabled them to spend and use their money as they wished, as well as questions about their families, their sense of personal security and well-being, their income and their businesses.

“The results were striking, even from the survey done at the end of the two-month period a year ago,” Bondy said. “Use of mobile money among the women we contacted actually went up between the original endline survey and the one a year later. An open question we had was whether the strong results seen after only two months would dissipate over time. Actually, the effects were sustained over the year.”

One woman bragged that she uses her phone 100 times a day for business, contacting customers and suppliers.

As if to prove her point, she negotiated two deals during the interview.

“And we learned of the negative consequences of not owning a phone,” Bondy said. “We interviewed one woman who said sometimes a customer will try to contact her through her neighbor. If she doesn’t get the

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message right away, she maybe loses that business.”

Phase two will last six months and consist of 400 women, small-holder farmers in the Rufiji District, south of Dar es Salaam. One innovation in the second phase of the study will be the inclusion of an unconditional cash transfer – in which some participants will not receive a phone but the equivalent of the phone package in cash (about $25). This will allow the researchers to isolate the effect of the phone as an intervention versus another valuable good but which does not enable communication, access to information and mobile banking.

Funding is being provided by ITPIR and Tigo, one of the largest mobile network operators in Tanzania.

“In Dar es Salaam you can always find someone to borrow a phone from,” said Catherine Crowley ’17, who spent the summer in Tanzania closing out phase one and laying the groundwork for phase two phone distribution. “In rural regions that’s less likely. Some of the women I talked to didn’t have phones, not even their husbands.

Access is much lower, so this phase is

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“One of the most exciting changes that might come out of this is the ability for women to engage more easily with local politicians and their government,” she said. “We found a lot of ways that could happen. We also met with USAID in Tanzania, and I think there could be a really striking effect of this research and perhaps future projects.”

Phase three is planned for 2016-17 and will focus on a cross-section of 2,000 Tanzanian women from urban, peri-urban and rural environs. Included will be the basic handset and placebo cash condition from the first two phases, but adds smartphones and a random assignment of solar electrical chargers, data plans and training.

“We initially envisaged the research project as an opportunity to do the first-of-its-kind field experiment to test the impact of the mobile phone revolution on political empowerment, especially among women, in a low-income country,” Roessler said.

“We have started small with the pilot study in phase one and are slowly scaling up as we learn more. But this is an ambitious project and we will continue to expand the focus as we scale. Research from phase three will provide a wealth of data on the uptake and usage of mobile money and the welfare benefits to adoptees. This question is at the forefront of many development policy circles.”

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Keio university exchange program marks 25th anniversary

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by Sarah Mullen

n August, 40 students from Keio University in Japan took part in the 25th annual Keio University/William & Mary Cross-Cultural Collaboration. The program, which began in 1990 under the auspices of the American Studies Program, is now administered by the Reves Center’s Global Education Office. Six graduate and eight undergraduate student staff plan the program’s academic content, work closely with the visiting students, and assist with day-to-day operations.

To celebrate the program’s 25th year, the Global Education Office hosted a reception in the Wren Building’s Great Hall for this year’s students, faculty, and staff. Provost Michael R. Halleran and Vice Provost for International Affairs Stephen E. Hanson both spoke at the reception. Keio University Professor Toshiyuki Owada, on his fourth visit to W&M with the program, read a letter from the Director of Keio’s International Center and spoke about his experiences with the program over the years.

Over the course of the program, Keio students attended lectures and discussion classes covering a variety of topics related to American society and culture, took field trips

Provost Michael Halleran cuts the first slice of birthday cake. From left to right: Sarah Mullen, Keio Program Administrator; Steve Hanson, Director of the Reves Center; Halleran, Provost; Professor Toshiyuki Owada; and Sylvia Mitterndorfer, Director of the Global Education Office.

to local sites of historical and cultural significance, and worked in small groups to prepare research projects that compared and contrasted different facets of American and Japanese society. The program culminated in a four-day visit to Washington, D.C., where the Global Education Office was able to arrange for a visit with the Japanese Embassy’s Minister of Public Affairs and diplomatic staff.

Alumni Around the World

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Seoul, South Korea.

Soh Yeong Roh ’84 graciously hosted the annual event for the second time. Fifty people attended the reception at the Art Center Nabi, a new media art museum, of which she is founder and director.

n June, representatives of W&M traveled to Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Seoul to help bring the W&M family in Asia closer to campus and to each other through engagement activities connecting alumni, parents, current and incoming students. In all, they interacted with over a hundred alumni and scores of incoming students.

In Beijing and Singapore they also met with study abroad students to help expand their W&M networks and provide a window into life and careers in Asia.

Afternoon tea in Beijing. While incoming W&M students learned more about the university, alumni gathered over tea to reminisce about the good old days and to plan future gettogethers.

Participating Staff: Kelly S. Holdcraft, Director, Regional Alumni Engagement; Sani Silvennoinen, Executive Director of Regional & International Advancement; Mark Sikes, Associate Dean of Students & Director of Parent and Family Programs; Lauren Garrett, Director of First Year Experience; and Eva Wong, International Student and Scholar Advisor at the Reves Center for International Studies.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

2015 International Student Achievement Awards FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AND SCHOL ARS PROGRAM (ISSP) INVITED NOMINATIONS FROM FACULT Y AND STAFF FOR OUTSTANDING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS. The four recipients were selected by a committee that included Reves staff and W&M faculty and honored at a reception at the Reves Center. Steve Sechrist, Director of ISSP; Steve Hanson, Director of the Reves Center; and President Taylor Reveley presented the awards. Sechrist noted in his remarks that, “The awards are an important way for us to recognize the achievements of members of the international student community at W&M. It highlights how important they are to the education and research that takes place at here. We would not be a world class university without them.”

BEN ZHANG ’16 China Nominated by Professor of Chemistry Elizabeth Harbron and Professor of Geology Heather MacDonald. Professor Harbron wrote: “His transcript reveals him to be a stellar student but the success he has already demonstrated in the lab makes an even stronger argument for his long term potential.”

Ben began working in Professor Harbron’s lab in fall of 2014 and has largely taken over the lab work for a new project. He is not afraid to innovate and has developed tools to streamline processes and calculations, producing breakthrough results.

Ben will be co-directing the Humans of William & Mary Initiative. This Student Affairs initiative involves interviewing members of the community and posting them online to start conversations and spark better understanding.

ALORA JIANG ’16 China Nominated by Professor of Government Amy Oakes. Professor Oakes wrote: “I first met Alora when she enrolled in my upper level course in international security. From the beginning of the semester it was apparent that she was among my brightest students – poised, well-spoken and gifted. Her written work was very strong, both highly analytical and clearly written.”

Alora has held very prestigious internships with Head Start, AidData and the National Center for State Courts. Joan Cochet, director of education at the National Center for State Courts, described Alora as one of the most enthusiastic, dedicated and professional interns she had worked with. Alora’s dedication reminded her of the importance of providing opportunities for students, especially international students, in professional training.

ANDREW KOTTICK Canada Nominated by Chair and Professor of Applied Science Christopher Del Negro. Andrew Kottick is a PhD student in applied science. In addition to impressive accomplishments in his field of study, Professor Del Negro says this about Andrew: “Mr. Kottick embodies all the qualities one wishes to see in a graduate student, including a fierce desire to unlock secrets through original research and discovery, and a commitment to the free and open exchange of ideas in the broadest tradition of the liberal arts and sciences.

“As treasurer of the Graduate Student Association, he has helped the organization become a more effective steward of its resources and develop a sense of camaraderie among its members. In his spare time, Andrew also mentors high school and undergraduate students interested in applied science research.”

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MARIO LINARES VASQUEZ Colombia

Nominated by Professor of Computer Science Denys Poshyvanyk. Mario Linares Vasquez is a PhD student in Computer Science. Professor Posyvanyk wrote this about Mario: “Mario is a proactive problem solver and his research has already had a positive impact receiving recognition in the field of software engineering. He has published a number of high quality journal and conference papers that include publications in IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, the flagship journal in the field.

Mario has proved himself as an excellent teacher and mentor. Promoting W&M’s joint goals of teaching and research, all of the students he has supervised and mentored have ended up publishing papers with him at conferences and in journals.

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NEW IN PRINT

In her new book, Seger finds answers in ‘landscapes in between’ illiam & Mary Assistant Italian Studies Professor Monica Seger grew up in the city but is drawn to the outdoors. So as a young Italian studies scholar, she found herself drawn to representations of the natural world in the Italian texts she studied.

It is in “landscapes in between,” in interstitial landscapes that are neither wholly synthetic nor entirely wild (think an abandoned factory that is being reclaimed by the land or beds of roadside wildflowers), that Seger finds the common thread that knits together the five artists.

In January, University of Toronto Press published her first book, Landscapes in Between: Environmental Change in Modern Italian Literature and Film, called an “important contribution to the growing internationalization of ecocriticism,” by Patrick Barron, reviewer and University of Massachusetts Boston English professor.

Starting in the 1950s, with Calvino’s earliest fiction, Seger traces the arc of attitudes toward a landscape that is permanently altered but that still offers at least a limited experience of nature.

In it, Seger examines the works of five Italian authors and filmmakers, looking closely at how they represent the rapidly changing and forever-altered landscapes of contemporary Italy.

Too often, art reflects an idealized vision of Italy – rolling hillsides, idyllic townships – with “nary an industrial drainpipe in sight,” Seger notes.

But Italy underwent a dramatic transformation after World War II, an economic boom marked by swells of economically-driven migration, unchecked development, industrialization and urban sprawl that pressed into the countryside. Since the 1950s, Italy has been subject not only to profound cultural shifts, but monumental changes in how Italians relate to the land itself.

Seger is interested in how five artists in particular – Italo Calvino, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Gianni Celati, Simona Vinci and the filmmaking duo Daniele Ciprí and Franco Maresco – responded. “One of the crucial functions of imaginative texts is their ability to reflect the world – in all its complications – to audiences, so that they may begin to make sense of it,” Seger writes in her introduction.

by Cortney Langley

Seger found a gradual “environmental reckoning” in the five artists, even as Italy’s natural spaces became more neglected and degraded. In the most contemporary authors and filmmakers, there is an almost complete acceptance of, and appreciation for, the fractured landscape.

“The idea of working with the material at hand, of coping and coming to terms is very intriguing, especially regarding the natural environment,” she said. “In those interstitial spaces, one can feel the energy that comes from being out in nature and the wild. You can smell the fresh air, you can see the plants and you can take whatever it is one takes from that, while also realizing that you might still have one foot in a more urban world, in the worlds of transport and commerce.”

The attitude might prove useful as the world grapples with the effects of climate change.

“I’m really an advocate for turning to the humanities as a way to consider contemporary world problems,” she said. “I think the artist … can offer all of us a way to step back from the realities in which we’re living and to then reconsider them through a new representation. Literary and cinematic texts can offer alternative models for moving forward, for addressing our relationship to the natural world.”

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VISITORS TO CAMPUS

Ann Mei Chang: AidData ‘critical’ to university-led development network

by Jim Ducibella

ANN MEI CHANG, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED STATES GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT L AB AT USAID, RECENTLY SHARED WITH AN AUDIENCE AT WILLIAM & MARY WHAT SHE CALLED “THE CORE AREAS” OF 21ST CENTURY DEVELOPMENT.

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hang pointed to five steppingstones for success: open innovation, evidence and iteration, scale and sustainability, enabling technology and partnership. Chang was effusive in her praise for the part AidData is playing in moving each of those steps forward.

“AidData has encoded almost $1 trillion of development program dollars to understand where exactly they’re being spent and how,” she said. “By doing so they were able to help us, local governments and NGOs better target their dollars to the places it’s needed the most.”

In 2012, USAID launched the Higher Education Solutions Network (HESN). W&M is one of seven universities involved in the program, whose stated goal is to “harness the ingenuity and passion of university students, researchers and faculty to deliver the greatest impact and develop innovative solutions to the world’s most challenging development problems.”

W&M, Chang said, “has really stood out because of the multi-disciplinary, evidence-based approach it takes.”

The Global Development Lab is the newest bureau at USAID. Its mission is to look at how science, technology, innovation and partnerships could transform the way the U.S. approaches development. It’s no longer just about giving money. Chang said that in 1990, 50 percent of U.S. develop-

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ment aid was in the form of dollars.

This year, less than nine percent will be financial.

“We can’t do it alone and even if we could do it alone, we don’t want to do it alone because we want to bring in diversified, different perspectives,” she said. “We really think that the rigor of academia, especially using data-driven development, absolutely resonates with the core values of the lab, so we want to bring that rigor across the board to what we’re doing in development.”

Chang said the first order of business is to find great new innovations. Those ideas can come from anywhere, and she used the protective suits worn by medical personnel fighting the Ebola crisis in West Africa as a prime example.

The original suits took 15 minutes to don, took two people to remove, were unventilated and could be worn no longer than 45 minutes because the temperature inside the suit was unbearable.

The Global Development Lab issued an “Ebola Challenge” to design a better suit. The final product had an integrated cooling system, was a single piece that a person could easily remove themselves and was much more comfortable, allowing doctors and nurses to spend more time with their patients.

While Johns Hopkins led the project, among the designers was a sportswear company and a wedding dress designer.

WORLD MINDED

“All of these people brought different ideas to the table,” Chang said.

It’s one thing to have a great idea, Chang said. What matters is whether it works in the conditions it is designed to solve.

“That’s why I’m such a big fan of AidData, because I think AidData lives and breathes this ethos of focusing on data-driven development,” she said.

“We can make better decisions for development if we have data that tells us what works and what doesn’t.

“Today there are several USAID missions working with AidData and using AidData tools to inform their development efforts. We’re hoping that will continue to grow and over time become a standard best practice of how we do business.”

AidData, Chang said, has played a vital role in increasing technology’s role in global development.

“One thing AidData has done is fielded fellows to developing countries,” she explained. “We’ve often found that people in developing countries don’t have the tools or expertise to use data to make development decisions. They’re often shooting in the dark. By sending fellows out to do training, run hack-a-thons, develop curriculum, these fellows are able to build up the capacity for people in developing countries. They’ve been incredibly useful.”

VISITORS TO CAMPUS

Africa Ideas Summit

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or the second year, William & Mary and its partners in The Presidential Precinct (University of Virginia; William Short’s Morven and the historic Presidential sites of three founding fathers: Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, James Madison’s Montpelier and James Monroe’s Ashlawn-Highland) were selected as hosts for the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. The Fellowship empowers young leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa who have a proven record of accomplishment in promoting innovation and positive change in their organizations, institutions, or communities. In all, 500 Mandela Washington Fellows were hosted at universities across the U.S., culminating in a conference and meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington.

On the final day at William & Mary, the fellows presented solutions to some of their country’s most pressing challenges, from advocating for the rights of person’s living with disabilities, to creating more inclusive governments, to engaging youth into leadership in civil society, to promoting women’s health.

Through five moderated panel sessions, each fellow posed their solution to one of these major challenges in a TED-style talk. The Presidential Precinct was the only civic engagement program out of 20 to include such an opportunity. Scott Ickes, associate professor of kinesiology and director of the project for William & Mary introduced the event:

Presidential Precinct Fellow Grace Jerry (Nigeria) was chosen by the U.S. State Department to introduce President Obama at the final ceremony in D.C.

The purpose of today’s summit is to bring together 25 great ideas, from 25 outstanding young leaders from 20 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa. From Chad to Swaziland, this group represents the best of young leadership across civil society sectors.

Each of these leaders has dedicated their lives to solving intractable problems in their countries, and is doing so in almost every case under harsh conditions – be it economic constraints, poor political will, lack of strong institutions, civil war, weak infrastructure. This list goes on.

For the past six weeks. Six long, tiring – but hopefully fun and enlightening weeks – these 25 young leaders have engaged with ideas that have stretched the capacities of two of our country’s leading public universities, and the Presidential sites of three founding fathers: Madison, Jefferson, and Monroe. They’ve learned about innovative leadership, network building, constitution building, approaches to development, and we’ve worked together to develop strategies to mobilize resources to achieve the very noble missions these excellent leaders have set out to achieve.

Africa is on the move. So, let’s move with these 25 bright examples of civic leadership. Let’s work together today to be part of that change. And let’s hope the ideas shared here can stimulate ideas that spread across the globe to make all countries more inclusive, free, fair and open for business and social change.

From left: David Hofisi (Zimbabwe) and Professor Christopher Adkins. Hofisi is a senior projects lawyer with Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. Professor Adkins, director of the undergraduate business program at William & Mary, led a workshop on the power of empathy in leadership.

From left: Nandipha Marion (Zambia) and Judge Cressondra Conyers J.D. ‘92. Marion is an adjudicator in the Zambian Subordinate Court presiding over the only juvenile court in the district. She was interested in learning about best practices and challenges in juvenile courts in the U.S. and was able to meet with Judge Conyers, presiding judge for the Gloucester, Mathews and Middlesex Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, and 2015 recipient of William & Mary’s Prentis Award.

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Australia: University of Adelaide Austria: Vienna University of Economics & Business Canada: McGill University China: Tsinghua University England: University of Exeter England: Manchester Business School England: University of Nottingham France: L’institut d’Études Politiques de Lille France: Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier III Japan: Akita International University Japan: Kanazawa University Japan: Keio University Netherlands: Leiden University Scotland: University of St Andrews Singapore: National University of Singapore South Korea: Yonsei University Wales: Cardiff University

W&M-Sponsored Semester Programs: Argentina: La Plata England: Oxford France: Montpellier Spain: Seville

www.wm.edu/studyabroad

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