Page 7 - 2017 Annual Report
P. 7
WHAT AWARD RECIPIENTS CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
ARE SAYING…
Leah McCurdy, archaeologist and senior
“The Phi Kappa Phi lecturer at The University of Texas at Arlington,
Dissertation Fellowship used funds from a 2017 Literacy Grant to
fills a unique funding niche organize a community outreach project and
by supporting young scholarship program in San Antonio, Belize.
scientists who are taking
steps towards academic Throughout June and July 2017, Leah and
independence. Substantial grants like the a team of archaeologists partnered with San
Dissertation Fellowship, which does not Antonio Pentecostal School to recruit students
restrict to subject matter, are hard to come by who could read the Yucatec Maya version of the
and may not be available in some academic trilingual, archaeologically inspired storybook
fields. I trust that this award will enable me to To the Mountain! Eight selected students lent their voices to the project to bring the story
make an important contribution to public and language to life in the form of an audiobook.
health through my dissertation.” “Our goal for this audiobook is to encourage more young people to learn and speak
Anna Joy Rogers, University of Alabama their ancestral language of Yucatec Maya and connect to the ancient Maya heritage of their
at Birmingham, 2017 Dissertation Fellow village,” said Leah.
As reward for their participation, each student received a tuition
“I am truly grateful to be and textbook scholarship for the 2017-2018 school year as well as a
honored as a recipient of new backpack full of school supplies.
the Love of Learning FUN FACT: To the Mountain! was first printed and distributed in 2016
Award. These funds with help from a previous Literacy Grant from Phi Kappa Phi.
obviously lessen the
financial burden on my CHANGE IS GOOD
family, but the award itself will inspire me as I
step closer to completing my Master of An Excellence in Innovation Update
Business Administration. It’s difficult to In 2016, Phi Kappa Phi awarded its first $100,000 Excellence
explain, but opening the ‘Award Winner’ in Innovation Award to Tulane University for the efforts
email announcement was a simple yet of its Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and
powerful moment for me—I just felt proud. Design Thinking. Established in 2014, the Taylor Center
Proud of my late nights, proud of starting this aims to create sustainable solutions to challenges faced in the
journey, and proud of where I am headed.” environment, society, education, health care and beyond.
Phil Mauermann, St. Norbert College, When Phi Kappa Phi caught up with the Taylor Center in
2017 Love of Learning recipient the fall to see what kind of impact the award had in its first
year, it was evident that great things were happening, both
“As a first-generation, low- on Tulane’s campus and in the broader community.
income student, studying “The short story is that the Phi Kappa Phi Innovation
abroad has always
appeared as a far-fetched Award made a tremendously positive impact for all of us at the Phyllis Taylor Center for
goal. However, the Phi Social Innovation and Design Thinking—and beyond as well,” said Kenneth Schwartz,
Kappa Phi Study Abroad director and dean of the Taylor Center and dean of the Tulane School of Architecture.
Grant has enabled me to study abroad in
Uganda to study international peace policy Among the many happenings at the Taylor Center, one major change was a new facility
efforts. This experience will guide my career that was made possible in large part because of the Innovation Award.
aspirations in global policy. It is through
grants, such as the Phi Kappa Phi Study “Our new facility is beautiful,” said Taylor Center staff Julia Lang and Heather Marinaro.
Abroad Grant, that I am financially able to “Our new space is not only more conducive to student learning, but it is also a much better
expand my personal and professional growth working environment for the staff.”
outside of U.S. borders.”
Nancy Nguyen, San Diego State University, In addition to new digs, the Taylor team is working on a revamp of one of its first
2017 Study Abroad recipient programs, the Changemaker Institute. The program, which supports social entrepreneurs, is
being strengthened to empower students with the skills necessary to advance social change
in a number of areas.
The Innovation Award is lauded for helping not only to validate the work of the Taylor
Center, but also to raise interest across campus. With all the positive growth and change taking
place at the Taylor Center, it’s certain that the award will have a lasting impact for years to come.
2017 ANNUAL REPORT 5
