|
NEWS SERVICES |
NEWS
| For immediate use |
April 7, 2004 -- No. 188 |
Local angles: See list of students and hometowns at the end of the release.
25 UNC students win scholarships
for summer program in Singapore
CHAPEL HILL -- Twenty-five University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill freshmen have been awarded full scholarships for an innovative study abroad program in Singapore this summer.
The Singapore Summer Immersion Program, based in the College of Arts and Sciences and designed for students at the end of their first year, is a seven-week academic program in Southeast Asia. Now in its second year, the program is made possible through a gift by alumnus Alston Gardner, a 1977 UNC history graduate, providing scholarships covering all program costs.
"The Singapore Summer Immersion Program will give Carolina students a global context for the study of any subject — history, political science, literature, even the traditional sciences," said Gardner. "The goal is to open minds to a world beyond the borders of North Carolina so that students will better understand the advantages we enjoy and the challenges we face."
Students were selected from a pool of nearly 90 applicants, twice the number of students who applied last year. "We sought participants who were not only outstanding as individuals, but who would also contribute their unique energies to a diverse group of bright, interesting and engaged students," said Dr. Donald Nonini, professor of anthropology, who will lead this summer’s group.
The program aims to offer an introduction to the history and cultures of Southeast Asia and to globalization issues. Students will spend the first six weeks at the National University of Singapore. Classes, taught by Nonini and local faculty, will be complemented by out-of-class activities, including weekend visits to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, and to the historic port city of Melaka, also in Malaysia.
During the final week, students will be hosted in Bangkok by the Kenan Institute Asia and Mahidol University. They will travel to Penang, in the northern part of Malaysia, where Nonini has done extensive research, and then board a train for the overnight ride to Bangkok. The final week will include
lectures and activities with local professors and students, as well as excursions to historic and cultural sites in and around Bangkok designed to give students an overview of Thai history and society.
To further encourage students in their academic exploration of Southeast Asia, the program includes another unique opportunity. An alumni research fellowship allows one student who participated in 2003 to join the program again this year to undertake an independent research project and to act as an informal guide to the new students. For this summer, the fellowship was awarded to Patricia Lee of Weaverville, N.C., who will examine Singapore’s budding arts culture and the government’s role in its promotion.
"I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to garner lasting friendships as well as receive a top-rate education halfway around the world," Lee said of her Singapore summer experience last year. "I am thrilled to be returning this summer to conduct my own research as well as serve as a mentor to the students."
For more information on the program, visit the program website http://www.studyabroad.unc.edu/Singapore, or call the Study Abroad Office at 962-7002.
The 2004 Singapore Summer Immersion Program Participants are:
Name Hometown
- 30 -
CONTACT: Dee Reid at (919) 843-6339