May 3, 2004

Human Rights Awards Support Research, Education

The Thomas J. Dodd Research Center and its Human Rights Institute have granted awards totaling more than $60,000 for faculty to conduct human rights research, education, and programming in 2004-2005.

Thanks to an endowment from UConn alumnus Gary Gladstein and his wife Judi, these awards triple the amount provided in previous years.

"Although it's tragic that human rights violations are continuing across the world and demand such attention," said Tom Wilsted, Dodd Center director, "we can truthfully say that no other university can boast the depth of commitment to the issues of human rights than the University of Connecticut."

Richard Wilson, director of the institute, said, "As we see this commitment taking place across our campus on both a personal and financial level, we're grateful that the Gladsteins and others have come forth to help fund faculty efforts that otherwise would not be realized, efforts that are necessary if we are ever to address the issue of the escalating number of human rights violations in the U.S. and abroad."

Wilsted said the specific nature of many of the grants illustrates not only the concern, but also the courage and scholarly imagination of many of the award winners.

"Not only does this money allow us to multiply our educational and research efforts on human rights," he added, "but it allows us to build a body of knowledge that currently does not exist, a body of knowledge that can benefit the University community and the growing numbers of people across the United States who are interested in this subject."

The award winners are:

Human Rights Institute Research Awards
Mary Crawford, Psychology
Research: "Developing and Evaluating Interventions to Reduce Trafficking of Girls and Women in Nepal"
$2,000

Lawrence B. Goodheart, History
Research: "A Profile of Capital Punishment in Connecticut, 1636-2004"
$5,549

Michelle Kaufman, Ph.D. Candidate, Psychology
Research: "Voluntary and Involuntary Sex Trafficking in Nepal: An Investigation into Human and Cultural Rights"
$4,000

Marita McComiskey, Women's Studies
Conference 2005: "The Responsibility of the Present Generations for the Protection of Women's Human Rights"
$3,000

Samuel Martinez, Anthropology
Research: "Anthropology's Human Rights Archive: A Preliminary Assessment of the Documents of the AAA Committee for Human Rights"
$1,912

Nancy A. Naples, Sociology and Women's Studies
Research: "Sexual Citizenship and Human Rights: A Comparative Study of Immigration Policies in Different National Contexts"
$6,000

Olu Oguibe, Art and Art History
Research: "A Decade of Freedom: Art after Apartheid 1994-2004"
$800

Human Rights Institute Educational Awards
Rebecca Aubrey and Maytte Restrepo-Ruiz, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Seminar Series: "Perspectives on Human Rights in Latin America"
$1,300

Gary English, Drama
The Connecticut Repertory Theater production of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare"
$7,000

Davita Silfen Glasberg, Sociology
New Course: "Human Rights in the United States"
$10,097

Gregory Kneidel, English
Materials for New Course: "Literature and Human Rights"
$400

Salvatore Scalora, William Benton Museum of Art
Photographic Exhibition: "James Nachtwey: Testimony"
$5,000

Human Rights Initiative Awards
Salvatore Scalora, William Benton Museum of Art
Poster Exhibition: "Molding Minds: Propaganda and Protest Posters from the American Vietnam War era."
$1,750

Frank Mack, Managing Director - Connecticut Repertory Theater
Lecture/Discussion: Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar"
$1,500

Marita McComiskey - Women's Studies Program
Conference: "The Responsibility of the Present Generation for the Protection of Women's Human Rights"
$2,000

Paul Bloomfield - Philosophy
Lecture and seminar: "Foundational Issues in Human Rights"
$1,250

David Cournoyer - School of Social Work
Exhibit: "All Of Us Are Related, Each Of Us Is Unique"
$1,938

Lynne Healy/Tom Felke - Center For International Social Work, School of Social Work
Lecture/Discussion: Mary Clark, Senior Policy Official, Jamaican Civil Service "Negotiating and Representing Human Rights Within The United Nations System."
$1,240

Davita Silfen Glasberg - Sociology and Human Rights Minor Program.
Lecture: Carol Anderson, "Eyes Off The Prize: The United Nations and The African American Struggle for Human Rights, 1944-1955"
$1,000

Rebecca Aubrey and Maytte Restrep-Ruiz - Center for Latin America & Caribbean Studies
Lecture Series: Six Talks - "Perspectives on Human Rights in Latin America"
$1,800

Jon Bauer - School of Law
Presentation/Discussion: Work of the Asylum and Human Rights Clinic, School of Law
$500

John A. Davis - History
Round Table Discussion: Four Speakers - "War Crimes and War Guilt: The Hidden Pages of Contemporary Italian Memory"
$1,000

John A. Davis - Center for European Studies
Poetry Reading/Lecture: Peter Balakian - "Armenia: Genocide and Memory Through Poetry"
$1,000