You reached this page through the archive. Click here to return to the archive.

Note: This article is over a year old and information contained in it may no longer be accurate. Please use the contact information in the lower-left corner to verify any information in this article.

Faculty Action Association announces 2007 award winners

By Tom Vogel
May 8, 2007

The 2007 Faculty Action Association award winners were announced recently. Nine St. Olaf students will receive assistance in funding their off-campus studies thanks to money that has been donated by members of the faculty.

Judy Kutulas
Kutulas
Professor of History and Director of Women's Studies Judy Kutulas, who has been president of the Faculty Action Association for the past eight years, says that the awards currently grant about $500 to $600 per student. Although she says that's only a fraction of what it costs students to study abroad, the award makes "an important St. Olaf experience a little less difficult for some students."

The St. Olaf Faculty Action Association was founded in 1968 after the assassination of Martin Luther King in order to carry on the tradition of his work at St. Olaf. Faculty, administrators and staff continue to make voluntary contributions to the fund to support international programs for minority students with financial need. Currently, about 50 St. Olaf faculty and staff members contribute to the program.

Students apply for the award through the International and Off-campus Studies office. Applicants are required to write an essay on how the Faculty Action Association relates to their area of study. The Faculty Action Association advisory committee, comprised of Kutulas, along with Professor of Economics David Emery, Associate Professor of Social Work Naurine Lennox '64 and Assistant Professor of English Jan Hill read the essays and make decisions concerning award distribution.

"I'm always surprised at the students' range of interests and choice of programs," Kutulas says. "Someone born in Africa may choose to go to Ireland to study literature."

During the past 30 years the Faculty Action Association has helped send students around the world, from Australia to India to Asia. Students have traveled across Europe, participated in Term in the Middle East and Global Semester and, as Kutulas says, "about every Interim program ever offered."

This year's Faculty Action Association award winners, and their programs of study, are:

  • Ka Zoua Her '09, Term in Asia
  • Mai Der Lee '09, Term in Asia
  • Pa Kou Vang '09, Term in Asia
  • Thao Vang '09, Term in Asia
  • Mariam Wahidi '08, Biology in South India
  • Jay Xiong '09, Term in Asia
  • Nor Xiong '08, Biology in South India
  • Sue Xiong '09, Global Semester
  • Houachee Yang '08, Term in Asia

    • Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.