Ford Scholars Symposium
Established in 1988 with a grant from the Ford Foundation, the Ford Scholars Program at Vassar College fosters student and faculty collaboration on research projects in the humanities and social sciences. The program encourages academic mentoring relationships between undergraduate students and expert scholars. Faculty mentors initiate and mentor each project and design them to include significant student participation. Students become junior partners in rigorous scholarship, course preparation and teaching related research. Over the years, the energy and dedication of students and faculty have made this a healthy and thriving program. Its success is reflected in the many student participants who have gone on to receive advanced degrees in the humanities and social sciences. Its impact can also be seen in the many Vassar courses whose content and structure have been transformed and strengthened by these imaginative projects.
The original Ford Foundation grant is now expended, but the program continues to flourish thanks to the continued generosity of private donors. In the summer of 2008, we were able to fund seventeen projects in Anthropology, Art, Art History, Classics, Computer Science, Curatorial Studies, Economics, English, Film Studies, Geography, History, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, and Sociology. I am pleased to acknowledge their valued contributions and to thank the friends of Vassar whose gifts have given the program another splendid year. Additionally, I wish to thank our former Ford Scholar director, acting Dean of the College Christopher Roellke, who has graciously agreed to provide our keynote address this afternoon.
This symposium marks the end of my first year as Director of the Ford Scholars Program, and I have learned a great deal. I thank all of the students and faculty who have participated in the program this year, and I hope they will help me reach out to others on campus who might wish to do so in the coming year. I especially wish to thank Carol Jarvis, Administrative Assistant to the Ford Scholars Program, who has been my total guide and collaborator.
Katherine Hite, Director
2008 Ford Scholars Program
Director of Latin American and Latino/a Studies and Associate Professor of Political Science
Symposium Schedule
Alumnae House, Vassar College
October 7, 2009
4:00 pm Director’s Welcome - Katherine Hite, Director, 2009 Ford Scholars Program
4:05-4:35 pm Poster Session I
4:40-5:10 pm Poster Session II
5:15 pm KFord Scholar presentations by Michael Dickerson, Jaleesa Johnston and Mario Sosa