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THE AUSTRIAN ROOM

The ConceptThe Austrian Room is based on elements from theHaydnsaal (Haydn Hall) in Schloss Esterhazy – acastle in the small town of Eisenstadt, the provincialcapital of Burgenland, near Vienna. Originally builtin 1371, the Gothic fortress was transformed into aspacious baroque castle in the late 1600’s. In 1761,Prince Nicholaus Esterhazy hired Joseph Haydn assecond conductor. Haydn eventually becameKapellmeister with his own orchestra. His 107symphonies caused him to be known as “the father ofthe symphony.” Haydn’s concerts and operas,performed in the spacious Haydnsaal, oftencommanded the royal family’s attendance.

The Ceiling MuralsThese murals are inspired by those decorating theHaydnsaal’s ceiling. The originals are the work ofCarpoforo Tencalla (1632-1685), an Italian artist whodecorated churches and castles throughout Austria.Inspired by the writing of the classical Roman writerLucius Apuleius, Roman gods and goddessesabound. Celeste Parrendo, a Pittsburgh artist,traveled to Eisenstadt to study, photograph, andobtain documentation on the paintings beforerecreating reduced replicas on panels which werethen mounted on the ceiling.

The ChandeliersIlluminating the room are two Lobmeyr crystalchandeliers similar to those in Vienna’s SchoenbrunnPalace, the favorite residence of Empress MariaTheresa.

WallsThe painted walls bear floral designs and trim of 23-carat gold leaf. Specially fabricated knives werecreated by Giffin Interiors to reproduce the room’sadaptation of the original trim molding. Royal reddamask upholstery adds interest to the panels. Onthe left wall is a map of the Austrian Empire from1711 to 1740. On the right wall hangs an inscriptioncommemorating composers born within the Austriandomain. The earliest birth date is 1170, with thecomposers grouped under the coat-of-arms of theprovince in which they were born. The room’s

entrance is surmounted by a quotation fromMaximilian I that symbolizes the propensity of theHabsburgs to expand their empire through well-arranged marriages.

The Floor and FurnitureThe rose pattern of the wood parquet floor originatedin Austria where it graces numerous castles. Quartersawn oak laid in a sunburst design is bordered by awalnut strip, producing a three-dimensional effect.The seminar table and chair design replicates theImperial dining room furniture in Vienna’s Hofburg.Firma Friedrich Otto Schmidt, a venerable Viennesefirm, created the furniture using traditional methodsthat render it almost indistinguishable from that inthe Hofburg.

Display CasesIn the room’s display cases, one can see a reflectionof the oldest period of Austrian culture in the replicaof the Venus of Willendorf, a Stone Age sculpturethat dates from 28,000-22,000 B.C. Fashioned oflimestone, this symbol of fertility was probablyworshipped as an ancestor who protected the tribe.The Early Iron Age (750-400 B.C.) is represented bythe Hallstatt Bull. Found in Moravia, this replica,with its elegant lines and stylized, head-up position,rivals ancient Scythian sculpture. Another Iron Ageartifact is a clasp used to fasten garments. Found ingraves near Hallstatt, the clasp bears a delicatelyetched design. The year 996 A.D. brought the firstdocumented mention of Ostarrichi, Old HighGerman for Oesterreich. The original OstarrichiDocument, housed in the Archives of Bavaria, inMunich, Germany, is considered by historians to bethe first written reference to the country we know asAustria.

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EDITOR: E. Maxine Bruhns

ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Eileen Kiley

REPORTER: Susan Langer

“EYES & EARS” and SCHOLARSHIP REPORTS:Laura Vondas

Nationality Rooms andIntercultural Exchange Programs

1209 Cathedral of LearningUniversity of PittsburghPittsburgh, PA 15260

Phone: 412.624.6150FAX: 412.624.4214

E-mail: kiley@ucis.pitt.eduwebsite: www.pitt.edu/~natrooms/

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTORE. Maxine Bruhns, Director

From its inception in 1926, the Nationality RoomsProgram has enjoyed worldwide outreach with roomcommittees in Budapest, London, Dublin, Peiping,Bucharest and Athens. Upon completion of the firstgeneration of rooms, many room chairmen traveled totheir motherlands to deliver the large fine volume, “TheNationality Rooms”, published in 1947, featuringAndrey Avinoff ’s watercolors and sketches, touniversity libraries.

The rooms continue to attract visitors and publicitythrough diverse means.

· The Greater Pittsburgh Convention andVisitors Bureau brings travel writers fromabroad to visit the rooms. The articles theypublish inspire readers to come to Pittsburgh.

· A visit to the rooms is a must for school fieldtrips, Boy Scouts and Brownie Scouts. Thevideo “Homelands Remembered” is sent toevery school class prior to their visit. Thisgives the students an historic perspective ofour 80-year old program.

· Pennsylvania Cable Network has produced anhour long program featuring a tour of therooms. It continues to air.

· WQED’s Rick Sebak’s feature on Oaklandincludes a segment on the Nationality Rooms,seen widely by Pittsburghers.

· Schools, hospitals, GoodWill and others ofteninvite us to participate in Diversity orInternational Days. Members of our PolishCommittee teach paper cutout art. The GreekCommittee often presents Greek dancing ortalks about their culture. At a recent DiversityDay at Shadyside Hospital, three former QuoVadis guides were eager to join our Alumnigroup.

· Commons Room events open to the publicinclude Indian Independence Day, thePolishFest, the Ukrainian Festival and theannual Holiday Open House in December.They attract thousands of visitors and mediacoverage.

· During the school year, classes are scheduledin most of the rooms from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.Thus thousands of students absorb each room’sambiance from morning to night.

· Our Summer Study Abroad Scholarships nownumber 856. Each student is an ambassadorfor our program during their stays in East andWest Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

· Over the years we have hosted heads of state,royalty, United Nations dignitaries, EuropeanUnion ambassadors, international delegations,sports teams, and conjoined Siamese twins.

While we don’t intend to rest on our laurels, we’rerunning on a good record – and I do mean running.

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MESSAGE FROM THE COUNCILCHAIRMAN

Patricia Sigler, Chairman

On October 12, 2005, following the Nationality RoomsCouncil meeting, E. Maxine Bruhns moderated a panelof 34 Summer Study Abroad Scholarship Programrecipients that discussed the highlights of theirexperiences. As one listens to these reports, it is obviousthat this represents an outstanding group of individualswho have used these awards to be ambassadors ofAmerica and to further develop and refine their careergoals.

The excellence demonstrated by these awardees is inlarge measure due to the well-developed, rigorousselection process used by the staff. As this Newsletteris printed, the application process is underway and sothe cycle continues. The staff is to be congratulated onthe exemplary way they fulfill this trust. All of thecommittees that comprise the Council are cognizantand appreciative of this monumental task. Please takethe opportunity when you meet one of the staff toexpress your gratitude.

As I write this, the rooms are being decorated for theextended holiday season and the committees areplanning their participation in the Open House. Weare happy to be a part of this Program and wish to extendgreetings for a happy, healthy holiday season and aprosperous New Year.

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AUSTRIAN ROOM COMMITTEEJoseph Novak, M.D., Chairman

The next Austrian Ball is scheduled for April 8, 2006.The ball committee is already hard at work to makethe 2006 ball a memorable occasion. The debutantes,their escorts, the Courts of Honor and their familiesare the highlight this annual event.

CHINESE ROOM COMMITTEEKaren Yee, Chairman

The committee’s 7th annual Chinese Room ScholarshipDinner took place at the Sheraton Station Square onSunday, October 2. Speakers were Professor EmeritusDr. Tsung Wei Sze, former Dean of the School ofEngineering who established Pitt’s Pattern Recognitionand Image Processing Laboratory in the ElectricalEngineering Department. Dr. Sze was designated thehonoree of the 2005 Chinese Room CommitteeScholarship which was received by Joseph Cichosz,who spoke to the audience on his research topic “Effectsof Crossborder Marriages of Couples from China &Taiwan on Family Functioning.” 2005 John TsuiMemorial Award winner Hanni Batzel described herparticipation in an AIDS awareness program in PRC.

Entertainment was provided by the Little Pandas,Pittsburgh Chinese School, Ren Wen Chinese Schooland Organization of Chinese American Youths.

As a scholarship fundraiser, the committee participatedwith Kaufmann’s Department Store on Wednesday,November 9 for a “Very Merry Evening.” The $10.00ticket provided a discount on almost everything in thestore. Activities included fashion shows, food and wine.

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GREEK ROOM COMMITTEEDr. Dimitris Kraniou, Chairman

The members of the Greek Nationality Room metrecently to develop their plans for two key upcomingevents: The Nationality Rooms Holiday Open Houseon December 4 and Greek Independence Daytentatively scheduled for mid-March 2006. Moredetails were discussed at the group’s Novembermeeting.

Helen Harris and Teddy Skarlis decorated the GreekRoom on November 12.

Volunteers baked Greek pastries and donated otherauthentic Greek delicacies for the Open House.Chairman Kraniou remarked that the committee hadits most successful Holiday Open House event ever in2004 under the leadership of event co-chairs JohnMesogitis and Jim Statheas.

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INDIAN ROOM COMMITTEESaroj Bahl, Chairman

India’s 58th Independence Day was marked by theIndian Room Committee on Sunday, August 14, with aCommons Room festival. Music, dancing andtraditional foods filled the hall from noon – 4:00 p.m.Manu Narayan, star of the Broadway musical “BombayDreams”, was the featured guest. Many Indian-ownedPittsburgh businesses sponsored exhibits at the event.The 2005 Annual Essay Contest winners wereannounced, along with the 2005 Indian RoomScholarship winner Sukumar Rao.

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ISRAEL HERITAGE ROOM COMMITTEENancy Shuman, Chairman

The committee celebrated theroom’s 18th anniversary of theroom’s dedication onThursday, October 27 in theWilliam Pitt Union’s lowerlounge. Chai, or the 18th year,holds special significance. The

program began with a presentation by Daniel Fuks whostudied Arabic at Hebrew University and agriculturalmethods in Israel this past summer. Martin Chetlin,designer and architect-of-record spoke of his experienceas he sought to create a design which authenticallyrepresents 1st Century Israel. Nancy Shuman,Chairman, read remarks prepared by Marcella Finegoldand presented Professor Jerome Rosenberg with a giftof appreciation for his contribution to the Room’sconcept, historical perspective and the book collectiondisplayed in the room. Dr. Rosenberg traced the 21-year effort which culminated in the Israel HeritageClassroom.

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JAPANESE ROOM COMMITTEE Kumiko Lancet, Chairman

The committee met on October 5 and elected thefollowing officers:

Mrs. Kumiko Lancet, ChairmanDr. Edwin Nemoto, Vice-ChairmanMrs. Yoko Motoyama, TreasurerMrs. Sally J. Schurko, Secretary

SCANDINAVIAN SOCIETY OF WESTERNPENNSYLVANIA

Ties Allersma, President

The group’s Midsommar event on June 18 was held atKeystone State Park. The weather was nice and allhad a good time with the activities around the Maypole,involving many children. At the Society’s annualmeeting the following board was elected:

Ties Allersma, PresidentRick Nielson, Vice-PresidentHilary Kinal, SecretaryBob Gunderson, TreasurerAnita Carlson, DirectorSeija Cohen, Director

The Scandinavian Folk Dancers of Pittsburgh appearedat the Scandinavian Folk Festival in Jamestown, NY,during the last weekend in July. Carl Rahkonen tookpart in the musician’s workshop by the nyckelharpaplayer Peter “Puma” Hedlund from Sweden.

After a short summer break, society members enjoyedthe fall picnic featuring crayfish and other good foodon Sunday, September 11 at Aspinwall VolunteerFireman’s Park.

On Saturday, October 8, the annual Nordic Night dinnerwith entertainment took place at Westinghouse Lodgein Forest Hills. Hilary Kinal served as the Master ofCeremonies. The entertainment this year was bycomposer/musician Richard Koski, named Performerof the Year by the Finlandia Foundation. He plays atwo-row diatonic buttonbox accordion and the mouthharmonica, showcasing Finnish and Finnish-Americantraditional music. Towards the end of his program, hewas joined by society member Carl Rahkonen on thefiddle. The crowd feasted on tossed or Caesar salads,choice of jumbo lump crab cakes or roasted beef sirloin,green beans almandine, red skin roasted potatoes,followed by coffee and Scandinavian style dessert. Itwas a delightful evening, made even more enjoyableknowing that the attendance was up 30% from last year.

The November meeting featured Jorunn Allersma whospoke about the dissolution of the union betweenNorway and Sweden in 1905. A potluck dinnerfollowed the talk.

Society members have been busy handing out foodsamples at IKEA throughout the summer and fall. The

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money donated goes into the scholarship fund. LastSunday we had our first Viking – a woman – help out;a tall, blond Norwegian-Swedish-American fromMinnesota.

The Society will give a $3,000 graduate scholarshipfor study in a Nordic country for the summer of 2006.

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NEW ROOM

ACTIVITY

FINNISH ROOM COMMITTEESeija Cohen, Chairman

On Monday, September 26, University staff andFinnish Room Committee members met in the BraunRoom with Anna-Maija Ylimaula and John StanislavSadar, both architects, to discuss the Finnish Roomdesign process. Dr. Ylimaula is an architectureprofessor at Finland’s University of Oulu. Mr. Sadartrained in Finland. The group visited rooms on thethird floor of the Cathedral of Learning that wereavailable as possible locations for the room.

Professor Ylimaula will organize a competition amongFinnish students of architecture to propose roomdesigns.

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LATIN AMERICAN ROOM and CARIBBEANHERITAGE ROOM COMMITTEE

Cathy Bazan-Arias, PhD. P.E., Chairman

Committee members took to the airwaves this fall in atelevised interview with Dr. Ezequiel Mobley onComcast’s Channel 21 PCTV in August. “Hola! El

show de Television” explained the steps necessary toconstruct a Nationality Room. The show aired onThursday, August 4, 11, and 18 in Pittsburgh as well asin Erie and in Philadelphia.

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WELSH ROOM COMMITTEEDale Richards and John Owen, III,Co-Chairmen

David M. Roderick, former Chairman and CEO ofU.S. Steel Corporation, recently met with Jack Owen,Co-Chairman. Mr. Roderick showed Jack a goldpocket watch given to his grandfather (also namedDavid) dated March 1, 1890 (St. David’s Day). Thewatch was given to Mr. Roderick in recognition of hisservice to the local St. David’s Society. Fir the firsttime, it is now documented that the St. David’s Societyexisted before 1890, making us over 115 years old. Mr.Roderick also told Jack that he is very proud of hisWelsh heritage and is happy to support the WelshNationality Room.

The Welsh language can be heard on the 12th floor ofthe Cathedral of Learning this semester on Mondayevenings. The language classes were arranged formembers of the Lifelong Academy of Learning atCarnegie Mellon University.

From the St. David’s Society Newsletter of August2005: Our forthcoming Welsh Nationality Room will closelyrepresent how a chapel in Wales looked around 1787, the yearPitt was founded. The room is meant to stimulate anunderstanding if not study, of Welsh Christians as the 18th

century ended. Who were they, and what did they face? Whywere longhouses converted into humble places of worship? Whenset beside the other Nationality Rooms, there are interconnectionsand similarities which pull all of us into our respectivehistories…By building this room now in our lifetime, Welshheritage people, students and tourists can take this room as awork of art, and vicariously catch a glimpse of early Cymru life,to honor and remember those who preceded us.” The longhouses became capels used for worship. Hymns,sermons and prayers were offered. Now, sadly, these18th and 19th century capels are being razed.

The committee participated in the North AmericanFestival of Wales in Orlando, Florida this summer.

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The informational table generated a lot of interest anddiscussion.

Committee members sang at the 2005 Gymanfa GanuHymn Festival and Te Bach on Sunday, October 9 atFox Chapel Presbyterian Church. Meirwyn IoanWalters served as the guest conductor. Mr. Walterslearned the art of conducting from his father and hasbeen interviewed on BBC-Wales concerning the life ofa Welsh-speaking American in the U.S. This Harvardgraduate has also studied law and theology and iscurrently an Adjunct Professor of Law at GordonCollege as well as a trial lawyer. The group enjoyedWelsh cakes and other traditional treats after the event.

Kathy Horstman was named the Room’s ProjectArchitect by the Design Alliance firm. She has alreadymet with Maxine Bruhns and seen the Welsh Roomspace on the third floor.

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SWISS ROOM COMMITTEEDr. Heinz Kunz, Chairman

The Swiss Consul-General in New York City, RaymondLoretan, continues to express great interest in the creationof a Swiss Nationality Room. Committee chair HeinzKunz maintains contact with Ambassador Loretan.

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THAI ROOM COMMITTEEYawvaluck Kosoladolkitt, Chairman

Committee Chair Yawvaluck Kosoladolkitt spentseveral weeks in Thailand this summer to developsupport for the Thai Nationality Room. She met withUniversity of Pittsburgh alumni in Bangkok, soughtqualified architects who could design the room andexplored concepts.

Thai Consul General in New York VipawnanNipatakusol and Kanya Amorntheerakul, Thai CenterTrade Director, visited the University of Pittsburgh onTuesday, November 8, together with Nor and EileenNareedokmai, owners of the Bangkok Balconyrestaurant which was awarded the official seal ofqualification from the Thai government. They werejoined by Chairman Kosoladolkitt.

In December, Kamphon Sukarachama, CEO ofCurtains, Inc. and Suntan Viengsima visited Pittsburghfor a week. They attended the Holiday Open House,examined CL 349, the designated space for the room.They met with Director Bruhns, University architectPark Rankin on Monday, December 5.

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TURKISH ROOM COMMITTEEOmer Akin, Chairman

The Turkish government’s gift of $150,000 to theRoom’s building fund has arrived and brought theproject forward.

Providing a most unusual setting for the Turkish Roomdesign presentation was a very large Anatolian tentfilled with embroideries created by Anatolian artisans.Enigul Sonmez-Alpan organized the transport of theexhibit from Washington D.C. Works by ProfessorZeki Findikoglu were also featured. Omer Akin,Committee Chair, room designer and architect-of-record unveiled his model and CD-ROM presentationat the reception on November 13.

The Turkish Room depicts a residential receptionroom with sofas on four sides, a carved wooden ceilingand a mosaic floor whose pattern resembles a Turkishcarpet. The entrance wall holds depictions of Turkishmonuments over millennia, culminating in a portrait ofKemal Ataturk writing on a chalkboard. PresidentAtaturk brought about remarkable changes: e.g., heabolished the veil and replaced Arabic script with themodern alphabet.

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WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL CLUBMadlyn M. Arthurs, Chairman

New officers for 2005-2007 were installed at the annualscholarship brunch on Sunday, October 9, at thePittsburgh Athletic Club. They are:

Madlyn Arthurs, PresidentCynthia Maleski, First Vice-PresidentTheodora Skarlis, Second Vice-PresidentSusan Yablonski, Recording SecretaryMarcia Arthurs, Corresponding SecretaryNancy Sprenger, TreasurerPatricia Sigler, Past President

2005 scholarship awardees Emily Lovallo and CourtneyHill told of their experiences in Brazil.

W.I.C. participated in the Holiday Open House onSunday, December 4. Members sold the Nationality RoomsRecipe Book, now in its fourth printing. Proceeds fromthe sale of the book fund the W.I.C. scholarships eachyear.

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2005 RUTH CRAWFORD MITCHELLCZECH/SLOVAK SCHOLARSHIPKatarina Nemcokova and Miroslav Tedla arrived inPittsburgh at the beginning of the fall semester tobegin their research as Ruth Crawford Mitchellscholars. Dr. Nemcokova teaches in the Departmentof English and American Studies at Matej BelUniversity in Slovakia. She will research methods ofteaching English as a foreign language andtranslation in order to create a textbook for use inSlovak universities.

Dr. Tedla, a physician at University Hospital inBratislava, Slovakia, specializes in Otolaryngology.His research will assist him in preparing to establisha swallowing rehabilitation clinic at UniversityHospital, the first of its kind in Slovakia. This is Dr.Tedla’s second trip to Pittsburgh, the first in 2002 asthe recipient of a Mitchell grant. He continues hiswork in the University of Pittsburgh’s School ofMedicine.

Applications for the 2006 competition were mailedin early November and are already generating e-mailinquiries.

PROFESSOR LARRY GLASCO HONOREDBY THE HISTORY DEPARTMENTAt an event entitled “The Scholar in the Community”on September 23 in Posvar Hall, the HistoryDepartment honored Professor Glasco’s decades ofresearch on Pittsburgh’s African-American communityand African culture which has produced numerousbooks and voluminous research papers.

Joe William Trotter, Carnegie Mellon University’sMellon Professor, introduced Professor Glasco. Apanel consisting of the Honorable K. Leroy Irvis,former Speaker of the Pennsylvania House ofRepresentatives, E. Maxine Bruhns, Director,Nationality Rooms Program, and Louise Lippieatt,Carnegie Museum, discussed aspects of Larry Glasco’sresearch.

Larry Glasco worked for years to develop a conceptand choose an architectural prototype for the AfricanHeritage Classroom. He traveled to Ghana on a JohnG. Bowman Faculty Grant to research Asante temples.He also developed a list of languages and dialects usedin Africa, grouping them under each of the 55 modernAfrican nations. They total more than 5,000 and arepart of the African Heritage Room’s chalkboard doordisplay. In Nigeria, he commissioned the notedsculptor Lamidi Fakaye to carve the entrance door,professor’s lectern, and chalkboard doors.

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A copy of the original script (dated 1816) ofSILENT NIGHT appears in the Austrian Roomdisplay case. SILENT NIGHT is one of themost popular Christmas carols of all time andhas been translated into over 300 languages.The carol was first performed in the Nicola-Kirche in Oberndorf, Austria on December 25,1818. The text was written by Josef Mohr in asmall church in Mariapfarr, Austria.

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FRANZ JOSEF HAYDN (1732-1809)Born on March 31, 1732, in Austria, Josef Haydn wasone of seventeen children in his family. Twobrothers also pursued careers in the music world,but neither matched the fame of the illustrious Josef,whose voice training started at age six. In the springof 1740, Haydn was recruited to sing at St. Stephen’sCathedral in Vienna. There he studied not onlyvoice, but harpsichord, organ, violin, music theoryand Latin. When his voice changed, Haydn wasdismissed from the Cathedral and, at age eighteen,was left on his own. He got by as a music teacher, aswell as a church and orchestra musician. His firstcontract was with Count Karl Morzin, for whom hewrote his first symphony.

Haydn signed his second contract with theEsterházy family in 1761. This arrangement didn’tresemble modern musical contracts in any way.

Typical of agreements ofthat time, Haydnsurrendered any dreamsof personal freedom, butreceived thirty years ofjob security.

A DAY IN THE LIFE AT CL 1209Thursday, October 20, in CL1209 was so diverse; wethought readers of this Newsletter should know aboutit.

1. Enigul Sonmez-Alpan, the Turkish Roomfundraiser calls to get the University’s bankcode so the Turkish government can transferits gift of $150,000 to the Turkish Room’sbuilding fund.

2. Israel Heritage Room chair Nancy Shumanphoned to identify people who have RSVP’dto the October 27 18th AnniversaryCelebration of the Israel Heritage Room

3. Maxine calls Dewi Wong, the furnishingspecialist for Facilities Management, to ask heradvice about gold fringe samples for theFrench Room drapery material which Maxinehad acquired when she was in Paris inSeptember.

While stationed first in Vienna, he eventuallyrelocated with Prince Paul Anton Esterházy and hissuccessor Prince Nikolaus, to the palace ofEsterházy, about thirty miles south of Vienna. Inthis remote location, Haydn relied solely on his owntalent, rather than being influenced by othercomposers. His originality is said to have affectedthe works of Mozart and Beethoven. In 1766 theorchestra expanded to 22, consisting of the region’sbest musicians. Soon Esterházy Palace was famousthroughout Europe as a music center.

Hayden visited England twice for extended periodsof time. There he conducted weekly concerts andcomposed special works for London concert-goers.Oxford University bestowed on Haydn an honoraryDoctorate of Music. Upon his return to theEsterházy estate in Eisenstadt, he wrote new massesevery summer, and produced “The Creation”, amagnificent oratorio considered one of his mostfamous works.

Haydn was active for the remainder of his life,serving as Vienna’s “grand old man of music.”Musicians had great affection for him, nicknaminghim “Papa Haydn.” When Napoleon’s armycaptured Vienna in early May 1809, Napoleonordered that an honor guard be placed outsideHaydn’s home until Haydn died on May 31, 1809.

4. Katherine Horstman, consulting architect forthe Welsh Room, comes by to obtain thetablet arm dimensions required for NationalityRoom chairs. She was fascinated by theFrench drapery fringe samples. It turns outthat not only is she an architect but aPresbyterian minister who is on the board ofthe St. David’s Society and very proud of herWelsh heritage. We send Katherine off tomeasure tablet arms in third floor NationalityRooms which are open at the class break.

5. Maxine begins to eat a Turkish puddingprepared yesterday by participants in theOffice of International Services cookingdemonstration in the 12th floor kitchen. Theykindly bring us samples.

6. William Bates, A.I.A., African Heritage Roomarchitect, arrives to get Maxine’s signature on adocument attesting to William’s stellar role asarchitect-of-record for the African HeritageRoom

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7. Katherine Horstman returns. By now Eileenhas made a copy for Katherine of the tabletarm dimensions Eileen compiled several yearsago. Katherine comes in and meets Bill Batesthen leaves with the treasured measurements.

8. As Bill Bates leaves, I mention my Turkishpudding. “Oh,” he says, “I have a very goodTurkish friend who sold his business andmoved away.” Maxine notes the friend’s nameand e-mail address.

9. Maxine calls Enigul to see if she knows Bill’sTurkish friend. Enigul: “Yes, of course, weknow him but don’t know how to reach him.”Maxine: “Get your pen, here’s his e-mailaddress.”

10. Enigul also brings up the problem they arehaving in reserving the William Pitt Unionlower lounge for three days. If they can’t getNovember 14th, they can’t have their hugeAnatolian Bazaar fund raiser. Maxine callsAura, a Guatemalan friend at the Union. Aurawill see what she can do.

11. An e-mail from the Urda family who gave us avery beautiful Slovak dress in 2002, says theyare bringing their family to our December 4th

Open House and hope their dress can beworn by the guide in the Czechoslovak Room.Problem is – a male guide is serving in theCzechoslovak Room that day. So Maxinediscusses with Kathie a way to display thedress in the room during Open House.

12. An e-mail comes from the University’s legalcounsel saying it’s fine to use the bequest of$23,000 from the estate of Wendell Wray(former University of Pittsburgh facultymember) to establish a scholarshipendowment for summer study in Africabearing his name.

13. John Owen III, Welsh Room co-chair phonesthat he has David Roderick’s OK for a newsrelease announcing his most recentcontribution of $50,000 with matching giftswhich total $150,000. This puts the WelshRoom building fund over the top.

14. Dewi Wong is to meet us in the French Roomat 2:00 when Eileen says thecustodians have not yet rehung thedrapes after a leak in the room wasrepaired this summer. So Dewicomes to our elevator shaft storagearea to see and photograph the

drapes. She believes the gold fringe isavailable locally and probably is less expensivethan in France. We also discussed the fate ofthe Women’s Association which has had noUniversity sponsor since Mrs. Posvar left.

15. Ray Iwanonkiw, a University painter, arrives inhis white coveralls bearing a CD which he hasproduced. He wrote the song for his mother(born in Ukraine) whose brother emigrated toAmerica. Laura placed the CD in hercomputer and we all listened to the plaintivesong. I asked Ray if I could tell MichaelKomichak (host of the Ukrainian Radio Hour)about it. “Oh, he’s already played it on airthree times!” Ray said. Experiences such asthis are poignant reminders of everyimmigrant who came to America in search ofa better life.

16. Aura calls back. She has managed to reservethe lower lounge for the Anatolian Bazaar forthree days. Maxine calls Enigul with the goodnews. Eni is teaching but her husband will tellher as soon as she comes home.

17. Maxine meets Pitt Chronicle Editor BruceSteele at the Early American Room. Bruce haspermission to do a story for the October 31st

issue on ghosts.There is muchevidence thatMaxine’sGrandmother Poe’sspirit plays tricks inthe Early AmericanRoom ever sinceMaxine placed hergrandmother’swedding quilt onthe loft bed.Maxine releases the latch to the secret staircaseand they sit in the dimly-lit loft discussing thepros and cons of poltergeists. Bruce is visiblyuneasy when told we could be locked in byMatthew and be forced to spend the nighthere.

18. Time to go home after just another day in theoffice.

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COMMITTEE CORNERSusan Langer, Administrative Assistant

DECORATING DAY LUNCHEONKeeping with the new tradition, the Nationality Roomswere decorated early again this year. Saturday,November 12 was a busy day for the committees todecorate their rooms in holiday attire. The ArmenianCommittee was the gracious host this year for theDecorating Day luncheon. The menu was excellent,consisting of lahmajoun, white paz, cheese and spinachbeorg, valanchi sarma, and assorted Armenian pastries.We were enthralled with Mariam Sogoian who soeloquently described the traditions of an ArmenianChristmas. It was a lovely event and a great start to theholiday season.

Should your committee be interested in “hosting” nextyear’s luncheon (11/11/06), please call me at412.624.6150. The Nationality Council sponsors theluncheon and will reimburse all authorized expenses.The Nationality Rooms Program staff will advise andhelp you every step of the way. Just ask the previoushost committees! Please consider volunteering andhighlighting your ethnic heritage.

HOLIDAY OPENHOUSESunday, December 4 foundthe Commons Room ofthe Cathedral of Learningdecked out for the holidays,filled with performers,scents of ethnic foods andmany visitors who viewedthe decorated Nationality

Rooms. This year we expected a large number ofguests for this exceptional event and weren’tdisappointed. Each year the crowds get larger. Free tothe public, it has become an annual tradition for manyfamilies. We are all very proud of our ethnic culturesand the outstanding showcase of the decoratedNationality Classrooms.

CABARET BALL

The past few years we have seen an increase incommittee participation and we hope to continue in theupswing motion. There are no committees celebratinga special anniversary, so we are hoping to highlight theculture of one of the newly-formed committees. Ifyour committee is interested, please contact me.

We ask for volunteers in all capacities to make theCabaret Ball a success. If interested in working on theBall, please contact me so aplanning meeting can bescheduled. There is onlyone meeting which is toorganize the committee(s)and discuss the theme,menu, cost, music, anddecoration. After the initialmeeting, all contact is madeby phone. If interested,please call 412.624.6150.

EVENTS & PLANNINGWith eight new committees (Danish, Finnish, LatinAmerican, Philippine, Swiss, Welsh, Thai and Turkish)and the existing committees, the number of events hasincreased dramatically. Therefore, it is necessary toplan your event early so that all your requests can beaccommodated. If your committee has elected newofficers, or should you need additional information,please contact our office to receive an Event Planningpacket. We would be happy to forward to you asmany sets as you need. Upon review, should you haveany questions, please do not hesitate to call me.

DATES TO REMEMBER*November 13 PolishfestDecember 1 British Isles Tea, Book CenterDecember 4 Holiday Open HouseDecember 10 Czechoslovak Room Committee

Christmas PartyDecember 9 Welsh ConcertDecember 11 Austrian Room Committee TeaDecember 23 through January 3 – NRP offices closed

2006January 14, 15, 16 Undecorating DaysMarch 9 Nationality Council Meeting

(tentative)T/B/A Scholarship Orientation/Awards

Presentation CeremonyApril 8 Austrian BallApril 22 Cabaret Ball

*for a more detailed listing, please refer to the Calendar of Events atthe end of the Newsletter.

Wishing all a wonderful Holiday Season and a happyand healthy New Year!

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LLLLLOOKING BAOOKING BAOOKING BAOOKING BAOOKING BACK IN THECK IN THECK IN THECK IN THECK IN THENEWNEWNEWNEWNEWSLETTER……SLETTER……SLETTER……SLETTER……SLETTER……ItItItItItems frems frems frems frems from the Fom the Fom the Fom the Fom the Fall 1all 1all 1all 1all 1965 N965 N965 N965 N965 Nationality Rationality Rationality Rationality Rationality Rooms Neooms Neooms Neooms Neooms Newslewslewslewslewsletttttttttter:er:er:er:er:The Irish Room Committee sponsored a dinner on theanniversary of President John Kennedy’s assassinationwhich featured a one-act play produced and staged byIrish Room Scholarship winner Howard Slaughter.

The American Scandinavian Foundation announced theformation of a Danish Committee. The new committeewill decorate a Danish Christmas tree as their first activity.

On October 9, the Syria-Lebanon Room Committee heldits annual “Lilat Tarab” (Night of Enjoyment) in the WilliamPitt Union Ballroom. More than 400 persons attended.

The Yugoslav Committee participated in “The Exhibitionof Medieval Frescoes from Yugoslavia”, a three-weekdisplay at Frick Fine Arts, which featured reproductionsof great Byzantine art, for years hidden in churches andmonasteries of Serbia and Macedonia. The exhibit wascirculated by the Smithsonian Institute of Washington D.C.

Mrs. Marcella Finegold resigned as Executive Secretaryof the Nationality Rooms Committees effective June 1,1965. E. Maxine Bruhns was named as her successor.

FFFFFrrrrrom the Fom the Fom the Fom the Fom the Fall 1all 1all 1all 1all 19999975 N75 N75 N75 N75 Nationality Rationality Rationality Rationality Rationality Rooms Neooms Neooms Neooms Neooms Newslewslewslewslewsletttttttttter:er:er:er:er:Sir Clive and Lady Bossom of London visited the Universityof Pittsburgh and the English Room on Wednesday,October 22, 1975. Sir Clive is the son of Lord AlfredBossom who was responsible for procuring the originalmaterials from the House of Commons for the EnglishRoom.

A group of 27 Soviet citizens visited the University in May1975. After a tour of the Nationality Rooms and the Pittcampus, Dr. Jerome Rosenberg hosted a reception andpresented gifts to the participants in the Student Union.

Barbara Bird chaired the Women’s International ClubInternational Buffet which featured dishes prepared withrecipes from the Nationality Rooms Recipe Book.

The Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundationdesignated the Cathedral of Learning an historicallandmark. The building, recognized as the nation’s “lastmonument to the Gothic revival style of architecture, wasnot alone in receiving such an honor. Heinz Chapel, theStephen Foster Memorial, the Allegheny Observatory andthe Chancellor’s Residence were also named.

On October 22, the Chamber Orchestra of YerevanPolytechnical Institute performed in the Frick Fine ArtsAuditorium. Pittsburgh’s Armenian community hosted a

covered dish dinner in their honor preceding the concert.On October 24, members of the Armenian community metwith E. Maxine Bruhns to discuss the creation of anArmenian Room at the University of Pittsburgh.

FFFFFrrrrrom the Fom the Fom the Fom the Fom the Fall 1all 1all 1all 1all 1985 Ne985 Ne985 Ne985 Ne985 Newslewslewslewslewsletttttttttter:er:er:er:er:Dr. Bernard Kobosky, the University’s Vice President forPublic Affairs, hosted a reception to mark the opening ofthe Pittsburgh Chapter of the Kosciuszko Foundation. TheFoundation agreed to offer a scholarship in conjunctionwith the Polish Room Committee for an eligible Universityof Pittsburgh student to study at a Kosciuszko Foundationschool in Poland.

Scottish Room Committee chairman Frank Slaterestablished the Frank and Vilma Slater Endowment Fundfor summer study in Scotland.

Negotiations were underway with a Minnesota stonecompany to provide stone for the Israel HeritageClassroom.

Gail Barkus traveled to Lithuania to research the painting“The Two Kings,” which is featured in the LithuanianRoom, to provide details for a more authentic likeness ofthe original. Mrs. Lee Clasky was chosen to recreate themural on canvas, rather than directly on the LithuanianRoom wall to prevent the work of art from chipping andpeeling.

FFFFFrrrrrom the Fom the Fom the Fom the Fom the Fall 1all 1all 1all 1all 1995 Ne995 Ne995 Ne995 Ne995 Newslewslewslewslewsletttttttttter:er:er:er:er:The video “Homelands Remembered” made its debut. Ittraces the history of the Nationality Rooms Program fromthe 1920’s through the construction of the Cathedral ofLearning through the opening of the Ukrainian Room.

Czechoslovak Room Committee members providedhospitality, housing and transportation for a team ofhockey players and their coaches from Plsen, CzechRepublic. The team won the hockey tournamentsponsored by the Junior Penguins.

The Austrian Room Committee presented an illustratedintroduction to the Austrian Room at the Women’sInternational Club Annual International Buffet.

Seventy dancers, musicians and singers of the UkrainianSong and Dance Ensemble performed on October 27 inSoldiers and Sailors Auditorium. The UkrainianCommittee hosted this performance made possible bythe Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

$&%$$&%$

AUSTRIAN WHITEASPARAGUSWITH BROWN BUTTERSAUCE

12 white asparagus spears, peeledSalt4 ounces butter1 cup brioche crumbsFreshly ground pepper1 teaspoon freshly minced parsleyleaves

Peel the asparagus. Line theasparagus up from the spearend and cut intoapproximately 6-inchlengths. Discard the ends.

In a medium saucepan, bringsalted water to a boil. Cookthe asparagus for 10 – 12minutes, until tender, butbeing careful not to overcook.

Drain the asparagus. Set aside. Ina large sauté pan, heat thebutter. Add the briochecrumbs and sauté untilgolden. Add the reservedasparagus and sauté untilwell coated with thebrowned butter and briochecrumbs. Sprinkle withparsley, season with salt andpepper. Serve warm.

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2005 JOHN G. BOWMAN TRAVEL GRANTREPORTSThe experiences of University of Pittsburghfaculty members who won John G. BowmanGrants to conduct research this summer forfuture classes are varied and interesting.

ROBBIE ALI (School of Public Health) spent fiveweeks in East Kalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia,along with seven medical students fromMulawarman University, conducting interviewsand administering questionnaires to evaluate theKelay Conservation Health Program in villagesalong the Kelay and Segah Rivers. The secondpurpose was to continue the development of acollaborative environmental and communityhealth training program between Pitt’s GraduateSchool of Public Health and the Faculty ofMedicine at Mulawarman University, EastKalimantan, Indonesia. “Our project thus standsto contribute significantly to training futuredoctors in the links between conservation andhealth, and may even help to shape the directionof health care in Kalimantan.”

Russia was the destination of JANE GARYHARRIS (Department of Slavic Languages andLiterature) as she researched her topic “TheReality behind the Fiction: The Family Life Cyclein Russian Literature and Society.” “Thus theBowman Grant has helped me to complete amajor phase in my research. Meeting colleaguesin St. Petersburg and Novgorod wasextraordinarily useful in helping me to answernumerous questions regarding Russian socialconditions and the role of social workers and/ortheir equivalents, and thus to gain someunderstanding of the differences between theAmerican and Russian concepts of socialservices…This trip also suggested some newareas of research which I had not previously fullyconsidered…exploring some of the programs inSweden and Finland.” Dr. Harris, along with adelegation of social workers, visited a number ofagencies and organizations, and met withRussian professionals who were “extremelygenerous with their time and intensely interestedin sharing their professional expertise with ourgroup, the first People-to-People delegation ofsocial workers to visit Russia.”

JOHN D. LYON (German Department) spentApril and May conducting research in Berlin,Germany, primarily at the Staatsbibliothek(national library). The focus was Berlin in thelatter half of the 19th century, and the libraryyielded documents and data, images, digitalscans and books that Dr. Lyon was able topurchase. He completed the draft of thehistorical chapter of his next book project aswell. An overview of the article was printed inthe October 2005 Center for West EuropeanStudies Newsletter (http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/cwes/Newsletter/newsletter.html). Anotherproduct of his work will be a PowerPointpresentation for the 2006 19th CenturyGraduate Seminar. In addition, a collection ofadvertisements “will allow students to seesamples of contemporary German and popularculture. I look forward to implementing themin the course this spring.”

The 2005 Bowman Grant enabled THOMASRAWSKI (Economics Department) to makefirst-time visits to Hangzhou, Xi’an, and Baoji,as well as a return visit to Beijing. Assisted by aUniversity of Pittsburgh doctoral candidate anda recent doctoral recipient, Dr. Rawski and acolleague received information on 24 factories,as well as permission to visit and photographsome facilities. “Local firms do have aconsiderable technical base, which is no doubtrelated to their history of involvement withmilitary and aerospace.” Businesses are alsoimpacted by the extensive reform of thebanking system. “One big benefit of this tripwas the opportunity to visit firms that areeither joint ventures or wholly-owned foreignfirms…we learned a great deal about thepotential gains and also about the culturaldifferences surrounding joint ventures andforeign investment…”

D. MARK POSSANZA (Classics Department)project took him on an 84-mile journey alongHadrian’s Wall in England. Nearly 2,000 yearsold, and part of a National Trail, the wall,which was “originally twenty feet high (andconstructed of stone), also includes remains ofRoman forts, milecastles (small forts placedevery Roman mile) and turrets; on the northand south sides, the wall was protected byditches twenty feet wide and ten feet deep.”

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Several of the forts have museums attached tothem. Some forts are still being excavated. InLondon, Dr. Possanza visited the BritishMuseum’s “great collection of Romano-Britishantiquities including impressive bronze heads ofthe emperors Claudius and Hadrian… Along theway, I collected useful materials for the course:maps, pamphlets, museum brochures, andbooks. I also have an archive of 150 picturesthat cover the whole Wall Path, rather than justthe postcard scenes. But above all there is theunique experience of having walked the entirelength of this complex and impressivemonument which stands as something as aparadox: it represents Rome’s military mightand its success in conquering and occupyingBritain, yet at the same time it representsRome’s failure to assimilate the native peoplesand make them “Roman.” His materials andinsights will be used in a new undergraduatecourse of Roman Britain in spring 2006 and inthe fall 2006 Freshman Lecture Series.

ANTHONY BARBIERI-LOW (HistoryDepartment) experienced the Chinese city ofXi’an for the first time this summer. “The Xi’anarea was also home to the capital of the Handynasty (Chang’an). I was unsuccessful infinding a surviving section of the Han city wallto examine because I was unable to convinceany driver to take me that far into the rural areaon bad roads…In all, I visited over a dozen largeand small museums, and two archaeologicalstations. It was a very successful trip, and Igathered much new information to use in myundergraduate class…I purchased a rubbing ofan elaborate floor tile from the palace…tookseveral hundred pictures and an hour ofvideo…I was also able to see some of the newlydiscovered items from the necropolis, includingtwo bronze waterfowl recently unearthed andjust published this year.”

A new upper level course curriculum entitled“Eco Art” will contain results of JOANNECOMMANDAROS’ (History of Art andArchitecture) work in Greece. Dr.Commandaros traveled to Sparta, Greece toparticipate in “’Sparta, Greece: Inquiry andVision’, a cross-disciplinary arts course…Onepurpose in attending this unique experience wasto seek new models of perception and

understanding…an introduction to an artpractice focused on ecology and theenvironment…Both Sparta and Pittsburgh haveintegrating ecologies with indigenous peoplesand cultures…Experiencing Sparta’s sense ofplace through the outsider’s gaze constituted adeeper synthesis of my vision – to teach andcreate based on the values of this leading edgeart practice…Time was spend in thePeloponnesus Region...as well as Delphi, anarcheological and metaphysical site containingApollo’s temple and museum. This place holdspowerful natural and historical significance,which greatly impacted my creative art practiceand research.”

Funding from a John G. Bowman Faculty Grantenabled RHONDA REA (School of Pharmacy)to travel to Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland, toparticipate in a problem-based learningtutorship program. “I learned how to constructan entire course in the format of problem basedlearning (PBL). I will use the informationgained in this experience to help with thedevelopment of two new PBL courses at theUniversity of Pittsburgh’s School of Pharmacy,for one of which I will serve as the course co-coordinator. Development, implementation,application, managing dysfunctional groups,evaluation and assessment were all part of myexperience…Students can be directed to agreater or lesser extent, depending on thescenario presented…The underlying importanceis to let the students form their own judgmentsabout what has to be learned. This is a cognitiveskill that is fundamental to both self-directedlearning and to medicine.”

'''''''

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QUO VADIS and TOURSKathie Fritz, Tour Coordinator andQuo Vadis Advisor

VISITOR STATISTICSJune 2005 through September 2005(paid admission only)

Adults 2,930Senior Citizens 1,229Children (ages 8-18) 1,123

TOTAL 5,282

My, my, it was a busy spring and summer here at theNationality Rooms. Not only did we have a busy fieldtrip season for youngsters, we also had the SeniorOlympics in Pittsburgh with many, many athletesvisiting the Nationality Rooms when not participatingin their events. It was pleasurable meeting these people,seeing what fun they were having, and witnessing theirjoy as they wore their hard-earned medals.

If I could be allowed an indulgence, I have a favor toask. As I write this, I am preparing for the upcomingholiday season at the Nationality Rooms. One event Iam planning for is Decorating Day (in November)followed by the Undecorating process in January. Myfavor is to ask committees who have not yet done so toswitch from cardboard boxes to plastic storagecontainers. These hard plastic boxes are sold at Lowe’s,Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart, etc. In myfive years of observing the cardboard boxes placed inthe Croghan-Schenley Room, I notice many are lookingpretty sad, and are in need of replacement. The plasticcontainers, which can be purchased in many colorsincluding clear, would provide strong, sturdy, safestorage for your items and eliminate the need for usingas much string, tape, etc., for packing.

If you choose to purchase the new boxes, please bringthem with you on Decorating Day, labeled with yourroom’s name. Then we can discard the worn-outcardboard containers when you finish with them onSaturday, November 12. In January, you can place youritems in the box, cushion with some bubble wrap, snapon the lid and be done!

Returning to the events of the summer. Quo Vadisguides received numerous “Thank You” notes for thetour they gave to the National Carousel Convention.

The leader of the group, Charles Jacque, has writtenbooks about West View and Kennywood Parks. Aftertheir tour, they were off to lunch at Kennywood and tosee the restoration work done on their carousel. We domeet interesting people with a plethora of interests!

I had the pleasure of showing the Japanese Room tovisiting dignitaries from Japan who were guests ofChancellor Nordenberg. Also Indian AmbassadorRonen Sen was shown the Indian Room. Needless tosay, both groups were pleased with their respectiverooms.

Let me close by wishing Michael Loftis good luck andhappy retirement. Mike has been our dedicated staffmember for four years working in the InformationCenter/Gift Shop on Sundays, Mondays, and holidays.Mike, “thank you” for going above and beyond in yourtime here at the Nationality Rooms. It has been apleasure working with you.

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INFORMATION CENTER AND MAINTENANCEMatthew Hefferin, Coordinator

We are still getting rave reviews about our rooms inthe guest book. Visitors have written phrases like:“wonderful highlight of Pittsburgh”; “a fantasticnational treasure”; “great educational experience”;“worth the trip”; “the rooms are an education inthemselves.” We even got a glowing review about DaleRichards, one of our tour guides. The person wrotethat Dale was a wonderful guide. People continue tovisit us from around the world, including Germany,Italy, Colombia, South Africa, Russia, China, and Spain.

The school year has begun and the Nationality Roomsare being used for classes. We are still enforcing thepolicy of no eating, drinking or moving furniture topreserve the beauty of each room. Many people aresurprised when I tell them that we do use the rooms forclasses and many of the rooms have been here for morethan fifty years. The trades took advantage of thesummer break, when there are no classes in theNationality Rooms, to coat the floors, take care of smalltouch-ups, and general maintenance.

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GIFT CENTERJudi Hirsh, Gift Center Coordinator

El Dia de los Muertos on November 2 is an importantreligious holiday in Mexico and other Spanish-

speaking countries. Also knownas “All Souls Day,” it is anoccasion marked by festivecelebrations to honor the dead.Cemeteries are cleaned anddecorated, special food andcandies are cooked, and homealtars are erected in homage to

one’s ancestors. It is a day of joyous remembrance,not of sadness. We had many interesting artifacts(mostly skeletons and skulls) in the Gift Center casesto help decorate your home for this fun-filledcelebration.

If, by some chance, you are planning to go on a safarifor your vacation, you might be interested in thevariety of carved wooden animals we carry. For apreview of some of the animals you will run across inAfrica, just stop in and look at the ones lurking in ourshowcases. If you look really hard, you will see rhinos,zebras, elephants, antelopes, lions, giraffes and waterbuffalo. All are hand carved in Kenya.

For the holidays, the cases were filled with many itemsfrom around the world. We hope we assisted you infinding a unique item for that special person on yourshopping list this season.

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2006 SUMMER STUDY ABROADSCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMEileen Kiley, Scholarship Advisor

Excited students are making appointments forpreliminary interviews to begin their entry into thesummer study abroad scholarship application process.It is always gratifying to witness the excitement thatappears when discussing their study abroad plans aswell as their aspirations for the future. Over 3,000fliers were mailed to faculty, teaching assistants,University departments and student organizations inNovember. An ad appeared in the “Welcome Back”issue of the Pitt News at the beginning of thesemester. Departments, in turn, e-mail theinformation to their students. We hope to reach as

broad a group aspossible to make everyone aware ofthe funding potential available because of the hardwork of the Nationality Rooms committees andfriends of the program.

The 2006 award listing appears on page 18 of thisnewsletter.

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SCHOLARSHIP UPDATEAMY SPEIER (2000) Stanley Prostrednik Award)completed the requirements and received a Russianand East European Studies Certificate in the Summerof 2005. She successfully defended her dissertationon Czech Balneotherapy (with a few corrections!) onSeptember 1 in Posvar Hall. Amy is now a visitingprofessor at Lawrence University in Appleton,Wisconsin.

A photograph of ALVIN JONES (2002 AfricanHeritage Classroom Committee Scholarship) with theCathedral of Learning in the background appeared inseveral University of Pittsburgh publications recently.The 2005 Report of Chancellor Mark A. Nordenbergfeatured Alvin on page 6. A Pitt Chronicle specialedition on the Chancellor’s Report used the samephotograph with the caption “University of PittsburghSchool of Medicine, Class of 2007; College of Artsand Sciences, 2003; Pittsburgh Panthers Scholar-Athlete Award Winner; Student Speaker, UniversityHonors Convocation, 2003; Big East Academic All-Star (track and field), 2003.”

KARLA HUEBNER (2004 Czechoslovak RoomCommittee Scholarship) presented a paper entitled“Surrealist Business: Toyen as Entrepreneur” at theRalph and Ruth Fisher Forum at the University ofIllinois. Her paper on “Translating Toyen” was acceptedfor an October 2005 conference in Ohio on “TranslatingEastern Europe.” Karla is currently in Prague on aFulbright-Hays fellowship to conduct dissertationresearch.

MARGARET RENCEWICZ (2003 Polish RoomCommittee/Kosciuszko Foundation Scholarship) has begunher work in the University of Pittsburgh’s Departmentof Religious Studies Cooperative Ph.D. Program inReligion.

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NATIONALITY ROOMS AND INTERCULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMS (www.ucis.pitt.edu/natrooms/)

2006 Summer Study Abroad Scholarships

OPEN TO ELIGIBLE GRADUATE STUDENTSAFRICAAfrican Heritage Room Committee Scholarship $2,500ARMENIA Andrew J. Traina Memorial/Armenian Room Committee Scholarship $3,000AUSTRIA Austrian Room Committee Scholarship (in honor of Agnes Gerger) $3,500CHILE Ivan Santa-Cruz Memorial Award $3,000CZECH or SLOVAK REPUBLICS Czechoslovak Room Committee Scholarship $2,500DENMARK Herbert E. Lieberkind/Danish Room Committee Award $3,000GREECE Greek Room Committee Scholarship $2,500HUNGARY Hungarian Room Committee Scholarship (Dr. Samuel Gomory/J. Arvay Memorial Award) $3,500INDIA Indian Room Committee Scholarship (in honor of Deepak Wadhwani) $3,000ISRAEL/ABROAD Israel Heritage Room Committee Award (in memory of Margery Weiner) $3,000

(for the study of Jewish culture; first consideration to projects in Israel)ITALY Italian Room Committee Scholarship (requires working knowledge of Italian language) $4,000P.R.C., HONG KONG, or TAIWAN Chinese Room Committee Scholarship (in honor of Dr. William Ott) $2,500SCANDINAVIA Scandinavian Society of Western Pennsylvania $3,000SCOTLAND James Affleck/Scottish Room Committee Scholarship $3,500SYRIA or LEBANON Syria-Lebanon Room Committee Scholarship $2,500UKRAINE Eugene Manasterski Memorial Award $2,500ABROAD James W. Knox Memorial Award $3,000ABROAD Lithuanian Room Committee Scholarship (in memory of Jay McCloskey and Gail Barkus) $2,500ABROAD Ruth Crawford Mitchell Memorial Award $3,000ABROAD Stanley Prostrednik Award $3,500ABROAD John H. Tsui Memorial Scholarship (for the study of Chinese culture) $4,000

OPEN TO ELIGIBLE PHYSICAL THERAPY STUDENTS (SHRS)ABROAD Dorothy Bradley Brown Physical Therapy Award $2,500

!"#$!"#$

OPEN TO ELIGIBLE UNDERGRADUATE WOMENABROAD Women’s International Club Scholarship (in honor of E. Maxine Bruhns) $3,500

OPEN TO ELIGIBLE UNDERGRADUATESAFRICAAfrican Heritage Classroom/W. C. Worthington Foundation Award $4,000AUSTRIA Austrian Room Committee Scholarship (in honor of Franz Stehr) $3,500GERMANY German Room Committee Scholarship (in honor of Margaret Jacob) $2,500HUNGARY Hungarian Room Committee Scholarship (Dr. Samuel Gomory/J. Arvay Memorial Award) $3,500IRELAND John F. Kennedy Memorial Award (in memory of Sister Michele O’Leary, RSM) $3,000ISRAEL/ABROAD Israel Heritage Room Committee Scholarship (for the study of Jewish culture) $3,000

(for the study of Jewish culture; first consideration to projects in Israel)ITALY Dr. Douglas Radcliff-Umstead Memorial Award (requires working knowledge of Italian language) $3,500JAPAN Japanese Room Committee Scholarship $2,500POLAND Polish Room Committee /Kosciuszko Foundation Scholarship $1,000+SCOTLAND Frank and Vilma Slater/Scottish Room Committee Scholarship $3,000ABROAD David L. Lawrence Memorial Award $3,000ABROAD Rachel McMasters Miller Hunt Award $3,000ABROAD Helen Pool Rush Award $3,000ABROAD Savina S. Skewis Award $3,000ABROAD John H. Tsui Memorial Scholarship (for the study of Chinese culture) $4,000

+The Pittsburgh Chapter of the Kosciuszko Foundation provides tuition, room & board, partial airfare; est. value $2,000).

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SCHOLARSHIP UPDATE, continued

AMY SLAGLE (2001 Andrew J. Traina Memorial/Armenian Room Committee Scholarship) presented a paperentitled “The Meek Shall Not Inherit the Church:‘Convert’ as a Category of Authority in ContemporaryAmerican Orthodox Christianity” at ColumbiaUniversity in April 2005 for a conference on issues ofreligious identity. She also reviewed Very Shevzov’s“Russian Orthodoxy on the Eve of Revolution” for theon-line Journal of Religion and Society (Vol 7, 2005).

KATIE ANGUS (2003 Savina S. Skewis Award) is agraduate student in the University of Pittsburgh’s Ph.D.program in French.

GEORGE MENZ (1999 Austrian Room CommitteeScholarship) received the Jean Monnet Fellowship in theDepartment of Political Science and Social Sciences fromthe European Union Institute in Florence.

MARIE ZETTEK (2005 Savina S. Skewis Grant) wasfeatured in a Pitt News article on the tutoring of Somalirefugee children by a group of 24 University of Pittsburghstudents. Part of a service-learning course offeredthrough the University, the program works with thePittsburgh Refugee Center, providing the Pitt studentswith an opportunity to earn three credits. Zettek saidthat the refugee families are receptive to the tutors andappreciate that Pitt students help the Somali childrenbecome successful citizens.

LINDSAY ANDERSON (2005 Helen Pool Rush Grant)wrote an article for the Pitt News about aspects of herstudy abroad experiences in Spain which appeared inthe September 19, 2005 issue.

ANNE STETLER (2004 Syria-Lebanon Room CommitteeScholarship) defended her thesis on October 21. Shethen traveled to Beirut to prepare a National Instituteof Health grant application which will enable her to workin Beirut with scientists she met while studying on theSyria-Lebanon Room Scholarship. If the grant isawarded, her move to Beirut will be at the end of 2006.

As part of the Women’s Studies Program, FRAYDACOHEN (2000 John H. Tsui Memorial Award) presenteda lecture entitled “Teaching Global Feminism”. Ms.Cohen is currently a teaching fellow in the Universityof Pittsburgh’s Anthropology Department.

CLAIRE SIERAWSKI (2002 Women’s International ClubAward) was featured in the Summer 2005 edition of “Lifeabove the Neck”, published by the University ofPittsburgh’s Honors College. Claire is serving aninternship in environmental policy at the U.S.Department of Transportation under the auspices of aHarry S. Truman Scholarship.

A photograph of JESSICA SAPALIO (1998 Women’sInternational Club Award) with her husband ArielBenYshay (CAS 02) shows the newlyweds reading PittMagazine atop a dormant volcano overlookingAuckland, New Zealand.

Among the presenters at the annual German StudiesAssociation meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin wasAPRIL EISMAN (2003 Stanley Prostrednik Award).Her topic reflected the research she did while inGermany on the scholarship: “Reevaluating theStaatskünstler Myth: Bernhard Heisig and the Post-Wall Reception of East German Painting.” April is aPh.D. candidate in History of Art and Architecture.

NOTE: Scholarship recipients who wish to be included in the“Update” section of the Nationality Rooms Newsletter shouldsend a letter to the NRP office stating the year and name ofthe scholarship won, graduate work completed, employmentexperiences, special awards or honors, etc. The NationalityRooms committees are interested in hearing about “their”awardees, knowing that their awards contributed to the personalor professional development of each student.

!!!!!!!!!!!

FROM THE SCHOLARSHIPREPORTS......

Paul T. Abernathy, a graduate student inPublic and International Affairs, GSPIA,received the Syria-Lebanon RoomCommittee Scholarship to “gauge the statusof Christians in Syrian society.” Based in theGreek Orthodox Patriachate of Damascus,Paul learned that securing an interview withbusy, fluent English-speaking clergy was

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culture,” it was necessary to denote “qualitytime;” to sit and talk over a glass of tea orcoffee with a clergy member beforebeginning his interview. He discovered adisconnect between the clergy and theaverage citizen, and that their hospitalityoften led them to “paint a rosy picture” ofthe current status of Christians in Syria.Paul redirected his research plan to includeinterviews with Christian families in andaround Damascus. He found “relationsbetween Christian and the Syrian Governmentare very good,” and relations “betweenChristian and Muslims remain openly good.”However, the “current economic situation”along with “external political factors” arecreating a “dramatic decline” in the Christianpopulation with many Christians emigratingfrom Syria. In the past 25 years theChristian population has declined from 16 to10 percent. This research gave Paul a “newdirection for which I have great passion.” Heplans to focus his doctoral dissertation onsome aspect of Christianity in Syria. Paulbelieves his summer study abroad experiencewas truly the beginning of his “life’svocation.”

Lindsey Anderson, an undergraduate in CAS,received a Helen Pool Rush Grant to studySpanish at the University of ComplutenseSummer School in Madrid where she was theonly American taking courses designed fornative speakers. Her experience with the“organization of the program, extra-curricular excursions and activities forstudents wasextremely positive.” Lindsey learned “cultureshock is not just a myth,” and her first twoweeks abroad were, “threaded withhomesickness” she “hadn’t expected.” Shechose to travel alone and admits it was “oneof the most difficult things” she has everdone in her life. She visited Toledo, Cadiz,Mijas and Malaga and particularly enjoyedthe sidewalk cafés. As an American, she“stuck out” and was “often confused” and“nervous about being alone.” Lindsey hadmoments when she was “scared, even tearful”and longed to go home. She also had momentswhen she was “grateful for the diverse

people” she met and the opportunitiesoffered her such as the time she wenthorseback riding with a Dutch woman throughthe hills of Mijas. “The things I havesurvived, seen, and accomplished, throughthis experience,” Lindsey said, are “notsufficiently expressed in words.” Shedeveloped a “profound belief” in her own“abilities in Spanish and as an independentperson” along with a “deep respect foranother culture.” Lindsey believes she has agreater sense of who she is and what she is“capable of.

Ari Astles, an undergraduate in Economics,won a Helen Pool Rush Award to study at theSchool for International Training (SIT) inGeneva, Switzerland where professors have“many” contacts within internationalorganizations including the United Nations.Ari found SIT programs have high standards,are “quite rigorous,” and require “a lot ofdedication.” Professors were “great,” and usetheir many connections to “help thestudents.” For her research topic, —-TheMisused American Heart—Perspectives onthe Implications of the Media’sAttempt to Engage Post-9/11 Americans inInternational Affairs,” Ari interviewedemployees of international organizations and“followed up with those that gave her themost relevant information.” She believes the“American people need to become activemembers of the global community,” that“impoverished people would profit from anAmerican civil society” who “care about theirstate of living,” and “terrorism wouldcertainly decline.” Ari believes theopportunity to study abroad taught her “somuch about the international organizationsystem” and give her the “confidence to thinkthat someday she can become part of it.”

She stayed in the guest house of WuhanUniversity Medical School as did most of

Hanni Batzel, a graduate student in theSchool of Medicine, won the John H. TsuiAward to research AIDS in the ruralprovince of Wuhan, Hubei, China.

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students. Hanni would sometimes shadow andtranslate for other foreign doctors “gainingfirst-hand clinical HIV experience.”Evenings, on her bike, she loved to explorethe museums, parks and shops. Because theEnglish levels of her Chinese friends were“quite challenging.” And, “realizing theimportance of hospitality to Arab discussions,including “how Communism fits into things.”Hanni believes the study abroad was a timefor, “strong personal growth.” Doingsomething of “scholarly value in a place shehad never visited offered “unique challenges”and she learned to “overcome and adapt.”Hanni’s Chinese improved and the SummerStudy Abroad experience gave her “publichealth research skills” and “furtherperspective on international health.”

Alessandra Beasley, a graduate student inCommunication, FAS, won the Frances &Sully Nesta Award. For her research “issuesrelated to European Union citizenship as anew, post-national kind of citizenship,” shetraveled to Florence and Naples. She arrivedin Italy the day before the “draft treaty fora Constitution for Europe was rejected in areferendum in France.” During this“politically and intellectually charged period,”Alessandra had the “unique opportunity toobserve Italy and the rest of the EUstruggling to respond” to the very questionsshe had come to ask. She came to “question atheory of citizenship beyond the nation” and“left captivated by Italians’ involvement andfears.” Research started by reading the twomajor Italian newspapers for sources andexamples. She followed up with research atthe “excellent resources” in the EU Archives,the Library at the European UniversityInstitute in Florence or the Vico Center inNaples. The resources and staff were“extremely helpful” and “provided an“incredible amount of material and contacts.”Alessandra believes that not only are thematerials important for her dissertation, butset her apart as “a careful scholar who looksfor sources not quoted by others.” Shehopes to make her own contribution to the“understanding of legal, political andrhetorical meanings of citizenship.”

Erika Borkowski, a graduate, in the Schoolof Law, won the Stanley Prostrednik Award.She pursued an internship through theCenter for International Legal studies inBeirut, Lebanon and worked with MohammedAlem and Associates, an international lawfirm. Erika focused her work on “IslamicFinancing and its implication on banking andfinance in the United States.” She was “givena task” and “did the research necessary tocarry it out.” Erika enjoyed the “relaxed,non-competitive” work atmosphere. She alsomet some “amazing people” she will “continueto be friends with forever.” Her skills inArabic improved “drastically” as she was“forced to learn in order to understand.”Erika was introduced to the night life andcafes as well as religion and politics “throughthe eyes” of her friends. Along with twofellow Americans, she took a week-longexcursion into Syria where the people were“friendly” and everything was “dirt cheap.”There she was introduced to life in adictatorship as they were “watched closely”and had their “passports confiscated byevery hostel/hotel.” Erika learned a greatdeal about what she “wants out of her legalcareer” and what “kind of environment shewould like to work in.” The experience alsohelped “extinguish” her “pre-conceivedabhorrence to corporate law,” and pointedher legal career in a “new and exciting”direction.

Holly Breckenridge, an undergraduateGerman major in CAS, won the ArthurSchwotzer/German Room Scholarship tostudy German language and culture at theUniversity of Augsburg, Germany with thePitt-in-Germany program. One course,offered to foreign students, a survey ofModern Germany was “very interesting.”Students watched the news, talked about theeconomy, politics and cultural events, etc.Holly found the second course, a “literaryanalysis class”... “extremely interesting,challenging and offered to native speakers.”She stayed in a single dorm room at theUniversity and “cooked at home a lot to savemoney.” After classes, Holly had time to

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explore and travel. To challenge herself, shetook tours offered in German and traveled toSwitzerland and Vienna for a weekend. Hollylistened to conversations of native speakersand found interesting differences betweenGerman dialects in the two cities. AustrianGerman, she concluded was “much easier tounderstand.” What she realized above all isthat “one needs to make a learningexperience out of every situation.” Shedeveloped strep throat for the first time inher life and was forced to seek a doctor andspend a few weeks recovering. Her“newfound resourcefulness” also helped laterwhen she broke a bone in her hand and washospitalized for a few days following surgery.Not willing to be quarantined in her room,Holly and a few friends traveled toGarmisch-Partenkirschen, “a small, beautifultown” in the southern German Alps. Hollybelieves her biggest achievement is“improvement in German language skills.” Shefeels she now has the “necessary skills toteach German at the high school level,” whichhas long been her career goal.

Analena Bruce, an undergraduate Sociologymajor in CAS, won the Savina S. SkewisAward to study at the SIT School forInternational Training in Santiago, Chile. Shewent to Chile with a good knowledge of theirhistory and “this allowed her to ask “veryadvanced questions and share in deepdialogue,” about the “political and socialstruggle there.” Analena found the intenseprogram had a “very academic focus,”requiring more study and classroom time, butalso included a two-week practicum visit to apublic high school. At the high schoolAnalena had a “great experience”interviewing staff and students. On oneprogram excursion she spent a week inBuenos Aires, Argentina. Another “verymemorable” educational experience wasmeeting the Mapuche Indian tribe inSouthern Chile. Getting to know her Directorand teachers was “unforgettable” becausethey were “amazing people, heroes and rolemodels who had incredible personal stories ofliving through the dictatorship in Chile.” Shealso had a lot of fun and made some “great

friends with young Chileans” who showed hertheir city and lives. Toward the end of herstay, she cooked a meal for her home-staymother and her friends which became anopportunity for a “wonderful, culturalexchange of stories and life experiences.”Analena said she will value this “knowledgeand experience as a great addition to myeducational experience at the University ofPittsburgh.”

Lisa Brunner is an undergraduate in CASmajoring in English Literature and PoliticalScience. She won a Helen Pool Rush Grantto study in Pune, India with the small Penn-in-India program. Lisa reported the classeswere “great” but “demanding,” requiring a 15-20 page paper each. Life in India was “hot,hectic and draining.” But also “vibrant,intense, beautiful and moving in a way shecouldn’t describe.” She lived in an apartmentwith an upper-class, traditional Hindu hostfamily. Lisa called this home-stay the “bestpart” of her experience. Close to her age,the children in the family spent a lot of timewith Lisa taking her “to movies, school, out toeat, to activities with their friends,” andhelped her “in everything” she did. Livingwith a host family, Lisa had to learn to be“patient and culturally sensitive.” On atypical day, Lisa went for a walk, atebreakfast with her host family, took arickshaw to classes, ate lunch, tookHindustani voice and Marathi lessons, and diderrands around town before returning to herhost family’s house for dinner and homework.She took several trips, and found herfavorite destination was Hampi where the“ruins were incredible and very haunting.”During one of her most memorableexperiences, Lisa was invited to a lavishthree-day wedding. After being completelyoutfitted for the occasion and honored with aVIP seat, it was an “amazing experience” tosee the wedding couple “complete hours ofbeautiful rituals a few feet away.” Shereported her entire experience was “simplyinvaluable.” Her professor encouraged her togo to graduate school and “changed the way”she thought about academics. Lisa startedtaking her studies “more seriously” grew to

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“appreciate the students at Pitt, learned somuch about marriage, Indian culture,relationships, family and language.” And,when she arrived back home, Lisa,“appreciated her American family more.”

Joseph Cichosz, a graduate student inAnthropology, won the Chinese RoomCommittee Scholarship and traveled toShanghai to research inter-marriage betweenTaiwanese men and PRC women. His focuswas “the geographic and social mobility ofmen who immigrate for marriage and settle intheir partner’s homeland.” One of his goalswas to make “social contacts with Taiwaneseimmigrants living in Shanghai.” Makingcontacts and the Shanghai dialect proved“frustratingly difficult.” Joseph believes itwas probably because the Chinese people willseldom directly refuse a request since it is,“very rude to say no.” Instead, “it is commonto agree to do something that you may haveno intention of doing.” A friend arranged anapartment for him, but the area was unsafeand populated by “homeless migrant workers.”Joseph visited cities outside of Shanghai andopted to escape the “hectic pace, noise andcrowds” and move to Suzhou. Conditions inSuzhou helped him “regenerate.” He rentedan apartment in a community of smallfamilies, and found the people to be “veryopen” and “easy to talk to.” In a short time,he made some “good connections.” It was alsomuch easier to understand the language as“most people spoke Mandarin.” Joseph plansto return to Suzhou to gather more data andcomplete his research.

Elizabeth Diller, an undergraduate in theSchool of Arts & Sciences, won the David L.Lawrence Award, and traveled to Edinburgh,Scotland, to participate in a full-time “verypersonalized” internship program with aMember of Scottish Parliament (MSP). Herwork included “writing drafts of speeches,reading bills and documents relating tospeeches, keeping up with e-mailcorrespondence, writing ParliamentaryQuestions and writing letters.” She usuallymet with the MSP once a day and found herto be a “truly thoughtful and generous

person.” The “best part” of her work waswriting speeches and listening toParliamentary debates. Elizabeth had noexperience writing speeches and was“thrilled” when the MSP “complimented” herwork It was “exciting” to be in a neighboringcounty during the 2005 G8 Summit riots“with Parliament debating relevant issues andthe newspapers covering the events.” Sherealized that no place is “truly isolated fromthe problems and issues of our world.”Elizabeth learned that, “Edinburgh has a richhistory, expressed through its beautifullypreserved buildings.” She found the Scots“friendly and eager” to meet visitors. Theytend to “retain a similar pleasant and helpfulapproach in the work environment.” Elizabethenjoyed traveling in Scotland and visited the“not to be missed” Scottish Highlands,Glasgow, Loch Ness, Loch Lomond and theIsle of Skye. She believes the program was“very worthwhile” because the workexperience was “unique,” and she was able tosee “so much of Scotland” while living there.

Aimee-Marie Dorsten, a graduate studentin Communication, won the StanleyProstrednik Merit Award and traveled toVietnam to research part of her dissertation.Her media industry research included,“innovation of Vietnam’s media infrastructurefrom an analogue to a digital system,”(landline to cellular telephones, cable tosatellite television, fax to Internet and videoto digital filmmaking). After taking 10 hoursof one-on-one language classes at HanoiUniversity of Foreign Studies, sheinterviewed 10 media professionals in Hanoiwho work in each industry. However,“absolutely no one in Saigon would speak” withher about the media industry in that part ofthe country, including those who had formerlyagreed to be interviewed. Aimee assumed“being interviewed by a Westerner mademedia professionals uncomfortable or madethem feel at risk.” She “didn’t want to getanyone in trouble,” and instead, “usedInternet cafes checking for web censorshipand firewalls, researched the cost andavailability of pirated digital media, i.e., CDs,pirated DVDs, and consumer electronics like

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satellites, digital TV, etc.” Aimee’sresearched confirmed previous research andalso gave her “valuable insight.” Her ideasabout “how Vietnamese media worked inconjunction with the Vietnamese governmentwere far too rosy.” She found how “endemiccorruption is to Vietnam” and how thiscorruption “impacts the Vietnamese media,and educational institutions that preparecitizens to participate in it.” Aimee believesthis knowledge will “help future policymakersworking to adopt digital media anticipatesome of the problems they might encounterin achieving their goal.”

Kai Heidemann, a graduate student inAnthropology, FAS, won a StanleyProstrednik Grant to conduct an independentresearch project in France. As preliminaryresearch for his dissertation project insociology, Kai’s goal was to “collect historicaland political data relative to minoritylanguage revitalization initiatives in theBasque Country, Brittany and Corsica.” Firsthe “met with academics and scholars atvarious universities who worked on minoritylanguage issues.” These individuals led him tospecific research publications andorganizations which he “would never haveencountered without their personalassistance.” Kai then met with various“language activists” in local settings. Hecollected literature on the topic of minoritylanguage revitalization in France. And finallyhe “collected government (local and national)data concerning when and where ‘official’support for minority language has occurred inFrance.” He learned that the “hard work anddedication of local community members hasbeen far more effective in revitalizinglanguages such as Basque and Bretonextension than have policy debates at thenational or supra-national level.” And that“by starting their own newspapers, radioprograms, web-sites, festivals and schoolingprograms, language activists haveunquestionably been the most influentialsource of support for marginalizedlanguages.”

Rebecca Englert, a graduate major inCultural Anthropology in FAS, won the RuthCrawford Mitchell Award to research in theimpoverished highlands of Chiapas, Mexico.Her subject was “why Chiapan mestizo (non-indigenous) women choose to convert toProtestantism.” Rebecca wanted to show the“link between social, economic and politicalconditions of people’s lives and their religiouschoices,” and how this study will be “valuableto our understanding of the people ofMexico” not only in academia and “thoseinterested in societies outside the U.S.,” butalso for “those doing non-profit servicework.” She learned that “it does seem thatwomen are more likely to convert toProtestantism than their male counterparts.”They have personal “specific reasons forconverting.” often having to do with “findingsolace in times of crises.” However, the idearemains that “gender relations within thecommunity and home change because of thedifferent social conditions within Protestantchurches.” Along with greatly improving her“practical Spanish skills,” the award helpedRebecca lay the groundwork for futuredissertation fieldwork. She made academicconnections with mentoring researchers inChiapas, students and librarians. She alsorevised her overall project and “will interviewboth women and men.”

Daniel Fuks, a CAS undergraduate, won theIsrael Heritage Room Scholarship to studyArabic, labor economics, and to doindependent research in Jerusalem. Heplanned to research agricultural settlementsin Israel that are “Israeli-Palestiniancoexistence projects.” While there are “noactual farms where Israeli Jews andPalestinians work together,” there are a“number of agricultural cooperation projectsinvolving Israelis and Palestinians includingscientific research, services and education.”Daniel took an intensive one-month course inspoken Arabic at Hebrew University inJerusalem. For his research, he made“contacts through the internet and by wordof mouth.” Daniel “visited many people andplaces conducting interviews” while keepinghis “eyes and ears open.” He interviewed

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scientists at the Volcani Institute ofAgricultural Research and helped build agarden in the mixed Arab-Jewish town ofLod. Daniel attended a lecture at NeveShalom, the “only village where Arabs andJews choose to live together,” and visited aschool that “engages in water conservationand coexistence projects with Friends of theEarth, Middle East (FOEME).” He attendeda seminar at the University of Tel Aviv on“agriculture cooperation between Egypt andIsrael.” He also took a 60-kilometer bikeride in the Golan Heights. Daniel worked onthe Paolonia trees and met with Palestinianand Jordanian farmers in Jordan as part of aFOEME project. He then “went looking forpeople really living off the land.” In the hillsof Jerusalem forest he found a place called“Samson’s Farm which runs on its own well-water and electricity generator.” Daniel“learned a lot about Israeli-Palestinianrelations, Israeli agriculture, and cooperativeprojects.” He also discovered “somebeautiful people and places” and a “lifestyle”he had been looking for.

Courtney Hill, an undergraduate Spanishmajor in CAS, won a Women’s InternationalClub Grant to do independent research inFortaleza, Brazil. Brazil is “one of the worldleaders in high cesarean section rates” with32% of all births by cesarean section. TheWorld Health Organization has set thehealthy rate of cesarean sections percountry at 15% of all births per year.Courtney researched preferences andperceptions for the cesarean birth method.In 1988, Brazil’s constitution provided forfree healthcare. “This system is unable tokeep up with the high demand of themajority of the population.” As a result,“several private healthcare providers havebeen established for those who can pay outof pocket for the services.” She believes itis essential to understand why becausecesarean sections are “costly to thegovernment” and “can be dangerous formothers and newborns.” Following a review ofthe literature, she obtained questionnairesfrom 147 pregnant women in both public andprivate hospitals and clinics. She also

interviewed five obstetricians, three privatedoctors and two public doctors. The resultsare the “majority 82.8% of the patient samplebelieved that a natural birth offered the bestoverall healthcare; 6.9% thought thatcesareans were the better birth.” Courtneyfound the “type of health insurance did notimpact a patient’s preference for cesarean-section births, but did influence herperceptions about birth.” Among women inthe public versus private health system inFortaleza, Courtney found no statisticallysignificant preference for cesarean as aresult of using one system over another. Andshe discovered “there is widespread belief bywomen from both sectors in the sample thattheir opinion is more important than thedoctor’s when choosing a birth method.”

Michelle Kennerly, a graduate studentmajoring in Rhetoric and Communication inFAS, won the Irish Room CommitteeScholarship to research the role of Gaeliclanguage in modern Ireland and a foundationfor Irishness. She focused on Douglas Hyde(1860-1949) co-founder and first president ofthe Gaelic League, Professor of Modern Irishat the National University of Ireland andfirst President of Ireland. She planned to“examine his appeals”, “modes of writing” and“to learn how his rearing seduced him intobecoming a champion of the Irish Language ata time when few members of the Ascendancywould dare condescend to learn the languageof the disenfranchised.” Michelle was“startled” to learn that the Irish LanguageQuestion “remains a controversial one.” Shewas able to access special library collectionsand developed contacts with archivists andscholars. At Roscommon where Hyde wasraised, Maureen visited the church where hisfather served as rector which has nowbecome The Douglas Hyde Centre. She wasable to access records from previousproceedings of The Douglas Hyde Conferencewhich were “highly informative.” She chattedwith people and discovered that not oneperson lacked an opinion about the usefulnessof Gaeilge. While doing research, Maureenlearned to “let the material lead” her ratherthan herself. She believes her summer work

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in Ireland “will benefit” her throughout herstudent years. Michelle is planning toproduce a paper containing the “fruits of thisloveable labor.”

Shawn Kerestus, an undergraduate PoliticalScience and History major in CAS, won theAustrian Room Committee Scholarship Heplanned to pursue an internship with the U. S.Embassy in Vienna. While the internshipassignment did not work exactly as expected,Shawn was able to experience the culturethat Vienna offers, including, “some of themost beautiful architecture,” he has everseen. He used the trolleys and saw theImperial palace, the prominent Stephansdomand many other smaller churches includingthe church that has the, “hearts of everyHabsburg Ruler in a silver urn.” Shawnobserved how “green Vienna truly is.” Heenjoyed the small parks and the Volksgarten,the large park in the center of the Ring whichhas, “many fountains and hundreds ofdifferent roses.” Shawn was surprised tofind the center city, “even more vibrantlygreen. Entire walking paths around the Ringare just covered with trees and grass andflowers.” He was able to attend thePhilharmonic concert at Schönbrunn andenjoyed Grinzing wine taverns. He alsovisited the café’s and sampled the, “bestpastries ever.” There were, “so many thingsto do,” Shawn believes one is, “never able todo everything.” So he focused on enjoyingthe opportunity and the, “warm place” hefound Vienna to be.

Erica Leonard, graduate student in theSchool of Medicine, won the James W. KnoxAward to work as a medical volunteer atclinics in rural Uganda, Africa. She lived in avillage and walked 30 minutes to get to herworkplace. Erica shared her home space withsix other volunteers and one Ugandanextended family. She, “slept under mosquitonets, got her water from a bore hole, tookbucket showers and used pit latrines.” Sheworked providing, “medical diagnoses andmedications to patients free of charge,” and,taught interactive HIV/AIDS educationclasses in schools or villages. Common

conditions patients presented with weremalaria, worms, diarrhea, scabies, HIV,cough, backache, GERD and anemia. Inbetween diagnosing patients, Erica “washedher laundry by hand, drank Ugandan tea inthe evening, heard beautifully amplified rainunder a tin roof and woke to the roosterscrowing in the early morning.” She also tookthe opportunity for a few travel weekends.She spent time white-water rafting on theNile, and got to see western Uganda and LakeBunyoni. She also learned about localUgandan HIV support organizations. Ericafeels “so fortunate,” to have spent hersummer in Uganda. Because of thisopportunity, Erica feels her “mind and heartare more open to the many ways of theworld.”

Emily Lovallo, graduate student majoring inNeuroscience and Spanish in CAS, won theWomen’s International Club Grant andtraveled to rural Santarém, Brazil where shestudied health care and delivery systems.Her focus was, “how does culture affecthealth care and the method of its delivery inrural and urban locations in Brazil?” She usedthe various projects and programs shebecame involved in to answer her questions.Emily’s advanced language ability inPortuguese was a great advantage, as well asher interest and enthusiasm. Tutored by andconversing with a local professor, she firstread articles and watched documentariesrelevant to Santarém. Emily worked in acenter where children were weighed,measured and vaccinated and underweightchildren were given fortified cereal. Thecenter also had a family planning educationalcomponent. Emily taught English in a programestablished for street children, and shespent some mornings helping her Portugueseinstructor teach an English class. Followingschool break, she spent “more time betweenthe women’s health program and the generalclinic,” working with either a “pediatrician,cardiologist, gynecologist, general surgeon,GI specialist or general clinician.” She alsopresented all-day workshops on familyplanning, contraceptive methods and HIV/STD prevention. Emily had the opportunity

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to work on The Quilombo Project. A quilombois a “community of descendents of runawayslaves who are protected by the governmentand located in biological reserves.” Travelingby boat, she helped set up, and with a nurse,gave gynecological exams and examinedpregnant women. During her work, sheobserved many other health problemsincluding cataracts and children who had“worms, anemia and were malnourished.” Shealso received prescription practice. Herresearch reminded her of the “incrediblelevel of integration,” between all aspects ofhuman life, thus it “is necessary tounderstand to some degree all of the factorsinvolved in health care.”

Robert Mucklo, Jr., a graduate student ofApplied Hispanic Linguistics in FAS, won theIvan Santa-Cruz Memorial Award to doindependent research study on Spanishlanguage usage in Santiago, Chile. He hadfound there was “a shift in subject pronounsand verb forms unique to Chilean Spanish andto certain classes of Chileans.” His focus wasthe use of the “voseo culto,” who currentlyuses it and under what conditions. “Voseoculto” is the different uses of “you” and theiraccompanying verb forms that are unique toChile. He planned to do library research butwas prevented by a lock-out strike of thepublic university. In what he believes is animportant part of the experience ofunderstanding Chilean history, Chilean peopleand how this fits into their sociolinguisticpatterns, he observed people; learned tohandle persistent street beggars, visitedmuseums and cultural sites. Robert haddinner with a Senator, and met severalChilean writers, journalists, artists and film-makers. One evening while sitting reading,“everything started to shake. I wasexperiencing minor earthquakes or tremors!”Based on a classic study, Robert visiteddifferent department stores and observedspeech patterns of sales clerks where heexpected the form used to cross social class.What he found was that he was alwaystreated using a verb form not at all relatedto the “voseo culto”. He switched to anotherplan and interviewed informants asking them

questions about what Chilean Spanish was tothem and “probed their responses.” He thengathered printed materials of the “voseoculto” usage and found inconsistent spelling.His preliminary findings are that “the “voseoculto” has spread throughout the socialclasses and has not only an indexicality ofsocial class but also an indexicality ofsolidarity depending on who’s using it.” Robertplans to incorporate this research in hisMaster’s thesis. Overall, his experience inChile was “absolutely remarkable.” I wasexposed to “many extraordinaryexperiences… which have had an immediateimpact on my academic career.”

Amanda Natalie, an undergraduate majoringin Psychology, Italian Language andLiterature, won the Italian Room CommitteeScholarship to study Italian language andculture with the Pitt in Italy program inFlorence. She attended two classes a daywhich she, “much enjoyed,” and which can beapplied to Pitt’s Italian major or minorprogram. Classes were Italian language,literature and a cultural tour of Florence, andwere small enough to allow for “personalattention.” Weekends Amanda traveled toRome, Venice, Cinque Terre and Verona. InFlorence she opted to stay in an apartment.However, if she had it to do again, she would“choose a home-stay. Not only do home-staysprovide the comfort of home (laundry, home-cooked meals and a family), they also providethe priceless experience of constantly beingimmersed in the Italian language.” The tripopened her eyes to a world outside of her“suburban American town.” She learned toappreciate the Italians way of life, theirculture and their traditions. She also gaineda new appreciation for America; insight onwhat a “privileged life” she leads as anAmerican in terms of our “economy,opportunities and conveniences.” Besides thepersonal insight, Amanda learned to manageher time better which helped raise her QPAand GPA. And she was able to gain 7 creditstowards her Italian major, which was a “hugeadvantage.”

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Jennifer Pierson, a graduate student in theSchool of Law, won the Czechoslovak RoomCommittee Scholarship, and traveled toPrague to study Media Law and researchmedia freedom of speech in restructuringgovernment’s policies. Jennifer used theOrganization for Security and Cooperation inEurope’s archives to study the laws thatrelate to open society laws in formercommunist countries, and used legal researchmethods and historical research to interprethow these laws were used and developed.She learned that while open society laws do“help create a stable society; it’s simply notthat clear.” She found the “rulers and peopleenforcing those laws also have a great deal ofdiscretion and control over how thingsactually play out.” In Jennifer’s first tripabroad, she learned the most, “when thingswent wrong.” And she learned she could “relyon herself.” She went kayaking and in lessthan 15 minutes, tipped the kayak.Everything was ruined including her digitalcamera. Tears would not fix things. With sixhours more to go downriver, she got back inthe kayak and paddled. When thinking aboutthis experience, she realized that theincident, actually put her in the right frameof mind for the rest of the trip, – “nothingthat happened was bad. It was just whathappened.” Admittedly, Jennifer would makeexcuses not to push herself into places whereshe was not comfortable. She could not dothat in the Czech Republic. She had always,“struggled with foreign languages,” but wasforced to, “pick up terms and words,” todetermine what the signs were trying to tellher, and to learn train schedules and foodterms. As she was riding on a train returningto Prague, she saw a campground sign andthought the next time, she should go camping.After that moment, she “realized there woulddefinitely be a next time.”

Benjamin Pilcher, an undergraduatemajoring in Urban Studies in CAS, won theRachel McMasters Miller Hunt Award tostudy Latin American literature and cultureat the Universidad de Guanajuato,Guanajuato, Mexico. Ben was enthusiasticabout the faculty at the Universidad de

Guanajuato noting that they were “amazingand “each one is an expert in her or herspecific field.” He was equally enthusiasticabout the city. His host mother was “warm,friendly and genuinely interested in gettingto know me and my roommates; she took us ontrips and invited us to family gatherings,truly including us not only on her home butalso in her life.” He also loved the “fantastic”food. Ben found the city of Guanajuato, inthe geographic center of Mexico, is a “ahidden jewel. The architecture is stunninglypreserved, the number of museums andtheaters per capita is amazing, the calendaris filled with international festivals and theday-to-day life of the city is endlesslyengaging.” Traveling was “extremely easy andhighly encouraged.” Program excursion stopsincluded Mexico City, Puebla, Teotihuacán,Veracruz and Michoacan. Ben was able tovisit 10 Mexican states, all the historic siteson the Route of Independence, bringing his,“history lessons to life.” Ben learned “howpeople in other countries are not so differentfrom Americans.” He was able to focus ongetting to know the natives as individuals,rather than simply as Mexicans. Benn“cherishes the personal connections he made,“more than anything else.” His Spanish skillsincreased tremendously and “solidified” his“passion for living abroad,” and the Englishclasses he taught convinced him that teachingis something he “loves and must do aftergraduation.” Ben “really enjoyed everymoment of this trip and could not behappier,” with all he has seen and learned.

T. Sukumar Rao, a graduate student in theSchool of Medicine, won the Indian RoomCommittee Scholarship to study health caredelivery, accessibility and disease prevalencein underserved communities near the Tibetanborder. As a medical student, Sukumartraveled with Himalayan Health Exchange“accompanied by six doctors, a dentist, twoanthropologists and roughly 25 other medicalstudents from the U.S., Canada and England.”He found he “gained more clinical experiencethan he has throughout his entire medicaltraining.” He traveled first to a small village

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typical of the Himalayan foothills and met“one brilliant doctor” named Raj. The mostimportant skills he acquired there were notclinical, but “life lessons. People live in peaceand happiness, and are unconcerned with thecomplicated lives of city dwellers.” Heworked alongside Dr. Raj in his government-sponsored hospital and saw patients withnumerous communicable diseases, includingtuberculosis, scabies, ringworm and E. coli.On two free weekends, Sukumar visited thetown where the Dalai Lama lives and wasthere to see him celebrate his 70th birthdayand listen to one of his public lectures. Hewas particularly impressed with Dr. Raj’sability to “confidently diagnose almost everypatient with no imaging equipment, noequipment for monitoring vitals and minimallabs.” Sukumar was impressed with theimportance of “listening to and examining apatient with simple tools and an astute mind.”The group moved upward to the tourist cityof Manali, 6,500 feet above sea level. “Theviews of mountain peaks from these heightsare neither describable in words nor can theybe captured in picture.” On a typical day heworked from dawn to sunset as there wasminimal electricity. Sukumar saw at least 100cases in Manali with the help of a seniordoctor and, in all, the group provided medicaland dental care to approximately 1,500patients. “The emphasis was not on volume,but to treat effectively and to the fullestextent possible with our limited resources.”

Nicole Robertson, graduate student inPhysical Therapy, won the Dorothy BradleyBrown Award and pursued an internship inphysical therapy in Cape Town, South Africa.She worked at a local community healthcenter for 40 hours per week as a clinicalrotation in Physical Therapy. The hospitalwas underfunded, did not have manyresources and the “hygiene was very poorcompared to the hospitals in Pittsburgh.”She had her own caseload and would seeabout 5 to 7 patients per day. She also waspermitted to visit a community nursing home

where she treated some patients. Becausefacilities were so poor, she learned how to becreative when treating patients. WhenNicole did not have an implement forstretching and strengthening exercises shecreatively improvised using a patient’spantyhose. She found Cape Town a“paradoxical place,” of amazing beauty andextreme poverty,” and the “spirit of thepeople in South Africa amazing.” They are so“full of life and pride.” Nicole was able totake side trips and excursions and ranked her10 favorite places. Among them are TableMountain where she hiked trails and saw a360-degree view of Cape Town; Cape TownBotanical Gardens, ranked as one of the bestin the world; Hermanus beach town for “someof the best whale watching in the world”;Simon’s Town where the beaches are full ofnative penguins; Robben Island, where shesaw Nelson Mandela’s jail cell, a “movingexperience;” a township tour, Chapman’s Peakdrive, several wineries and game reserves.She learned not to take anything for grantedand realized how privileged she was to beable to practice healthcare in the UnitedStates. Nicole believes she has become “evenmore compassionate and creative” andappreciates all the resources she has to workwith in Pittsburgh.

J. Elizabeth Strohm, an undergraduatewriting and French student in the School ofArts and Sciences, won the Women’sInternational Club Scholarship to intern withpublishers of English language newspapers inUlaanbaatar, Mongolia. She first took athree-week course offered by theNationality University of Mongolia inMongolian language, history, archeology,geology, cultural anthropology andclimatology. She worked full time at thePress Institute of Mongolia, a privateorganization that monitors and supports thedeveloping free press. Elizabeth composed afive-day introduction to the Journalismcourse packet for high school studentsinterested in journalism and taught basicEnglish to the staff, edited the Englishversion of their Web site and helped organizeand conduct a two-day international

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conference on journalism and transitionalgovernments in Asia. Elizabeth felt therewas “still a lot to do,” and proposed she spendanother 4 months continuing to plant theseeds of a free press in a culture imbuedwith Soviet values for so many years. Shetaught a journalism course to youngMongolians, lived with a Mongolian family,continued to learn the language and work withjournalists.

Natasha Sumetsky, an undergraduatestudent majoring in Psychology and Russian,won the Polish Room/Kosciuszko FoundationScholarship to study at the JagiellonianUniversity in Krakow, Poland. She stayed in adormitory and took 3 courses in Poland forcredit: Polish language, Jews in Poland, andLessons in Polish Literature. She also sat inon the Polish Music and Economic Transitionin Poland which were, “wonderfulintroductions to Polish music beyond Chopin.”The language courses were taught entirely inPolish, something she found “extremelyuseful.” Natasha enjoyed all of the non-language courses and found Lessons in PolishLiterature “particularly memorable.” Herprofessor was “incredibly enthusiastic,knowledgeable, personable, and inspiring and“one of the best professors” she ever had.The University organized free trips forenrolled students to Zakopane, Auschwitz,Pieniny Mountains/Tatras and the Salt Mines,as well as local trips to museums. Along withimproved conversation skills, Natasha leftPoland with a “more easygoing perception ofacademia and life, a better understanding ofPoland, and an increased appreciation of allcultures.”

Leah Taylor, a graduate student majoring inInternational Development, won a StanleyProstrednik Grant to intern in a women’swelfare office in Gambia, Africa. For thefirst 5 weeks, Leah taught sexual andreproductive health to (mostly) teenage girlsat a school in the suburbs. Most of the girlswere unmarried and since the vast majorityof the population is Muslim, pre-marital sex is

forbidden. “Sex is extremely taboo inGambian society,” and when Leah taught acourse in HIV/AIDS awareness and educationfor most of the girls it was the “first theyhad heard on the topic.” Leah also got achance to do “real” development work whenshe observed during the rainy season thatwater from the neighborhood dumpster raninto the market. She started meeting withwomen’s groups and the municipality and gotinvolved with another neighborhoodorganization. Leah wrote a funding proposalto build a fence around the village garden toprotect the crops from animal encroachment.The trip meant “quite a lot” to Leahprofessionally in the sense that international“work” experience is invaluable for someonegoing into international development. Ithelped reaffirm her decision to apply to theSchool of Public Health for a joint degreeprogram, and made her realize that every jobin which she is interested “has to do withhealth, especially maternal and child health.”The experience “made everything coalescequite nicely.”

Alina Volper, CAS undergraduate studentmajoring in French and Psychology, won theNationality Council Merit Award to studyFrench language and culture in Avignon,France. The program is “very academicallyoriented” and the overall atmosphere was“pleasant”, the administration was“agreeable,” and most of the professors were“approachable” and “willing to help.” It isobligatory to live with a host family. Therewere a “great group of students” who “allbecame friends” and “found numerousactivities to engage in together.” Alina tooka course called “Trials in Literature and inBooks.” Excursions were offered to varioustowns close by, i.e., Cassis, Arles and LesBaux and provided an “opportunity to exploreand experience the Provence region ofFrance. Opportunities for excursionsincluded one-day (optional) bus or train tripsand a few outings organized by a Frenchcollege student who worked at the University.Alina visited Marseille, Venice and Aix-en

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Provence on her own. The culturalsurroundings were “magnificent and rich inhistory and tradition.” The school waslocated in the center of Avignon, close to themain streets which are “full of cafes,restaurants, shops and little parks where youcan spend a leisurely afternoon.”Alina believes this trip had a “significanteffect” on her career goals because it aidedher in improving her French which she plansto use in the future as a psychologist.Through traveling, Alina learned to recognizehow “vast the world is, and how much there isto discover and learn from other nations/people/cultures.”

Zachary Walters, a CAS undergraduatemajoring in Architectural Studies, won theGreek Room Committee Scholarship andtraveled to Greece to study the sociology oftourism and architectural history. He hopedo analyze “tourisms immediate effect on meand how it affected all works of life.” Inarchitecture, he hoped to “experience theclassics first hand.” Zachary’s primary focuswas “historical preservation and restoration,”and he wanted to see “what steps were beingtmade to preserve these ancient temples”.Most of the information and insight hedocumented was directly influenced by hiseveryday interactions in the Greek society.Using photography, he documented his workextensively, inside and out. The results andbenefits of his research helped him to decidethat “historical preservation and restoration”is most likely what he would like to do as acareer. Zachary was inspired by the beautyof the classic buildings. “Where most sawrubble or disrepair, I saw new beginning.Many buildings in the Athens area are veryold and damaged and yet he “saw so many ofthese buildings with scaffolding all aroundtheir exterior testifying to their once greatbeauty that in time will be restored.” Evenwith the large influx of tourists, the peopleof Greece still “maintain their genuinekindness and openness toward these‘wondering’ travelers. The Greeks greetedme as a long lost son…I felt a part of thisgreat family. Tourism has not changed the

people of Greece and will not change thisopen-minded society anytime soon.”

Emily Whitman, a CAS undergraduatemajoring in Economics and Political Sciencewon a David L. Lawrence Grant and traveledto Lugano, Switzerland to study politics andinternational economics through a FranklinCollege program. She was most impressedwith the “academic excellence for theprogram, the quality of the professors,” andthe “beautiful location.” Emily’s courseswere the politics of the Middle East andPhotography taught by a former NationalGeographic photographer. The city of Luganooffered “many opportunities” for culturalexcursions and the students often organizedtheir own trips.” Emily’s “favorite part of thetrip” involved weekend travel to Venice,Florence, Cinque Terre, Rome, Sardinia,Munich, Zurich, Interlaken, Lucerne andMilan. Small towns near by were “perfect daytrips during the week,” and there were “oftenfestivals and concerts in Lugano at night.”She feels “quite independent and capable”now that she’s traveled through part ofEurope. The “necessity for planning andpersonal responsibility forces one to begrown-up while still having a youthfulexperience.” “Bonding experiences withfellow travel companions is also invaluable.”Emily “made friendships she “will surely notforget.”

Marie Zettek, a CAS undergraduatemajoring in History and Political Science, wona Savina S. Skewis Grant to attend aseminar on peace and conflict studies inUganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, Africa,through the School for InternationalTraining, Battleboro, Vermont. Objectives ofthe school are “to prepare students to beinterculturally effective leaders,professionals and citizens. Faculty is drawnfrom professors from universities around theworld. The academic program was a seminarcalled “Peace and Conflict Studies in the LakeVictoria Region.” This program focused on

the Rwandan genocide of 1994 and the civilwar in northern Uganda. Marie “reallyenjoyed everything about the way the coursewas taught, guest lecturers, speakers, andespecially the structure of the coursecontent. We did not merely look at the eventin and of itself. We looked at causes, studiedwhat occurred/is occurring during theconflicts (from multiple perspectives) and weexamined the various ways people are workingto bring about a lasting peace andreconciliation.” In Uganda and Rwanda sheexperienced a home-stay which was“invaluable” where she “actually got to livelike an average local Ugandan or Rwandanwould.” There was no running water. Mariefound “there is really nothing like beingwelcomed into the house of a completestranger on the other side of the globe and

leaving two weeks later a part of the family.”When she talked to survivors of the horribleviolence, she began to realize that “people are capable of moving on and forgiving.” Thegacaca system in Rwanda is …a “very positivething for the people. Every survivor….whenasked, said that they were ready to forgivethe perpetrators of the genocide if theywere asked forgiveness and the perpetratorsadmitted their wrongdoing. This was verypowerful to hear!” This program helpedMarie realize she would like to return toEastern Africa either to study more, work,volunteer or intern. And she is taking Swahilito “help make that a reality.”

EYES AND EARS UPON USDecember 1, 2004Pittsburgh Tribune-ReviewSpecial EventNationality Rooms open for holiday tours

December 3, 2004Pittsburgh Tribune-ReviewPitt hosts holiday open house in Nationality Rooms

December 14, 2004SITNEWSKetchikan AlaskaPittsburgh’s Inverted Mine Shaft

Several paragraphs on the Nationality Rooms and onephotograph

April, 2005Pittsburgh Business TimesNationality Rooms selected as one of “Largest Museums”

May 11, 2005Pittsburgh Tribune-ReviewProposal for Thai Room to be presented at Pitt

May 12, 2005Pittsburgh Post-GazetteThai Room plannedMay 26, 2005St. David Society of Pittsburgh, Inc. NewsletterWelsh Room update

Summer, 2005Alumni ConnectionsAlumni ScrapbookColor photograph of seniors including two scholarshiprecipients

Summer, 2005PITTColor photograph of Alberta “Sbragia in the doorway ofthe Irish Room

Summer, 2005Finlandia Foundation, Inc.NewsletterFinnish Committee grant

Summer, 2005University of Pittsburgh Honors CollegeClaire Sierawski (2002 Women’s International ClubAward, Nationality Rooms Scholarship winner) featuredTwo color photographs

August, 2005St. David’s Society NewsletterSketch and description of proposed Welsh Room

August 4, 2005“Hola! El Show de Television…”Interview with Dr. Ezequiel Mobley on the LatinAmerican/Caribbean Heritage RoomRerun August 11 and 18

August 24, 2005PittChronicleColor photograph of Indian dancers, part of August 14,Indian Festival

September, 2005The 2005 Report of Chancellor Mark A. NordenbergFull-page color photograph of Alvin Jones, winner, 2002African Heritage Room Committee Scholarshipand group photograph including 2004 Savina S. SkewisGrant winner Marion Sikora

September, 2005Lithuanian Citizens’ Society NewsletterLithuanian Room Committee Meeting

September 1, 2005University TIMES CalendarPh.D. Defense, Amy Speier,2000 Stanley Prostrednik Award winnerSeptember 1, 2005Leipziger Volkszeitung, Leipzig, GermanyPhotograph and article of E. Maxine and Fred Bruhns’visit to Leipzig

September 19, 2005The Pitt NewsArticle by Lindsey Anderson, 2005 Helen Pool RushGrant winner regarding her Summer Study Abroadexperience

September 19, 2005PittChronicleColor photograph featuring Alvin Jones, winner, 2002African Heritage Room Committee Scholarship

September 20, 2005Pittsburgh Post-GazetteLatino TV company films here…“Tu Pulso,” a Los Angeles-based Spanish TV program onUnivisionexploring Latino presence in Pittsburghlet by Brent Rondon of Latin American/CaribbeanHeritage Room committee

September 21, 2005The Pitt NewsFront-page article Pitt Students and community memberslobby for nationality room

September 23, 2005The Pitt NewsPitt students tutor refugee children from SomaliaFront-page article featured Marie Zettek, 2005 Savina S.Skewis Grant winner

September 29, 2005Pittsburgh Tribune-Review‘Mrs. Shakespeare’ garners her own interpretationPerformance in English Nationality Room

Fall, 2005Alumni ConnectionsSchedule listing of “Mrs. Shakespeare: Will’s First andLast Love” performed in the English Room, includingcolor photograph

Fall, 2005Y Wawr (The Dawn) Welsh magazineThe Nationality Rooms and Welsh Room sketch andphotograph of the Welsh Room Committee

Fall, 2005REES News - Alumni NewsKumen Call, 2003 Eugene Manasterski Memorial Awardwinner, has founded Change-Aid. Initial efforts will bedirected toward UkraineMargaret Rencewicz, 2003 Polish Room Committee/Kosciuszko Foundation Scholarship, has been accepted toPitt’s Department of Religious Studies’ Cooperative Ph.D.Program.Lisa Pohlman, 2002 Czechoslovak Room CommitteeScholarship winner presented her research at theEuropean Union Conference and has also received a 2005Summer Fellowship from Pitt’s European Union CenterKarla Hueber, 2004 Czechoslovak Room CommitteeScholarship, will travel to Europe Prague on a Fulbright-Hays fellowshipGrzegorz Miaskewicz, 2004 Polish Room Committee/Kosciuszko Foundation Scholarship winner, was named aChancellor’s Undergraduate Teaching Fellow

Fall, 2005WPSCA Newsletter - Western PA Slovak Cultural Assn.Slovak Festival at Pitt

Autumn, 2005SwitzerlandNewsletter of the Swiss-American Society of Pittsburgh,PA -- Nationality Room Open House

October, 2005CWES NewsletterStudent and Alumni NewsErica Dollhopf, president, Quo Vadis internship inSloveniaKatie Angus, 2003 Savina S. Skewis winner is graduatestudent in the Ph.D. program in FrenchGeorg Menz, 1999 Austrian Room CommitteeScholarship winner, has received the Jean MonnetFellowship

October, 2005Finlandia WeeklyCompetition Will Help to Design Finnish NationalityRoom

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October, 2005William Penn LifeHungarian Room offers Scholarships forsummer study abroad

October 3, 2005PittChronicleColor photograph regarding Finnish Room design

October 19, 2005The Pitt NewsFront-page story on debate competition held in theEnglish Room

October 24, 2005PittChroniclePhotograph of debate in English Nationality Room

October 27, 2005St. David’s Society of Pittsburgh, Inc. NewsletterNationality Rooms Open House & Funds for Welsh Room

October – December, 2005EventSourceFour listings“Mrs. Shakespeare”, Will’s First & Last Love, in theEnglish Nationality Room

October 31, 2005PittChronicleFront-page article on the haunted heritage of the EarlyAmerican Room - Three color photographs

November, 2005The Pitt News Best of 2005Italian Nationality Room

November, 2005Lithuanian Citizens’ Society Newsletter

November 10, 2005Pittsburgh Post-GazetteFood Nibbles: Polish food festival is Sunday in Oakland

November 10, 2005University TIMESUnveiling planned for design of Turkish NationalityRoom

November 14, 2005PittChronicleDelegation from Royal Thai Consulate General in NYvisit Pitt -- One color photograph

November 14, 2005PittChronicleWelsh Room Committee close to Reaching Goal

November 14, 2005Pittsburgh Tribune-ReviewColor photograph, little girl dancing with father at PolishFestival

November 14, 2005Pittsburgh Post-GazetteColor photograph of young Polish dancers - Polishfest

Holiday Open House

November 3, 2005The Jewish ChroniclePhotograph of Daniel Fuks, 2005 Israel Heritage RoomScholarship winner at the Chai celebration of the IsraelHeritage Room

November 5, 2005GeschichteGermany’s History magazineTwo-page feature article about Pittsburgh NationalityRooms listed as among sights worth seeing

November 7, 2005PittChronicleDesign for Turkish Room to be Unveiled

November 7, 2005PittChroniclePitt Nationality Rooms Spread Holiday Cheer

November 9, 2005Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘Mrs. Shakespeare’ knocks the Bard from his pedestal

November 9, 2005Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRestaurateurs raising the profile of Thai culture here

November 15, 2005The Pitt NewsFront-page, Festival celebrates Polish pride

November 21, 2005The Pitt NewsPitt plans to add new nationality rooms in ‘08

November 28, 2005PittChronicleNationality Rooms to host Open House

November 30, 2005The Pitt NewsSpotlight shifts to Mrs. Shakespeare

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December, 2005Lithuanian Citizens’ Society NewsletterLithuanian Tree in Lithuanian Room

December 1, 2005St. David’s Society of Pittsburgh, Inc. NewsletterUpdate on Welsh Room activity

December 7, 2005The Pitt NewsPitt dresses up for holiday seasonFront-page - Color photograph of Greek Room

December 8, 2005The Pitt News -- Pitt honors long-time employeesRecognizing E. Maxine Bruhns’ 40 years of service

December 8, 2005University TIMES -- Welsh Room committeeRoderick gifts

December 8, 2005University TIMES -- In the holiday spiritFront-page – five color photographs

December 8, 2005University TIMES -- Pitt recognizes long-term staffColor photograph – E. Maxine Bruhns

December 10, 2005Pittsburgh Post-GazetteCracow crèches -- Six color photographs

December 12, 2005PittChronicle -- University Honors Long-Term StaffE. Maxine Bruhns

CALENDAR OF EVENTSAll dates and times are subject to change. Forcurrent information, call 412.624.6150.(t/b/a = to be announced)

NOVEMBER6 Slovak Festival

Commons Room Noon – 5:00 p.m.13 Polishfest - Commons Room - Noon12 Decorating Day Luncheon

1228 C.L. Noon

13 Holiday tours begin13 Scandinavian Society of Western PA -

1228 C.L.24 Thanksgiving Day - University closed –

no tours25 Thanksgiving holiday – University

offices closed25 Nationality Room Tours

11:00 a.m. – last tour leaves at 2:30 p.m.

DECEMBER4 Holiday Open House

Noon – 4pm- Commons Room9 Last day of University classes10 Czechoslovak Room Holiday Party

2:00 – 6:00 p.m. – 1228 C.L.10 Scandinavian Society of Western PA

Annual Holiday Party – Boyd Center,O’Hara Twp.

15 W.I.C. Holiday Brunch 11:30 p.m. P.A.A.10 Polish Crèche Display

Lower Lounge – Wm. Pitt Union12/23 – 1/2 University offices closed24, 25 & 26 Winter Break – University closed –

no tours27-31 Nationality Room Tours

11:00 a.m. – last tour leaves at 2:30 p.m.

JANUARY1 New Year’s Day - University Offices

closed – no tours2 Nationality Rooms tours

11:00 a.m. – last tour leaves at 2:30 p.m.3 University reopens for Spring Semester4 Classes resume14, 15 & 16 Undecorating the Nationality Rooms15 Scandinavian Society of Western PA

1228 C.L.16 Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday

University Offices closed16 Nationality Rooms tours

December, 2005Kidz Communities MagazineThe Nationality RoomsA Festive Experience in Culture & Traditions Unique toPittsburgh Four-color photographs – two page article

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FEBRUARY8-28 Scholarship Selection Panels

1201 Cathedral of Learning24 University Honors Convocation

MARCH5 Czechoslovak Room Committee meeting

1228 C.L.6-11 University Spring Break9 Nationality Council Meeting

1201 Cathedral of Learning - 6:00 p.m.10 University’s Observance of Spring Break

University Closed10 Nationality Rooms Tours

11:00 a.m. – last tour leaves at 2:30 p.m.26 Greek Independence Day – t/b/at/b/a Scholarship Orientation & Awards

Presentation

APRIL8 Annual Austrian Ball – t/b/a23 Scandinavian Society of Western PA -

1228 C.L.21 Last Day of University classes

Room 1228 C.L. - 2:00 p.m.22 CABARET BALL30 Commencement

______________________________

NATIONALITY ROOMS PROGRAM1209 Cathedral of LearningUniversity of PittsburghPittsburgh, PA 15260

#$&%#$&%

MAY6 Czechoslovak Room Committee meeting

1228 C.L.29 Memorial Day – University offices

closed29 Nationality Rooms Tours

11:00 a.m. – last tour leaves at 2:30 p.m.

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