January 23, 2025
Faculty members experience research abroad through Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation fellowships
By Martha Young
Five Providence College faculty members are applying their experiences abroad to the classroom thanks to travel fellowships awarded in 2023 from the Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation. The five were among an elite group of 42 recipients chosen from 104 applicants nationwide who, with help from the foundation, were able to immerse themselves in unfamiliar cultures and environments and bring fresh perspectives to their teaching and research.
Jeffrey Johnson, Ph.D., professor of history, traveled to Qatar and Oman over spring break in 2024 for his project, Understanding Comparative History, Memory, and Culture in Qatar and Oman. “A significant part of my time at PC is spent teaching in the Development of Western Civilization Program,” Johnson said. “I have had the pleasure of being on teams that are interested in broadening how we define the west, as well as the important east-west interactions over time. This experience absolutely informed my teaching not only for DWC, but also my Introduction to Public History course.”
Sang Woo Kang, DMA, professor of music, traveled to Naples and Rome for his project, Italian Keyboard Music: Influence and Impact of Classical Music Narrative and Culture. His research centered on the keyboard music of Domenico Scarlatti, whose sonatas represent a fusion of Italian, Iberian, and broader European stylistic elements. “I focused on exploring his innovative use of ornamentation, rhythmic complexity, and unconventional harmonic language,” Kang said. “My study investigated how performers can authentically interpret his music today while embracing the spirit of creativity and improvisation inherent in his compositions.”
A research project by Katherine Kranz, Ph.D., Making Transformative Successes Visible: Harm Reduction Practices in Switzerland, led to travel in Zurich, Bern, Lusanne, and Zermott in 2024. “Switzerland’s approach to harm reduction is often studied in various academic and policy contexts, highlighting the integration of health services and drug policies to support marginalized communities,” Kranz said. While in Zurich, she met with noted psychiatrist Dr. Thilo Beck, who explained Sweden’s interdisciplinary focus of treating people with opioid and mental health challenges. It is the second Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation travel fellowship for Kranz, an associate professor of social work, who traveled to Lisbon, Porto, Fatima, and Faro in 2022 to study Portugal’s drug decriminalization policies.
Jessica Mulligan, Ph.D., professor of health sciences, focused her fellowship on Supporting the Health Care Workforce During Emergencies and Disasters: Improving Dissemination Through Rapid Ethnographic Research Methods. During the spring semester of 2024, Mulligan worked with the Rapid Research and Evaluation Lab at University College London. The lab is a leading public health and anthropological research center where investigators work to speed up the time it takes to collect, analyze, and disseminate data during disasters and health emergencies. The results of Mulligan’s practice of data collection and dissemination methods were put into effect during the PC in Puerto Rico study abroad trip in June 2024, where students collected new data on burnout and moral injury among health care workers.
Lynne Ryan, Ph.D., professor of education, spent two weeks immersed in teacher education programs at Tampere University and the University of Oulu in 2024 for her research project, Exploring the Preparation of Teachers for Inclusive Environments in Finland.In addition to attending college classes and interviewing higher education administrators, faculty, and students, she shadowed a sixth-grade class and celebrated the diversity of faculty and students in Finland’s educational system. “The fellowship allowed me to explore strategies for preparing my teacher candidates to be more culturally competent,” Ryan said. “The Finnish educators were very generous in opening their schools and classrooms to me and sharing their knowledge and expertise. The conversations were rich, affording us opportunities to discuss education and share varying perspectives.”
