Saint Michael's College political science Professor Patricia Siplon has been awarded a Fulbright award to Jordan from the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, a 12-member Presidentially appointed board, funded by the U.S. Congress. Dr. Siplon will teach for a full year in the University of Jordan’s American Studies Program. Announcement of her selection was made March 25th.
Dr. Siplon, who had a prior Fulbright in Tanzania in 2005, has research interests in HIV/AIDS; health policy in developing countries; U.S. domestic and international health policy and foreign aid policy; and sub-Saharan Africa (particularly Tanzania). In recent years, she has had six opportunities to take students or alumni with her to East Africa or other developing countries to do research and/or service work.
According to the Fulbright Board, becoming a Fulbright brings scholars “into the ranks of distinguished participants, some of whom have become heads of state, judges, ambassadors, cabinet ministers, CEOs, artists, professors and teachers. They have been awarded 43 Nobel Prizes.”
The purpose of the program is to develop international understanding, which requires Fulbrighters “to establish open communication and long-term cooperative relationships.” The program is administered through the U.S. State Department.
Professor Siplon has authored, co-authored or co-edited three books, including AIDS and the Policy Struggle in the United States(Georgetown University Press), Drugs into Bodies: Global AIDS Treatment Activism (Praeger publishers), and the Global Politics of AIDS (Lynne Reiner publisher). She has also published over two dozen peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and reviews, and presented over three dozen conference papers or invited talks.
Patricia Siplon was given the top Saint Michael’s scholarship award in 2009. At that time, she was recognized for mentoring 100s of students over the past decade, and was cited for previous awards, including Vermont Teacher of the Year as awarded by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and the Engaged Scholar Award given by the Vermont Campus Compact for her outstanding ability to combine teaching, scholarship and the involvement of students.
Learn What Matters at Saint Michael’s College, The Edmundite Catholic liberal arts college, www.smcvt.edu. Saint Michael’s provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools to lead successful, purposeful lives that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael’s College is located three miles from Burlington, Vermont, one of America’s top college towns. It is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nations Best 371 Colleges, and is included in the 2011 Fiske Guide to Colleges. Saint Michael’s is one of only 280 colleges and universities nationwide, one of only 20 Catholic colleges, with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. Saint Michael’s has 1,900 undergraduate students, some 500 graduate students and 100 international students. Saint Michael’s students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation’s top-100, Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2011 U.S. News & World Report rankings.