On-Campus Partnerships

International, Global and Area Studies
Division of International Studies
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Law School

International, Global and Area Studies
The CGH worked closely with faculty and staff of International and Area Studies to coordinate educational programs and seminars and to collaborate on grant proposals described above.  Additionally, International and Area Studies submitted a new round of federal Title VI grant proposals, a major source of funding for Area Studies programs.  Aili Tripp, International Studies liaison, worked with the CGH to develop new ideas for collaboration and Title VI funding. Submissions included collaborations with the following units:   

·         African, Latin American, Caribbean, Iberian Studies, and South East Asian Studies to improve current offerings and to develop new educational initiatives;

·         East Asian, Center for Russia, East Europe and Central Asia (CREECA) and South Asian Studies to develop a program for global health fellowships and support for seminars and a symposium to focus on the global AIDS pandemic; and

·         Global Studies to develop new interdisciplinary courses on global health.
 

Health Related Activities of the Division of International Studies (from Aili Tripp)
A new interdisciplinary capstone course, “Global AIDS: Interdisciplinary Perspectives,” explored the AIDS pandemic from varied points of view and attracted undergraduate students from biology and medicine, political science, foreign language and history. The team-taught seminar in the International Studies Program will become a part of the regular curriculum. It was taught by Anthropology Professor Maria Lepowsky and Medical History and Bioethics Assistant Professor Richard Keller.

Assistant Professor of Anthropology Claire Wendland was one of two new faculty members who started teaching in the fall of 2005. Their positions were a result of a “Seed Faculty Line” program supporting new faculty hiring in strategic areas of international education. The program, initiated by International Studies and the International Institute, was in collaboration with the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and the College of Letters & Science. Wendland specializes in biomedicine in Africa; professional education and values; critical medical anthropology; cross-cultural ethics and cross-cultural communication in medical practice; social and cultural aspects of women's health care.

The Division of International Studies seeded a senior Global Biological Threats faculty position in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology with support from Promega Corporation. Once hired, the new faculty member will serve as a campus leader in the development of education and collaborative research programs that will broaden the impact and international recognition of biological research on this campus.  The individual will be a focal point for interdisciplinary collaborations in this area, laying the basis for the proposed initiative.

Governing Global Insecurities Collaborative supported by the Center for World Affairs and Global Economy brings together faculty from the LaFollette School of Public Affairs, the Gaylord Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies, Population Health Sciences and the Department of History in addition to faculty from other campus units. The Collaborative focuses on new insecurities with special emphasis on the globalization of violence and ecological risk.  It is exploring concrete proposals for institutional and policy reforms to address these concerns. This April, the Collaborative held a symposium on Global Biological threats and brought together over 200 public health, business, media, and government officials with UW-Madison faculty and students.

Yet another institutional collaborator for the study of biological threats is the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE) housed in the Gaylord Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies. This Center examines the linkages between natural resources, human health and security, and changes in the global environment. In May the National Science Foundation committed $6.8 million to enhance graduate study and research in global sustainability, development, and the environment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison through an integrative Graduate Educaton and Research Traineeships (IGERT) program.  Global environmental threats and the impact on public health are a key focus area of this program. 

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Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
Frances Westley, Director of the Nelson Institute, delivered the keynote address at the 2005 Global Health Symposium and addressed the Millennium Development Goals and Health.  This address identified the potential and outlined the need for increased collaboration across the campus, especially among health and environmental studies, to contribute to sustainable health development. 

Dr. Jonathan Patz, a new faculty member with joint appointments in the Nelson Institute and the Dept. of Population Health Sciences, serves as a member of the CGH Steering Committee.  Dr. Patz is also a member of the Sustainability and the Global Environment cluster, and is leading research regarding health, the environment, and climate change.  He was recently awarded a $3 million Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) grant from the National Science Foundation to stimulate global interdisciplinary graduate research.  We look forward to increased collaboration with Drs. Westley, Patz and colleagues at the Nelson Institute in the years ahead. 

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College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Ties between the CGH and CALS have intensified during the year.  Professor Ken Shapiro, Associate Dean of International Agricultural Programs, has joined the CGH steering committee as a senior advisor to help chart the course for expanded educational and research collaborations. 

CGH faculty and staff have actively participated in CALS courses, seminars and vice versa.  One example is the undergraduate course on Health and Nutrition in Uganda, directed by Dr. James Ntambi and John Ferrick, that was a model for development of the graduate level course on Health and Disease in Uganda.  Collaboration among faculty in these courses has led to development of new ideas such as offering a new undergraduate certificate in global health.  CGH and CALS members are also exploring educational and research collaborations in countries such as China, Thailand and Mexico where CALS members have programs in progress.

CGH faculty participated in the Hunger Symposium organized by CALS that included Dr. Florence Chenoweth, a member of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Ideas generated at this symposium and in follow-up discussions included expanding internship opportunities for UW students within the United Nations. 

Law School
Professor Louise Trubek is leading a three-year initiative on Health Law and the European Union.  The CGH worked with Professor Trubek and others to host the first annual symposium involving visiting faculty from Spain, England and Ireland.  Visitors presented an overview of health systems and law in the EU and interacted with UW faculty to discuss lessons for the US.  The CGH will continue to participate in this initiative during the next two years.

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