Thursday, Dec 10, 2015
Dr. Roberta Fiske-Rusciano will receive the Deborah Gerner Innovative Teaching in International Studies Award
The International Studies Association (ISA) has named Dr. Roberta Fiske-Rusciano the recipient of the Deborah Gerner Award for Innovative Teaching in International Studies. The ISA is the premier organization for connecting scholars and practitioners in fields of international studies since its founding in 1959. With well over 6,000 members in North America and around the world, ISA is the most respected and widely known scholarly association in this field.
Fiske-Rusciano, an adjunct assistant professor in global studies and political science, won the award for creating and developing the Student Global Village. This initiative facilitates transnational student engagement through online video conferencing and dialogue for 12 weeks. She began the project in the aftermath of Sept. 11 to foster dialogue that otherwise would not be possible. So far, Rider University students have had continuous dialogues with students in the American University in Cairo, the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland and the University of Kufa in Najaf, Iraq.
The Student Global Village has previously been awarded support from the Ford Foundation, the Kettering Foundation, the Independent College Fund of New Jersey and Santander Bank.
The Deborah Gerner Innovative Teaching in International Studies Award is granted annually to an instructor who has developed effective new approaches to teaching in the discipline. It is given in honor of the legacy of Misty Gerner, a scholar, teacher and mentor. It is sponsored by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers and the editorial board of the New Millennium Books in International Studies.
Fiske-Rusciano received a doctorate in anthropology from Rutgers University and master’s from the University of Chicago. She is the author of three books and has published many scholarly articles and chapters in other volumes.
Fiske-Rusciano will receive $500 and a plaque for the award at ISA's 57th annual convention, from March 16 to 19, 2016, in Atlanta, Ga.