World Minded: William & Mary's Reves Center Spring 2021 Issue

A P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E R E V E S C E N T E R F O R I N T E R N AT I O N A L S T U D I E S AT WILLIAM & MARY

VOL. 13, NO. 2, SPRING 2021

An alumnus creates an opportunity for students in Geneva ALSO AFGHAN ACTIVIST AT THE LAW SCHOOL W&M CELEBRATES ASIAN CENTENNIAL

A PUBLICATION OF THE REVES CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AT WILLIAM & MARY VOL. 13, NO. 2, SPRING 2021

24 1 FROM THE DIRECTOR

FACULTY RESEARCH & ACHIEVEMENTS 2 Recently Published Books by W&M Faculty 3 Reves Faculty Fellow Updates: Shantá Hinton and Dana Lashley 5 Arab Spring Q&A with Sharan Grewal

STUDENT & FACULTY RESEARCH 7 #WMANC 2021 8 GRI’s Global Cities and Digital Democracies Initiative

STUDENT HONORS AND ACHIEVEMENTS 10 iGEM

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Established in 1989, the Reves Center for International Studies is today one of the premier centers of its kind in U.S. higher education. Its mission is to support and promote the internationalization of learning, teaching, research and community involvement at William & Mary through programs for education abroad, international students and scholars, and global engagement across the university.

William & Mary is the number one public university for undergraduate study abroad participation, with more than 50 percent of the university’s undergraduates studying outside the U.S. before graduation. In a typical year, more than 1,200 international students, scholars and their families from nearly 70 countries come to William & Mary. And the Reves Center encourages and assists numerous international strategic initiatives across the university, including the William & Mary Confucius Institute, which offers Chinese language and cultural activities to the campus and community, and the Global Research Institute, which supports faculty and student collaborations to find solutions to pressing global problems.

REVES INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD – SPRING 2021 Kira C. Allmann ’10

James D. Hunter ’85

Sharon K. Philpott ’85, Chair

John E. Bessler ’85

David C. Larson ’75

Ian M. Ralby ‘05

Jane H. Carpenter-Rock ’92

Donald F. Larson ’76

Young Ju Rhee ’98

Guillermo S. Christensen

Barbara A. Leaf ‘80

Susan Rutherford ’89

19 W&M Asian Centennial

Susan Corke ‘97

Thomas C. Lillelund ‘95

Corey D. Shull ’06

22 NATO Sideline Event

John S. Dennis ’78

Leslie McCormack Gathy ’88

Patricia Trinler Spalding ’83

Scott R. Ebner ’96, Vice Chair

Mark Murtagh ‘89

Carl E. Tack III ‘78

Rodney Faraon

Luis H. Navas ’82

Philip Tuning MBA ‘02

Gregory J. Golden

Michael O’Leary P’22

Nathan Younge

Deborah A. Hewitt

Bruce W. Pflaum ’75

11 Zoha Siddiqui ’23 13 Olivia Ding ‘21 14 Layla Abi-Falah ‘17, J.D. ‘20

W&M IN THE WORLD 15 Can America be a Free Country?

16 14th Global Film Festival

24 Geneva Winter Program 30 Afghan Activist at W&M Law School

THE PEOPLE OF W&M 37 In Their Own Words: Emily Bailey and Zabrina Williams 41 Deliang Wang Returns to BNU 44 Alumnus Profile: A Q&A with Ralf Hannappel MS ‘86

United Kingdom

Williamsburg, VA

Upper Marlboro, MD Arlington, VA

Washington, DC Switzerland Boston, MA

Arlington, VA

Falls Church, VA

Williamsburg, VA

Darien, CT

Fort Myers, FL McLean, VA

Alexandria, VA Luxembourg

United Kingdom New York, NY Miami, FL

Alexandria, VA

Lake Oswego, OR

White Salmon, WA Owings Mills, MD Boston, MA

Delray Beach, FL Baltimore, MD

San Jose, Costa Rica Williamsburg, VA

Providence Forge, VA Falls Church, VA

FROM THE DIRECTOR hand, as the recent developments outlined above illustrate, we can This is the third Letter from the expect global affairs over the next Director I have composed during the few years to be dynamic and unsetCOVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunatetled. Unlike the bipolarity of the Cold ly, as of now, that pandemic is very War or the unipolar hegemony of much still with us. Indeed, worldthe United States after the collapse wide coronavirus infections are at an of the Soviet Union, our new and all-time high, driven by a devastating unsettled world order lacks a clear surge in India, inadequate vaccine power structure within which global distribution in much of the developrules and institutions can be reliably ing world, and resistance to vaccienforced. The resulting uncertainnation among substantial minorities ty is likely to increase the risks of even in rich countries such as the conflict among the many powerful United States. In a substantial blow nations now competing for influto those of us in the field of interence, resources, and territory. On the national education, the U.S. DepartStephen E. Hanson other hand, three decades of intensiment of State has just put much of the Vice Provost for International Affairs fying globalization after the Cold War planet on its Do Not Travel list, citing Director, Reves Center for have also had an undeniable impact, the uneven progress in countering International Studies knitting together societies around the COVID-19 and the rapidly-changing world in networks of dense economic entry and exit requirements in counand cultural interaction. On this fountries around the world. dation of manifest human interconnectedness, compelYet hopes that humanity may finally pass through this ling proposals for effective international cooperation to dark period of global history are also clearly evident. By solve urgent global problems, ranging from escalating and large, the major vaccines against COVID-19 work climate change to massive refugee flows, will undoubtremarkably well. In countries such as Israel, where edly emerge. vaccination rates are high, the falloff in new infections Our global future, then, depends on whether the danhas been dramatic, and something like “normal life” gers posed by the turbulent geopolitics of the post-panhas already resumed. The European Union is seriously demic age can be managed peacefully through the considering opening its borders to international tourists promotion of cooperative problem-solving through inagain this summer. Here at William & Mary, we are cauternational institutions and mobilized global networks of tiously planning to return to global education, research, citizens, activists, and scholars. At this historic juncture, and engagement—in person and in country—during the then, “world mindedness” has never been more urgent 2021-22 academic year. and important.

While predicting the future can be hazardous, a few early indicators may show us the basic contours of the post-pandemic international environment. On the one

OUR GLOBAL FUTURE

WORLD MINDED STAFF

ON THE COVER

Editor: Kate Hoving, Public Relations Manager, Reves Center for International Studies

Christine and John Dennis ‘78, P ’21. Photo courtesy of John Dennis.

Contributing Writers: Nick Berklan ‘22; Redeit Hailu ’24; Mayada Hassan ’22; Grace Olsen ‘23; Adrienne Berard, Joe McClain and Erin Zagursky, University Communications; David Morrill, W&M Law School; Kathryn H. Floyd, Whole of Government; Piret Pernik, CCDCOE; and Tim Stevens, King’s College; Frank Shatz, Virginia Gazette; W&M Global Research Institute staff.

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FACULTY RESEARCH & ACHIEVEMENTS

Recently Published Books

BY W&M FACULTY FORGING IDEAL MUSLIM SUBJECTS: DISCURSIVE PRACTICES, SUBJECT FORMATION AND MUSLIM ETHICS

By Faraz Masood Sheikh, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies

This book describes and analyzes two important accounts of what it means to live an authentically Muslim, ethical life. It studies the teachings of ninth century Muslim pietist al-Muhasibi (d. 857) and nineteenth century Quran scholar Said Nursi (D. 1960) through the lens of comparative religious ethics. It tells us how Muhasibi and Nursi thought about the nature and formation of ideal Muslim religious and moral subjectivities. It teaches us how religious discourses play a varied and complex part in the construction of ideal subjectivities. Published by Lexington Press. More information

PRIVATE LIBRARIES IN RENAISSANCE ENGLAND: A COLLECTION AND CATALOGUE OF TUDOR AND EARLY STUART BOOK-LISTS

By Robert J. Fehrenbach, Professor of English, Emeritus

This project in book history is a collection of catalogs of personal libraries in England, transcribed and annotated from manuscripts dated between 1500 and 1650. This volume consists of collections owned primarily by statesmen, lawyers, landowners, merchants, and clerics. Additionally, a number of libraries owned by women during the Tudor-Stuart period were added to those previously appearing in the series bringing the number of women book owners in PLRE to fifty-seven. Published by Arizona Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies Press. More information.

RACE: ARE WE SO DIFFERENT?

By Joseph L Jones, Lecturer, Department of Anthropology (Co-authored with Alan Goodman and Yolanda Moses)

Through thoughtful explorations of history and science, RACE develops a compelling thesis: race is a powerful force in everyday life and has become deeply embedded in our social institutions, yet in truth, race is a recent human invention that originates not from our biology but from our cultural constructs. Published by Wiley Blackwell. More information.

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Reves Faculty Fellows in the news

International group works through the pandemic to synthesize, evaluate a promising therapeutic

BY JOSEPH MCCLAIN Pyrola media is a woodland plant, native to Europe. It produces 2-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone, a molecule that shows promise as a therapeutic, but it doesn’t produce very much of it. Dana Lashley says it’s a common phenomenon.

“Often, the most interesting of these naturally occurring molecules called natural products are only produced as secondary metabolites, which means a plant could generate a really interesting-looking organic structure, but it only makes a small amount of it,” she explained. “So we really don’t have enough to be able to do all the biological testing and see if the molecule could be therapeutically useful as a treatment for one disease or another.”

Lashley, a William & Mary chemist, is a member of an international team that found a way to easily synthesize 2-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone and a series of derivatives in the lab, and subsequently conducted a series of biological tests on the molecules. The team included two William & Mary undergraduates, Yihan Qin ’21 and Zhenyu Han ’19.

Han, now a Ph.D. student at Northwestern University, is the lead author on an article “Concise Synthesis of 1,4-Benzoquinone-Based Natural Products as Mitochondrial Complex 1 Substrates and Substrate-Based Inhibitors” published in ChemMedChem, a European peer-reviewed journal.

Lashley received support through a faculty fellowship from the Reves Center for International Studies at William & Mary to work with some researchers in Germany.

“The idea was that we synthesize the molecules here at William & Mary, and then the students and I would take them to Germany,” she said. “So, both the students and I could learn to do the biological testing there.”

The COVID-19 pandemic ended plans for Lashley and the two undergraduates to travel to Germany. They had a Plan B, though: Continue the synthesis work in the William & Mary labs, then ship what they’ve produced to their German collaborators for testing.

The goal, she said, is not just to figure out how to synthesize the molecule, but to figure out a way synthesize that molecule efficiently, in just a couple of steps: These molecules have to be produced at scale to be useful. After a few months of work, Lashley, Qin and Han were able to send more to the German labs than plain, old, readily synthesized 2-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone.

“We were able to synthesize a bunch of compounds,” Lashley said. “First there was the natural product, then we started making some modifications on the side chain.”

DANA LASHLEY CHEMISTRY - 2020 FELLOW

She said that the group is pursuing a biochemical strategy known as substrate-based inhibitor design. The target is a protein known as mitochondrial complex I which plays a major role in cellular respiration and production of ATP, the cells energy currency. When complex I is inhibited a cell will have no access to energy and can’t grow.

This is especially detrimental for cancer cells which are constantly dividing and growing. Focusing on the side chains of 2-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone — replacing a methyl group with two benzene rings, for instance — they came up with a set of promising variants.

The goal of the side-chain engineering was to produce versions of the original natural product that had better IC50 values. Lashley explained that the IC50 value is a measurement of a molecule’s value as an inhibitor, in this case, an inhibitor of mitochondrial complex I, and therefore, a likely inhibitor of cancer-cell growth. The lower the IC50 value, the better the inhibitor, she added.

The William & Mary researchers sent their squad of modified molecules across the Atlantic for their German collaborators to test in vitro against a variety of solid-tumor cell lines. Those cell lines included cervix carcinoma and cancers of the liver, breast and prostate.

The new synthetics were tested against two well-understood compounds including doxorubicin, an FDA-approved anti-cancer drug in wide clinical use. The best performer from William & Mary was a variant that the team had labeled 1i. In a test of growth of breast cancer cells, doxorubicin logged an IC50 value of 1.6 micromolar, while the William & Mary product 1i recorded 2.9 micromolar. Remember: the lower the IC50 number, the better.

“That’s pretty comparable to be honest with you,” Lashley said. “Now, if we could move into the nanomolar range … Hey, that would be fantastic! But, we were pretty proud of ourselves that it got this close to the doxorubicin.”

Research and synthesis will continue on the promising set of compounds. New undergrads have joined the lab. And Lashley hasn’t written Germany off—her Reves fellowship was extended for a year.

“So I can still use that money this coming year. And if the pandemic situation looks better, then I’ll take some of mystudents from this time around with me to do the follow-up project,” she said.

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Reves Faculty Fellows in the news

Hinton plans to use ASBMB committee post to advocate for diversity & inclusion in science

BY JOSEPH MCCLAIN William & Mary biologist Shantá D. Hinton has become a member of the Public Affairs Advisory Committee of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB).

The ASBMB publishes three open-access research journals and has a membership of more than 12,000. Hinton, the Class of 2021 Associate Professor of Biology at William & Mary, joins the advocacy panel of the society, a group that regularly communicates with representatives of federal funding agencies, members of Congress and other influential individuals and offices. Hinton says she wants to use her position to advocate for diversity in science.

“I want to make sure that the discussions about diversity moves forward with dialogue about genuine inclusion of minority scientists,” she said. “It is important to understand that the need to implement equity and fairness is not about charity.”

At William & Mary, Hinton focuses her research on a group of enzymes known as pseudophosphatases, especially a promising protein known as MK-STYX. The lab staff includes a technician and three master’s students, but the Hinton lab is largely staffed by undergraduates.

She explained that her conception of “diversity” extends to the independent research programs, HBCUs and the many institutions that stress undergraduate research.

She hopes her work can help such high-functioning, but often overlooked, institutions gain higher visibility, especially when it comes to opportunities for federal funding.

“Serving on this committee provides an opportunity to advocate for science. It is important for scientists to effectively communicate with everyone in today’s society,” she said. “The Public Affairs Advisory Committee serves as such a platform, while networking with scientists and political advocates across the nation.”

Hinton said she is looking forward to honing her scientific communications, outreach and advocacy skill with the other committee members and the ASBMB staff. She said she intends to include a few students when ASBMB members pay calls on the funding agencies and on Capitol Hill.

One of the messages she wants to get across on these visits is to remind officials about the effect the COVID-19 pandemic had on scientific research: “The pandemic

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SHANTÁ HINTON BIOLOGY - 2019 & 2020 FELLOW

closed most labs, except those focused on the virus, for 6 to 12 months and maybe longer,” she said, adding that pandemic shutdowns have also choked travel and delivery of scientific supplies.

But most of all, Hinton said, she hopes to convince the right people that the work of Black, Brown and woman scientists should be judged by parity, and not charity.

“Scientists that look like me are very capable of having a successful research program,” she said. “We should not need to present a ‘sob story’ to receive funding approval— or wait half a decade before receiving continued funding.”

FACULTY RESEARCH & ACHIEVEMENTS

Q&A with Sharan Grewal: Arab Spring 10 years after

BY KATE HOVING Sharan Grewal is an assistant professor of government at William & Mary and a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. He received a Ph.D. in Politics at Princeton University in 2018 and was subsequently a post-doctoral fellow at Brookings.

His research examines democratization, religion, and civil-military relations in the Arab world, especially Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria. He has published in top political science journals, including the American Journal of Political Science, Comparative Politics, International Organization, International Studies Quarterly, and the Journal of Conflict Resolution, as well as mainstream media outlets like Foreign Policy and the Washington Post.

He has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Al-Jazeera, AFP, and Reuters, among other outlets.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Arab Spring. Take us back to 2011. What was the Arab Spring, and what caused it?

The Arab Spring was a wave of protest movements that emerged in almost every country in the Arab world in 2011. Motivated by decades of corruption, inequality, dictatorship, and police brutality, protesters took to the streets from Marrakesh to Manama demanding “bread, freedom, and social justice.”

The protests succeeded in toppling four dictators (in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen) and forced others to grant a variety of economic concessions and initiate some political reforms.

Western media seemed mesmerized by the use of social media in the protests. Do you see the use of social media as the driving force behind the protests, or just of a new, more effective means of mobilizing citizens?

Social media was important, but I wouldn’t say it was the driving force.

After all, the Arab world saw a wave of uprisings in the late 1970s and 1980s as well (often labeled “bread riots” for being prompted by subsidy cuts).

Moreover, the Arab Spring protests began in the marginalized interior of

Tunisia, where internet penetration was low, while countries with the highest internet penetration rates— the Gulf monarchies—saw the least protests.

That said, social media most certainly played a role in how quickly the protests spread, with videos of the protests -- and of police abuse -tugging on people’s heartstrings to join the cause (you can probably see the parallels to the videos that motivated the George Floyd/BLM protests last summer).

But the speed with which social media propelled the Arab Spring protests was both a blessing and a curse: it also made them more spontaneous, decentralized, and leaderless, which would in turn make it more difficult for protesters to stay united after the initial goal (such as toppling a dictator) was achieved.

So walk us through what happened next. Many say that the Arab Spring failed. Do you agree?

Yes and no. On the one hand, many of the countries that saw large, peaceful, and hopeful protests in 2011 have since descended into civil war – Libya, Syria, Yemen. Others like Egypt initially embarked on a transition to democracy only to quickly revert back to a renewed military dictatorship by 2013.

But there have also been more positive trends. Tunisia has emerged as a relative success story, transitioning to democracy and maintaining it since. It has held multiple free and fair elections and approved a new constitution through consensus and compromise. Morocco has also seen some political liberalization that has partially limited the powers of the King and empowered the parliament.

We have also seen renewed protests throughout the region starting in late 2018, including in countries that didn’t see much activity during the 2011 protests. In what some dubbed an “Arab Spring 2.0,” Algeria and Sudan both saw their dictators toppled by protesters in 2019, while Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Jordan, among others, all saw new bouts of protests as well.

So, it is a little too early to say that the Arab Spring is over or has failed.

As the pandemic ends, we are already seeing a new wave of mass protests in Algeria.

How do you explain the differing outcomes of the initial Arab Spring?

What made Tunisia succeed? What was unique about Tunisia?

Fundamentally it was because all sides were willing to come together and find common ground in Tunisia. You had—and still have—major SPRING 2021 5

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divisions in Tunisia: between Islamists and secularists, revolutionaries v. supporters of the old regime.

But in Tunisia, everyone was willing to come to the table in the 2013 National Dialogue and find a way forward: not to paper over their divisions, but to agree on a democratic framework, agree on the “rules of the game” (a new constitution, the electoral law) within which they would continue to compete.

The question then becomes why was Tunisia able to find common ground while other countries were not? I think there are three major explanations. The first is that Tunisians had a longer history of working together: the Islamists and the secularists had come together throughout the 2000s to oppose the former dictator, building trust and finding agreement on key principles that would later be enshrined in the 2014 constitution.

Tunisia also has a strong civil society, with four organizations including the labor union serving as the mediators of the 2013 dialogue (and going on to win a Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts). But third, and in my mind most importantly, Tunisians also had no other option: they did not have politicized security forces or armed militias that they could use to force their viewpoints onto others – they ultimately had no choice but to come to the table and negotiate.

In your recent Washington Post article, you wrote: “Many see Tunisia today as the most democratic country in the Middle East. But ironically, the same factors that helped Tunisia’s transition survive its early years have since constrained its transition. Each of these factors—a willingness to compromise, a weak security sector and a powerful civil society— have, in their own ways, inhibited the consolidation of Tunisia’s democracy.” Can you elaborate/explain your statement?

Absolutely. While each of these factors helped Tunisia’s democracy at first, they have also had some dark sides. For many, the drive for consensus and compromise continued

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for too long, creating frustration on all sides and fueling the rise of more extreme, even populist parties, by the 2019 elections.

That has in turn produced a very fractured and polarized landscape that is making it difficult to get anything done. The relatively weak security sector, while helping Tunisia avoid Egypt’s path to a military coup, also created an initial security vacuum that has led successive governments to focus on security rather the economy.

When finally the government was ready to focus on the latter, it found itself stuck between the powerful labor union and united business sector: the strong civil society that helped Tunisia succeed later constrained its ability to deliver economically. Thus, while Tunisia might have emerged as a success story politically, there is much work to be done, particularly in making its economy work for all.

And perhaps does “success” look different to Western observers than it does to the citizens of these countries? Are the goals the same?

And does that then affect how things are assessed?

That is major part of it. We have to remember that while freedom and democracy may have been one demand of the Arab Spring, the economy was another, and arguably even more important for the average person.

Tunisians today who are disillusioned with their democracy often quip that “you cannot eat freedom.”

The original demands for bread and social justice have not gone away, and until they are satisfied, many Tunisians will not consider their country a “success story.”

Regionally as well, until Tunisia becomes more prosperous economically, it is unlikely to inspire and serve as a model for future protesters in the region.

FACULTY & STUDENT RESEARCH

Co-Convening the W&M Africa Network Conference

BY REDEIT HAILU ’24 AND MAYADA HASSAN ’22

T

he Global Research Institute’s Africa Research Center (formerly known as the Center for African Development) presented the W&M Africa Network Conference, #WMANC, on April 10, 2021, to 120 participants. #WMANC was designed to bring together alumni, students, and faculty who work in Africa or aspire to work on the continent to engage on topics including agriculture, entrepreneurship, public health, security, and diplomacy. #WMANC was the brainchild of alumna Shanda Cooper ’06. From Liberia, Ms. Cooper is a consultant in international development who has supported local investments in security, agribusiness and economic development. She also remains actively engaged with W&M through the Society of 1918 and a supporter of the Africa Research Center (ARC). In conversations with ARC Director, Philip Roessler, Ms. Cooper observed the large alum network working across countries in Africa in all sorts of sectors—tech, agriculture, sustainable development, entrepreneurship—but which remains largely unconnected. It was out of this discussion that the idea for the Africa Network Conference was born. Why not create a forum to not only bring together alums but also faculty and most importantly students, like ourselves, who could connect with and learn from alums working in this space?

We were thrilled when Professor Roessler and Ms. Cooper invited us to collaborate on the project—with an eye to offering a student perspective. As co-conveners of the conference, we were tasked with building a database of alumni whose work is connected to countries across the Africa region. By tracking alumni and their experiences, we saw firsthand the different opportunities available to students post-graduation. We were excited to learn from them at the conference—and to provide this opportunity to other students.

While working alongside Professor Roessler and Ms. Cooper, we learned the value of having a community of alumni and the commitment needed to build and maintain a network of students, alumni, and faculty. One of the biggest challenges we faced was tracking down alumni working in, from or otherwise connected to countries in Africa. However, with the help of the Advancement Office, the Global Research Institute, and other faculty members, we were able to compile alumni contact information and finish creating the database. In the future, we

hope to grow the database to allow for more networking opportunities and alumni connections.

The most exciting part of assembling this database was discovering our keynote speaker, Saidah Nash Carter ‘96.

She is a multifaceted alumna with experience in the fields of technology, innovation, business, sustainability, and more. Saidah has received many accolades: 2017 Inspiring 50 Women in Tech, United Nations 2018 Voices of African Mothers Innovation Award, and 2019 League of Intrapreneurs Global Fellow. As students with a desire to work in technology and development, we are looking forward to hearing how Saidah has intertwined these disciplines within her work.

In addition to Ms. Carter, we identified a number of highly impressive alums to serve as panelists in breakout rooms on: Entrepreneurship & Business; Tech & Development/Sustainability; Security & Diplomacy; and Agriculture & Energy.

Conference Opener • Saidah Nash Carter ’96 Co-Founder, Bright Insights Global (South Africa) Breakout Sessions Entrepreneurship & Business: • Linda Oramaisonwu-Leverette, JD ’06 - Partner, Kupanda Capital (Washington, D.C.) • Crystal Nwokorie ’10 - Senior Strategy Manager, Pepsi-Cola Sub-Saharan Africa (South Africa) Tech & Development/Sustainability: • Maame Boakye ’07 - Co-Founder & Director of Talent Relations and Business Development, Dine Diaspora Security & Diplomacy: • Naomi Mattos ’05 - Foreign Service Officer, United States Department of State (Ghana) • Melene Rossouw ’19- Founder, Women Lead Movement (South Africa) Agriculture & Energy: • Conor Godfrey ’08 - Policy Advisor, Department of State (Washington, D.C.) • Jonathan Shaw, MA ’10 - Founder & CEO, Nuru (Democratic Republic of Congo)

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From Ideas to Impact: How a Multidisciplinary Team Tracked Government Responsiveness

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BY W&M’S GLOBAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE

s GRI advances critical, policy-relevant projects, its researchers unite in pursuit of shared goals—even when they might bring different perspectives or experience to their roles. Such was the case at GRI’s Global Cities and Digital Democracies Initiative, when first-year student Anna Glass ’24 collaborated with Rahul Truter and Isabel Arnade, who are both pursuing a Master of Science in Business Analytics at the university.

The team worked with Dr. Tanu Kumar, a GRI Post-Doctoral Fellow for Academic Diversity who works with both AidData and the Center for African Development. The researchers assessed complaint and response data from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, observing key disparities in how the government addressed a range of issues.

“We found that they were much more likely to respond to complaints concerning water supply, such as shortages or contamination, and they were far less likely to respond to complaints about the unauthorized tapping of water,” Glass said. “We speculated that this was because the government of Mumbai does not want to take a water source away from somebody in need, so they’re more reluctant to respond to complaints where they would be removing a source of water from a person, but more likely to respond quickly to complaints that would return water to a person or prevent them from drinking contaminated water.”

Truter said observations such as this were made possible through actionable steps and ongoing collaboration.

First, he and his partners categorized both the response and complaint data, and then, they created a classification algorithm so that a model could predict what category a certain complaint would fall under.

“We had to actually train the algorithm in R Studio, so what we did was create a manual classification,” he said.

“We would pick words from the citizens’ complaints and see how often they appeared and see how that was correlated to a certain kind of classification.

Along the way, Truter said, his teammates innovated and found ways to streamline the process.

“It’s kind of tedious to comb through thousands of lines of data to see what’s associated with what, so we used something called a lasso model, which is a binary prediction system to evaluate what degree or coefficient each keyword—such as burst pipeline or action taken—is associated with a certain category,” he said. “That made life a lot easier for us because instead of manually going through 8

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all of the data, we would just have to create the lasso model, type in whatever category abbreviation we were looking for, and see what words came up and how significant each of those words were to predicting the classification.”

Building the algorithm, Arnade said, fostered trust among the researchers, since many detailed steps, revisions, and decisions contributed to the final product.

“What we were trying to do with the algorithm we were building was to minimize the error rate, and we did that using only a smaller subset of data,” Arnade said. “In the first model we built, for one of the categories, we got to an eight percent error rate, and Dr. Kumar told us she was able to apply that to a huge data set of 20,000 rows of data and keep that minimized error rate. It was surprising to me how that algorithm could be applied on such a large level.”

Truter credited the team’s progress to its open lines of communication and willingness to share ideas. “[Anna and Isabel] are really in tune with what’s going on, and they had amazing insights to share that really helped me out along the way,” he said. “We were all somewhat new to R, but from the way they went about their experiences, I couldn’t even say that. It felt like they really knew what was going on. We all needed to be on the same page of what to classify things as because if we didn’t do it properly, then we’re going to have a lot of misclassifications—not because of model error, but because of human error.”

The scope of GRI research often involves longer-term participation, which Arnade said provides participants with time to build comprehensive knowledge and community.

“I had done a lot of group projects inside the classroom at William & Mary, but I think this is a different experience because it’s an extended project,” Arnade said. “You can kind of become an expert on a little bit of work.”

Glass said the team’s different ages and area of study contributed to its success, since she remained open to mentorship and guidance—not only from Truter and Arnade in meetings and through a group chat, but also from faculty advisor Dr. Tanu Kumar.

“I know the Global Research Institute is all about turning ideas into impact, and I think Dr. Kumar has done a really amazing job creating a project idea that does exactly that,” Glass said. “We were working off of this hypothesis that although many complaints were marked as closed or attended, in reality there were more inefficiencies in the government or complaints that weren’t attended.”

Moving forward, Truter said he sees clear applications for his team’s research. The team’s final report is still being finalized, but GRI will post when it’s available.

FACULTY & STUDENT RESEARCH

L: Dr. Tanu Kumar. Courtesy photo; R: As displayed in the researchers’ chart, government responsiveness varied across time based on the category of complaint.

“The ideal outcome is definitely that the registration system is … inspected more carefully,” he said. “This model can also be improved. With all the data the government has and all the resources they have, this is something that could be used to make a ton of information easy to interpret. I would definitely like the government to use it to see where they’re having the most issues and where they can allocate resources to fix these issues.”

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Meet the team: This year’s W&M iGEM team consists of ten students from a variety of different majors: Beteel Abu-ageel ’22, Avery Bradley ’23, Matt Dennen ’22, Riya Garg ’23, Min Guo ’23, Josh Hughes ’22, Adam Oliver ’21, Julia Urban ’20, Wei Wang ’22 and Hantao Yu ’23.

Courtesy photo

W&M iGEM wins awards for designing and modeling potential COVID-19 therapeutic

BY ADRIENNE BERARD

A

apeutic.

team of undergraduates at William & Mary earned high honors in the world’s largest synthetic biology competition for engineering a potential COVID-19 ther-

iGEM, which stands for International Genetically Engineered Machine, announced the winners of its annual international student competition Sunday at the iGEM 2020 Virtual Giant Jamboree. A team of William & Mary students earned a Gold Medal and two top awards for Best Therapeutics Project and Best Model.

“This is truly an extraordinary achievement,” said Margaret Saha, Chancellor Professor of Biology, who has served as William & Mary’s iGEM faculty advisor for all seven years that the university has competed in what has been dubbed the World Cup of Science. “This was very difficult to accomplish, particularly doing everything remotely.” iGEM’s Best Therapeutics Project award considers entries that illustrate potential contributions for new therapies or techniques. The iGEM web site explains that the Best Model award is based on the understanding that “synthetic biology is an engineering discipline and part of engineering is simulation and modeling to determine system behavior.”

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“William & Mary began our team with all sorts of interesting ideas and projects, and then—COVID-19,” Saha added. “We made the difficult decision to continue, having to switch our project very late in the game, and meeting across 12 time zones at all hours of the day and night to accommodate our students in China and elsewhere.”

The team consists of ten students from a variety of different majors: Beteel Abu-ageel ’22, Avery Bradley ’23, Matt Dennen ’22, Riya Garg ’23, Min Guo ’23, Josh Hughes ’22, Adam Oliver ’21, Julia Urban ’20, Wei Wang ’22 and Hantao Yu ’23. Mainak Patel, assistant professor of mathematics, served as a co-advisor to the team.

After watching the pandemic change their own lives, and that of millions all over the globe, the team decided to set their sights on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease known as COVID-19.

In simple terms, they used mathematical modeling to design and computationally evaluate a living drug, explained Urban, who is in her third year on the team and serving her second year as co-captain. The team designed the probiotic to monitor and respond to inflammation and immune response in a way that modern drugs, including Remdesivir and Dexamethasone, are not capable of doing.

STUDENT HONORS & ACHIEVEMENTS

“Living materials can regenerate and self-heal; they can respond to their environment in a way that non-living materials cannot,” Urban said.

William & Mary competed against 249 other universities from across the globe in this year’s competition. The university has a history of IGEM excellence. A William & Mary team won the iGEM Grand Prize in 2015, and was first runner-up in 2017. The competition requires students to be engineers, chemists, biologists, mathematicians and computer scientists all at once.

It’s how science is done in the 21st century — teambased, multidisciplinary, quantitative and focused on finding solutions to difficult problems. This year, in particular, presented new ways of thinking as the entire

competition moved to an online format. The William & Mary team’s focus on the COVID-19 virus was in keeping with a new direction at iGEM. “We’re breaking new ground in iGEM this year,” Randy Rettberg, co-founder and president of iGEM said in a release. “We’re focusing on the giant problems of the world. This is not the old iGEM; this is the future iGEM.” Of 249 participating teams, 168 Gold, 45 Silver and 26 Bronze medals were awarded, with dozens more awards recognizing excellence for projects tackling global challenges, including food security, clean water, human health, biodiversity, climate change and more.

Building bridges to education: Zoha Siddiqui ’23 explores transitional justice, creates non-profit to fund libraries

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BY GRACE OLSEN ‘23

efore attending William & Mary, Zoha Siddiqui ’23 had already co-founded a non-profit dedicated to building libraries for girls at underfunded schools. The company has morphed into an impactful resource that reaches tens of thousands of girls in third world countries. HER has opened many doors for Siddiqui since and put her on the path to pursuing law school.

“Through that, I knew that human rights were definitely what I wanted to pursue,” Siddiqui said. “As fulfilling as nonprofit work is, I knew that law was something I was more interested in and feel like I can make a greater contribution to the field of human rights.”

HER began in 2016 with the construction of its first library in a government-sanctioned girls’ school outside of Lahore, Pakistan. Since then, 12 more libraries have been constructed— 11 in Pakistan and one in Morocco.

“It has been amazing to see how much the students enjoy the books that we send over and how they are able to

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use the space to finally have a safe space to read, study and do art projects,” Siddiqui said.

In order to construct the libraries, HER collects books at schools, libraries and community centers around the United States. The books are sent for free through the U.S. embassy over to Pakistan, and from there, the Women’s Airforce Association delivers the books to the proper locations.

Siddiqui is now working on her own self-designed major in transitional justice and is doing research in various fields. She has published articles in the Monitor, participated in the International Justice Lab at the Global Research Institute and is now working to study declassified government documents.

The Monitor is the university’s journal of international studies. Siddiqui serves as the director of public relations and is a regular contributor with articles that frequently tie into her self-designed major.

“I started taking more classes on transitional justice and am currently an intern through the national security archive, an independent study where a bunch of us can look at declassified government documents related to Cold War military dictatorships in the southern cone,” Siddiqui said. “We are looking for evidence of human rights abuses.”

Last year, Siddiqui came across the Sepur Zarco case while in Guatemala for a class. The Sepur Zarco case features mass rape and murder that occurred during the Guatemalan Civil War. This trip focused on how the members of civil society are working to transition the country out of that period of intense violence and to stop the perpetuation of future violence.

“I only heard about it very briefly at one of the events we were attending and then when I got back to the States, I decided to do more research into it,” Siddiqui said.

Upon further investigation, Siddiqui discovered that the case was more groundbreaking than originally recognized.

“It set international and domestic legal precedent, it was the first time a domestic court ever prosecuted a case of domestic slavery, and it was

the first time that Guatemala prosecuted sexual violence as a tool of genocide,” Siddiqui said.

Siddiqui has continued her research outside of the class and now participates as a researching member of the IJL. Currently, she is working on a memorialization project. The project consists of a collection of primary and secondary sources which the research has summarized.

When discussing her interest in transitional justice, Siddiqui points to her own privilege.

“Growing up, I had a very privileged life,” Siddiqui said. “My parents are both doctors, I have had an amazing education, both public and private. My parents are both from Pakistan, and some of my family there has not been as lucky as I have. Both of my aunts from my mom’s side were deprived of secondary school education and, at the age of 14, forced out of school and into long hours of earning wages for their brothers to attend private school.”

Siddiqui has looked to members of the university community like history professor Betsy Konefal and Pre-Doctoral Fellow for Academic Diversity in International Relations Kelebogile Zvobgo for insight and guidance. In addition, she has learned from professors at other institutions.

“In terms of other inspirations, there is a professor at George Mason that I have been following, named Jo-Marie Burt, who does a lot of work tracking legal cases in Guatemala,” Siddiqui said. “It’s really cool to be able to be learning from all of these amazing women in the field, and Professor Burt has a lot of really cool work to look at. There are just so many people involved in unique ways, like through the embassies and through research.”

In the future, Siddiqui hopes to continue her work in transitional justice and one day make a career out of it. Outside of the classroom, she enjoys exploring her musical inclination and spending time outside.

“My main thing during quarantine has been going hikes with friends as much as possible,” Siddiqui said. “I live in Arlington, Virginia so there is not much hiking to do here, but I try my best to get out and get a change of scenery.”

Photo on previous page courtesy of Zoha Siddiqui.

This article originally appeared in The Flat Hat. Reprinted with permission.

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STUDENT HONORS & ACHIEVEMENTS

Olivia Ding ’21 awarded Thomas Jefferson Prize in Natural Philosophy

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BY ADRIENNE BERARD

wo and a half years ago, shortly after turning 18, Olivia Ding packed two suitcases and took a 12-hour plane ride to a new life.

“I grew up in China,” said Ding, a member of William & Mary’s Class of 2021. “I was walking into the unknown, but was determined to face whatever rigor American colleges had to offer.”

In retrospect, Ding says attending William & Mary was one of the best decisions she’s ever made, but she didn’t arrive at that conclusion immediately.

“For the first couple of months, I was overwhelmed and deterred from expressing my opinions,” she said. “I felt that the cultural barrier encaged my real personality, but surrounded by compassionate peers, mentored by incredible professors and inspired by the Tribe spirit, I came to realize that I belong to this wonderful community that I proudly call home.”

Ding is the 2021 recipient of William & Mary’s Thomas Jefferson Prize in Natural Philosophy. The honor is endowed by the trustees of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation to recognize excellence in the sciences and mathematics in an undergraduate student.

A double major in mathematics and economics, Ding has managed to maintain a perfect GPA—with what one of her professors described as “a quite challenging curriculum.” She has excelled in the highest levels of mathematics and economics courses and has taken a host of courses outside her majors, in psychology, geology, English and philosophy.

In a letter recommending Ding’s nomination, the Thomas Jefferson Prize Selection Committee described her as “exceedingly gifted and intensely devoted to learning, an accomplished researcher, and an integral part of the mathematics community at William & Mary.”

The Jefferson Prize is one of the awards traditionally bestowed in connection with Charter Day, which commemorates the founding of the institution in 1693. This year, the Charter Day ceremony will be held virtually on February 11 at 7 p.m. The festivities will continue on February 12 from 1-5 p.m. at the Charter Day Adventure Race, which students may join on campus or virtually for a chance to win prizes by solving puzzles inspired by W&M’s history and culture.

Over the course of Charter Day weekend, the Jefferson Prize, along with a series of other prizes and awards

will be presented to faculty, students, alumni and friends who have made a difference at William & Mary, in their communities and throughout the world.

Ding served as a teaching assistant for four different mathematics professors, including serving as a TA for incoming business analytics master’s students when she was a rising sophomore. She participated the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at William & Mary performing matrix analysis in the summer of 2019.

In the summer of 2020, Ding worked on an independent project, which received the “Outstanding Student Poster” award at 2021 Joint Mathematics Meeting. A paper she co-authored based on her research into invariant matrix norms was recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Linear Algebra and its Applications.

“It is extremely rare that a third year student has gone that far in advanced research, in addition to maintaining a perfect GPA,” one nominator wrote.

“I have encountered students with similar natural abilities to Olivia’s before, and I have encountered students who work extremely hard. However, I have never encountered a student with as much natural ability who works as hard as Olivia does,” another nominator wrote.

Ding is currently one of four math students serving as student liaisons for prospective math majors from the Class of 2024. She makes herself available to answer questions from a host of prospective students curious about William & Mary and its mathematics department.

“What I like the most about William & Mary is its people,” she said. “I have made many friends with diverse backgrounds who are bright, inspiring and compassionate. Furthermore, I am greatly indebted to W&M’s fantastic faculty, especially those from the math department and economics department. The professors I have had are knowledgeable, enthusiastic about teaching, and deeply caring about their students. I enjoyed exploring various areas of interest under their guidance.”

Looking ahead, Ding plans to go to graduate school.

She has applied to multiple Ph.D. programs in mathematics and economics and is looking forward to hearing back from them in March. So far, she has received one early offer from Yale. As for her more immediate hopes for the future…

“I just hope everyone stays safe and sane during this pandemic,” she said. “The end is in sight!”

Top: Olivia Ding. Courtesy photo.

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Layla Abi-Falah Named 2021-2022 Drapers’ Scholar

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BY DAVID F. MORRILL

ayla Abi-Falah ‘17, J.D. ‘20, a member of William & Mary Law School’s Class of 2020, has been named the 2021-2022 Drapers’ Scholar.

The Drapers’ Scholarship is awarded annually to a graduating William & Mary Law student who goes on to enroll at Queen Mary College of the University of London for a year of post-graduate study. The recipient may take any of the law courses offered there.

The scholarship includes full tuition and a living stipend.

Abi-Falah is from Richmond, Va., and graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from William & Mary with a B.A. in International Studies and a concentration in Human Rights in the Middle East and Africa.

Among her activities as a law student, Abi-Falah served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal for Race, Gender, and Social Justice, President of the Comparative Legal Society, Vice President for the Human Security Law Center, and secretary of the Muslim Law Students Association.

The summer after her 1L year, Abi-Falah served as a Decentralization Unit intern for the USAID Jordan CITIES Project in Amman, Jordan. There she worked alongside the Advisory Unit for Decentralization to improve efforts to integrate municipalities into the governance framework, helping to increase democratic accountability, and improve conditions in Jordanian communities.

The summer after 2L, Abi-Falah spent three months in The Hague, Netherlands as an appeals intern within the Office of the Prosecutor at the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. There she supported senior counsel in preparation for oral hearings in the appeals case of Ratko Mladic for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

During graduation in May 2020, Abi-Falah received the Thurgood Marshall Award, given each year by the Law School Association to graduates who exhibit the ideals of distinguished public service exemplified by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993). She also received a Dean’s Certificate for outstanding efforts on behalf of the Law School community, recognition for community service, and the Law School’s Award for Excellence in International Law. “From day one Layla has devoted her law school career to serving human rights around the world,” wrote one nominator. “She has spent her summers working abroad on international criminal law issues and I have every confidence that she will be an energetic and successful

advocate for universal human rights for the duration of her career.”

Abi-Falah is a human rights advocate, and credits the William & Mary faculty—from the undergraduate university to the Law School—with support, encouragement and opportunities.

“Professor Nancy Combs and Professor Christie Warren are not only two of my greatest role models as women in international law, but also my greatest supporters,” Abi-Falah said. “For seven years, William & Mary professors have instilled in me the core values necessary for becoming the human rights lawyer I want to be: compassion, awareness, and empathy.”

About the Drapers’ Scholarship Each year, William & Mary Law School selects an alumnus or alumna who has graduated within the last two years to serve as the Drapers Scholar. The Drapers Scholarship recipient receives a fellowship to study law and earn an LL.M. degree at Queen Mary University of London. This opportunity is made possible by the generosity of the Drapers Company of London, which for many years has had a special relationship with William & Mary. At the Law School, the visible signs of this relationship are the stained glass figures of Blackstone and Wren, which the Drapers Company obtained for us from Oxford University. They grace the walls of the Hixon Center.

Photo: Layla Abi-Falah. Credit: David Morrill

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W&M IN THE WORLD

GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT The annual George Tayloe Ross Address on International Peace was established to promote peace by exploring and investigating topics of current interest that affect relations among nations, ranging from international political matters to environmental questions. The 2021 lecture was delivered

by Dr. Timothy Snyder. This column by Frank Shatz, founding member of the Reves International Advisory Board Member, originally appeared in The Virginia Gazette. It is reprinted with permission.

Prestigious experts still find ways to impart wisdom to William & Mary students

Dr. Timothy Snyder. Courtesy photo.

BY FRANK SHATZ, VIRGINIA GAZETTE

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y all indications, despite the COVID-19 restrictions, William & Mary is not shortchanging its students from being exposed to the views and thoughts of notable experts.

They may not give a talk on the campus in person, but they interact with students through Zoom presentations.

One of those notable experts is Timothy Snyder, the Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale University and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, Austria. Professor Snyder’s work has appeared in 40 languages and he has received a long list of prestigious academic awards.

Snyder was chosen by the Reves Center for International Studies to deliver the 2021 George Tayloe Ross Address on International Peace. His lecture, “Can America Be a Free Country?” was on Zoom.

I asked Snyder, what is the message he intends to convey to his audience at W&M? “Americans speak about freedom a good deal,” Snyder said in an interview with the Gazette. “But we do not often stop to reflect upon its meanings. I think that part of our problem is that the way we think about freedom is too narrow.

We reduce it to the impulses of the moment, rather than asking what a life of freedom would look like. We tend to think of freedom as meaning going it alone. I will argue that freedom can only be created within a society which has made good choices about institutions.”

Snyder is a notable teacher of history. I asked him whether he considers it a burden to teach the current generation about the lessons of the past.

“It is not a burden but a pleasure,” he said. “The main lesson is that the past enriches our understanding the present and prepares us for the future. Studying the past is wonderful. It widens our sense of possibility and sharpens our sense of plausibility. The more we know about the past, the less likely we are to be surprised. My own messages are conservative. I led seminars and tutorials, I give lectures, I assign reading. All of this is effective: my students know a great deal more at the end of the semester than at the beginning. And a number of them have taken what they understand of past European history to important roles in government and elsewhere.”

Considering that many of Snyder’s students wind up in high-profile public service jobs, I asked him what should be done on the political and

educational level to ensure that the past does not repeat itself.

“The humanities need to be seen as a basic need rather than as a distraction from supposedly more practical subjects; studying science, engineering and economics is important, but studying only those subject leaves students unprepared for civic life. A democracy is not a machine that functions by itself with just a little tuning from time to time.

A democracy requires citizens who can articulate values in the context of history,” Snyder said.

I asked Snyder, is America immune to having an authoritarian regime?

“Not at all,” he said. “No country is immune.”

But Snyder is not without hope.

“I think things could be much, much better than they are now with relatively little effort. Freedom is the right core value, but we need to expand the way we think about it and adapt the appropriate policies,” he said.

Indicative of the values Snyder holds about education is that once he had an invitation to a party with Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.

The invitation would have interfered with his scheduled seminar.

“When I told my students in class that I had chosen their company over Richards, they just looked at me with their mouths open,” Snyder said.”

[The video of the lecture is available on the Reves Center’s YouTube channel.]

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W&M Global Film Festival: capitalizing on the talents and interests of faculty, students, alumni and the world

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he 2021 W&M Global Film Festival featured a hybrid in-person/virtual format to comply with state and local COVID-19 safety recommendations. Programs were available online and in two outdoor venues.

VIRTUAL VIEWING

The virtual festival was hosted on Eventive, a secure digital platform designed to bring the festival experience online. After purchasing a virtual pass, attendees had access to the full catalog of films for the duration of the festival

PALACE FARMS Colonial Williamsburg provided the Palace Farms lot as an in-kind sponsor of the drive-in theater. The venue featured a 40-by-16-foot inflatable screen and could accommodate up to 100 cars.

MARTHA WREN BRIGGS AMPHITHEATER In partnership with Alma Mater Productions, the campus-wide programming body at W&M, three feature films were screened at the Briggs Amphitheater. Due to current W&M COVID-19 safety measures, these events were only open to W&M students, faculty, and staff.

TICKET PURCHASES Both virtual passes and drive-in tickets were available for purchase on the Eventive platform. Attendees viewed virtual programs from 72 cities across 16 states and Washington, D.C. Additionally, drive-in tickets were purchased from 17 cities.

STUDENT INVOLVEMENT Beyond attendance at festival screenings and workshops, current students were involved in GFF programming in a variety of capacities including the 2020 W&M Youth Filmmaking Institute (8 students for academic credit), festival internships (3 students for academic credit), the 1-credit Spring 2021 festival course (34 students), Middle Easterm Music Ensemble musical performance at Briggs Amphitheater, and the 24 Speed filmmaking contest. The 24 Speed contest included entries from 12 students and 17 alumni.

PROGRAMMING AND FACULTY & ALUMNI INVOLVEMENT The 2021 virtual viewing hub included 31 films among these were 14 alumni films. The virtual programs also featured conversations with special guests and filmmaker Q&As moderated by W&M faculty.

Drive-in programs included four films, all nominated for Academy Awards in 2021: Quo Vadis, Aida?, Minari, Another Round, and News of the World.

Programming at Briggs Amphitheater included 3 feature films: Lupin III: The First, Promising Young Woman, and Mandibles.

W&M Libraries sponsored 15 professional workshops facilitated by 14 alumni presenters working in the arts and entertainment industry. Workshops were hosted virtually on Zoom, open to both students and the public, and free to attend.

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S c hol a r sh i p P rof i l e

Your Gift Matters.

JENNA ISKANDAR ‘21

SUMMER INTERNSHIP, U.S. CONSULATE IN GUANGZHOU, CHINA (2019) Due to generous funding from the Reves Center, I was able to pursue an 11-week long internship with the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China. I spent my time as an intern in the Public Affairs division and was able to gain unique insight into the current state of U.S.-China relations.

As an International Relations and Chinese Language and Culture double major, I was able to add depth and expertise to what I have learned in the classroom. The opportunity to learn from career diplomats and get a taste for working life with the State Department was invaluable.

The highlights of my summer were: meeting the U.S. Ambassador to China; creating a gif that garnered over 1 million views on the Consulate’s Weibo account; and the implementation of a month-long social media campaign countering disinformation about traveling to and studying in the United States.

In the years to come I hope to be able to help other students find their passion and pursue their goals just as I have been helped.

With the support of private donors, the Reves Center awards a number of scholarships each year. These scholarships help alleviate financial hardship, make educational opportunities possible, recognize achievement and allow W&M to attract and engage top students from around the world.

We believe that a lack of resources should not limit any William & Mary student from the kinds of transformative experiences that only a global education can enable. With your support, our university will continue to be a leader among global universities.

To learn about ways you can support international initiatives at William & Mary, contact Kate Barney ‘11 at kabarney@wm.edu or 757-221-7870.

W&M IN THE WORLD

William & Mary to celebrate 100 years of Asians, Asian-Americans

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BY ERIN ZAGURSKY

century ago this fall, Pu-Kao Chen ’23 left Shanghai, China, to enroll at William & Mary, becoming the university’s first Asian student and opening the door for hundreds of Asian and Asian-American students, faculty and staff to follow — and create their own firsts — over the next 100 years.

William & Mary is now preparing to mark that anniversary with a multi-year commemoration, beginning this semester and culminating with the 2022 Commencement ceremony. The Asian Centennial will celebrate all those at W&M, past and present, who identify as Asian or of Asian ancestry, including those from Southwest Asia – often referred to as the Middle East.

“We want to celebrate the centennial of Pu-Kao Chen to give visibility to the Asian, Pacific Islander and Middle Eastern experience and their contributions to William & Mary, the larger Williamsburg-James City County community and hopefully Virginia, especially at a time when inclusivity, diversity and just pluralism, in general, have been threatened,” said Francis Tanglao Aguas, professor of Asian & Pacific Islander American studies and theatre and coordinator of global studies.

“We believe the Asian Centennial is an opportunity for William & Mary to truly function as the Alma Mater of the Nation.”

Tanglao Aguas is co-chair of a committee of faculty, staff, students and alumni from across the university that is organizing the centennial. They have been charged by W&M President Katherine A. Rowe to develop and execute the commemoration with three goals in mind: to honor trailblazing leaders at W&M; understand and elevate the impact of Asian and Asian-American students, faculty and staff; and advance W&M’s aspirations as a global, cosmopolitan and multicultural institution.

“William & Mary has not always had the greatest history with respect to racial diversity and inclusion,” said Deenesh Sohoni, co-chair of the committee, professor of sociology and director of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Studies. “Acknowledging our past is a necessary part of ensuring that we do better in the present and future.”

U PCOMING EVENTS, PROJECTS The multi-year commemoration will focus on scholarship, events programming and fundraising to make its efforts sustainable.

While it will officially launch in fall 2021, it began with a soft rollout this semester starting with a virtual Asian & Middle Eastern Film Festival.

Also this semester, the commemoration featured Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern/Muslim (APM) alumni events, the virtual Banh Mi Lecture Series and collaboration with the Lemon Project, which explores the history of African-Americans at W&M. Headlining the centennial’s plans is the commissioning of Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Marissa Aroy to create a documentary film about the history and contributions of Asians and Asian-Americans at W&M. Aroy will be appointed the Asian Centennial Distinguished Film Fellow in residence.

Additionally, the centennial will also include a fine arts project with local artist Roberto Jamora, the university’s inaugural Asian Centennial Art Fellow.

R ESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP With still so much unknown about that history, research is also a central goal of the centennial with the establishment of the APM Research Project.

“William & Mary prides itself as a leader in faculty/ student research collaboration,” said Sohoni. “We seek to enhance this reputation by creating a model for faculty/student collaboration across the disciplines.”

While the APM Research Project will not be as expansive as the Lemon Project, it seeks to emulate that effort by integrating faculty and staff in research outside of the classroom and the publication of that research, said Tanglao Aguas.

Photo: Pu-Kao Chen ’23. Coutesy photo.

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“It was necessary for us to utilize the currency of academia, which is research, to take full advantage to contribute to the conversation at William & Mary, and the community around our history with race, racism, inclusion and exclusion,” he said.

Three Asian Centennial faculty research fellows have been named: Sohoni; Chinua Thelwell, associate professor of Africana studies and history; and R. Benedito Ferrão, assistant professor of English and Asian & Pacific Islander American studies.

Work by them and their student research assistants is already underway. For example, under the direction of Professors Deenesh Sohoni and Chinua Thelwell, two undergraduate researchers, Sumie Yotsukura and Brian Zhao, will conduct archival research to create a list of early APM students and gather information on their experiences at W&M. Additionally, Yusuf Jafri, a fellow with W&M’s Center for Racial and Social Justice — under the directorship of Law Professor Vivian Hamilton, a member of the centennial committee — is researching how national and state level legislation related to immigration and housing segregation impacted international and minority students at W&M, said Sohoni.

“Our long-term goal is to create a sustainable project where students and faculty can research the varied histories of Asian and Asian Americans at W&M, and more broadly race-relations at W&M and in Virginia,” said Sohoni.

E XCLUSION/INCLUSION While the centennial will celebrate the achievements of Asian and Asian-American people at W&M, it will also serve to begin a broader dialogue.

“We are also hoping to commemorate and reflect on our institution’s participation in exclusion, specifically about the exclusion if not, oppression of the African-American community,” said Tanglao Aguas, adding that his students requested it.

“They told me, ‘Professor, this would be a good move as long as we make sure that we are not only celebrating Asian and Asian-American excellence, but we are also interested in discussing the ramifications of the various ways in which different minorities were treated.’ So, immediately they were pointing to the gradations of discrimination perpetrated by historic whiteness. … And so, as a result of that, we hope to form and execute a plan of celebration, commemoration, reflection and discernment, as a community, using the anniversary of the admission of PuKao Chen from Shanghai, China, as a way to discuss how was this made possible.”

While the commemoration will recognize the pioneering efforts of Asians and Asian Americans in diversifying W&M, it will also acknowledge that it took place within the context of African-American exclusion, said Sohoni.

“The Asian Centennial thus creates the opportunity and space for a fuller history of William & Mary, and one that

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complicates and moves us beyond dichotomous white/ black racial discussions.”

Gathering the family William & Mary recently celebrated two other significant milestone’s the university’s history: the 50th anniversary of African-American students in residence and the 100th anniversary of coeducation. The organizers of the Asian Centennial have taken lessons from those commemorations and hope to build on those histories — and that of other marginalized peoples, which are all intertwined.

“Exploring the Asian experience means exploring the African Black, Latinx, Native story,” said Tanglao Aguas.

“In the United States, no one lives in a vacuum. Lives intersect. And that's what we're counting on in this centennial. As we tackle the Asian story of William & Mary, we will also be having a parallel discussion about all the communities.”

The William & Mary community is often referred to as a family, said Tanglao Aguas, a Filipino-American.

And anniversaries are major events in Filipino culture.

He hopes this anniversary creates a reason for the W&M community to come together.

“This is an opportunity to build on the William & Mary community as a family, and as families do, we explore not only the joyful parts of our relationship, but even when pain has been inflicted. Doing so — exploring the history of that pain, and even joy — we can move forward."

Committee for the Asian Centennial Michael Tang '76, P '13, Honorary Chair Francis Tanglao Aguas, Arts & Sciences, Co-Chair Deenesh Sohoni, Arts & Sciences, Co-Chair Mirza Baig, William & Mary Board of Visitors Inga Carboni, Raymond A. Mason School of Business Jason Chen, William & Mary School of Education Nicole Fratianne, University Advancement Gerald "Jay" Gaidmore, William & Mary Libraries, Special Collections John Griffin, William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science Vivian Hamilton, Center for Racial and Social Justice and William & Mary Law School Steve Hanson, Vice Provost for International Affairs Jamelah Jacob, Class of 2021 Ivana Marshall, William & Mary Alumni Association Rani Mullen, Arts & Sciences

Photos Opposite Page, top to bottom: Hatsuye Yamasaki ‘37 was the first known Asian-American woman student at W&M; Arthur A. Matsu ‘27 was a student leader and four-sport athlete at W&M who earned national attention for his role as quarterback for the W&M football team. The Arcade at Cary Field will be named the Arthur A. Matsu Arcade. Marissa Aroy and Niall McKay hold Emmy Awards for their documentary “Sikhs in America.” Aroy has been commissioned to create a documentary film about the history and contributions of Asians and Asian-Americans at W&M. Courtesy photos..

Shené V. Owens, Center for Student Diversity Steve Prince, Muscarelle Museum of Art Kirsten Quackenbush, William & Mary Alumni Association Dorothy Reyes, Office of the Dean of Arts & Sciences Jason Simms, William & Mary Athletics Benming Zhang '16, J.D. '20, former Williamsburg City Council member SPRING 2021 21

W&M IN THE WORLD

Highlights from the Side Event of the NATO Cyber Pledge Conference 2021

BY NICK BERKLAN, KATHRYN H. FLOYD, PIRET PERNIK, AND TIM STEVENS

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ATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) in cooperation with King’s College London and William & Mary hosted on April 16th, 2021, the virtual ‘NATO Cyber Defence: A Decade of Opportunities and Challenges’, the official sideline event of the NATO Cyber Defence Pledge Conference 2021. This event was made possible by a generous grant from the U.S. Mission to NATO. The event engaged almost 200 viewers.

Dr Stephen E. Hanson, Vice Provost for International Affairs, William & Mary, provided introductory remarks and set the scene for a stimulating discussion on the heels of yesterday’s Locked Shields exercise.

Mr Douglas Jones, Chargé d’Affaires ad Interim at the US Mission to NATO, provided welcome remarks. Mr. Jones highlighted how NATO is the most successful Alliance in history and is constantly adapting to meet new security threats, whether from known actors, ungoverned spaces, or hybrid scenarios. Information technology is transforming modern life, driving innovation, and facilitating the sharing of ideas. Mr Jones affirmed the 2016 Cyber Defence Pledge and the need to enhance cyber defence of infrastructure.

Building on adaptability, the ‘secret sauce’ of NATO is that like-minded allies can work together on difficult challenges, something US President Joe Biden is keen to revitalize.

Working with allies and partners is key to succeeding against the challenges being faced by the Alliance, which will improve member states’ ability to defend themselves and their populations. Mr Jones noted how COVID-19 has had a significant impact on cybersecurity challenges, as malign actors take advantage of the situation to undermine health systems or sow rifts among allies. The global pandemic has also spotlighted the underlying vulnerabilities in our interconnected world, where supply chains are of critical importance and require partnerships to secure. In summary, Mr Jones emphasized that cybersecurity and countering threats will 22

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require a ‘whole of government’ and ‘whole of sector’ holistic approach.

SESSION I, ‘NATO Cyber Defence and Offence in the International Environment’, featured three distinguished panellists led by moderator Dr Antonio Missiroli, Associate Senior Policy Fellow for Emerging Security Threats, Leiden University. Dr Missiroli opened the panel by calling attention to the 15 April decision by the United States, with support from many allies, to place sanctions on Russia in retaliation for the SolarWinds attack and election interference. He believed these events work to underscore the importance of this virtual event. Today, nations examine ways in which NATO member states align their sovereign interests, doctrines, capabilities, and more to work together in a coherent and synergistic way.

Dr Brandon Valeriano, Donald Bren Chair of Military Innovation, Brute Krulak Center, Marine Corps University; Senior Fellow, Cato Institute, began with the stark observation that there is no clarity among Alliance members as to what ‘persistent engagement’ means. In some ways, it is about superiority through persistence as a nation seizes and maintains the initiative by engaging and contesting adversaries where they manoeuvre. ‘Defend Forward’ will pre-emptively help allies to support one another and reinforce norms, with hopes that senior government officials will coordinate their nation’s cyber defence capabilities.

A layered ’whole of nation’ approach to this can involve: shaping behaviour, developing normative regimes that govern cyberspace, and leveraging non-military instruments to produce cyber stability; denying benefits (deterrence), focusing on resilience and defence in-depth, securing elections, and defending critical infrastructure, and imposing costs. While some of this is aspirational, it will aid in escalation management that is driven by reality, assessments, and metrics. NATO member nations can coordinate better on norms, which are enfranchised by practice.

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Dr Max Smeets, Senior Researcher, the Center for Security Studies, ETH Zürich, began with a paradox. Over the past few years, there has been a convergence of NATO member states’ views on the importance of developing a cyber posture. But, there has been a divergence over what a cyber posture should look like, which can significantly impede NATO’s ability to operate in the cyber domain.

This has implications for strategic goals, operational capacity, and legal proceedings. In addition, sovereignty is a sticking point as member states do not agree on what constitutes a violation of sovereignty. Should the divide be bridged, NATO could take away the opportunity for the adversary to act. There is a promising path forward.

Even without major cyber policy coordination, nations are converging over time as their dedicated and sustained policy efforts bring them together.

Ms Amy Ertan, PhD candidate, Royal Holloway, University of London, anchored her comments in the United Kingdom’s new National Cyber Force (NCF). Recognizing resource constraints, the United Kingdom is weighing how to counter cyber activity, possibly with direct or persistent engagements. As it develops its offensive capabilities, the United Kingdom is not operating in a vacuum and is actively considering matters of international law, the applicability of cyber norms, permissible and non-permissible environments, and questions of ethics and international humanitarian law. Allies, like France or Norway, have very different definitions of offensive cyber operations, and alliances like NATO will need to address this divergence in doctrinal approaches when deciding what responsible state behaviour in cyberspace looks like. Agreed terminology is a great place to start. The questions and answers that followed addressed an understanding of offensive cyber operations, and the extent to which they can be used, the bipolarity or bifurcation of cyberspace, the extent to which the imposition of credible costs would permit a nation or Alliance to control or manage escalatory effects, and the effect of nonstate actors on cyber security policy in the future.

SESSION II, ‘Resilience and Supply Chain Cybersecurity: Alliances and Partnerships’ featured three distinguished panellists led by moderator Dr Alexi Drew, Research Associate, King’s College London. Mr Neil Robinson, Policy Officer, Cyber Defence at NATO, cast NATO in the role of a platform to help member states come together to overcome the complexities of the supply chain and better understand what is in the toolbox and which tools are available. Allies need to appreciate the security-value trade-off because ‘cheap and fast’ is not necessarily secure and prevention is cheaper than mitigation. Transparency, the predictability of approaches to understand supply chain risks, and trustworthiness are all important items for nations and companies to value.

As evidenced by the Tom Cruise deepfake, NATO will need non-traditional partners including small and medium enterprises in the defence world and entertainment

industry, to name two. These are not the traditional service-provider relationships and will help NATO to deal with challenges like the changing nature of innovation.

Dr Allan Friedman, Director, Cybersecurity Initiatives, National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), United States Department of Commerce, questioned why we do not receive a list of ingredients in the supply chains of mission critical systems, but we do have such information about the Twinkie snack. A Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) would provide NATO with a formal record containing the supply chain and ingredients, or nested inventory, that will get us toward trusted (albeit imperfect) data. The end user can then use the data to make key decisions— “do I need to go back to the supplier or is this enough data for my level of risk and assurance?” This is true of many ecosystems and not just cybersecurity. Open, transparent, and international processes related to the supply chain should reflect the needs of the community and, in the case of NTIA, contribute to agile policy development.

Ms Liisa Past, Head of Cybersecurity Business Development, Cybernetica, followed a pragmatic approach that includes a degree of shared vulnerability. The current ecosystem for supply chain assurance is predicated on a time delay that creates the impossible dilemma of accredited vs. secured. By the time a system or item is accredited, more than six months have passed. Assessing trust and the reliability of the vendor or digital service provider is part of this ecosystem. Questions related to the rule of law and the owners (or stealers) of the intellectual property are important to raise if information sharing is to be actionable and useful. Alas, there is no silver bullet. The questions and answers that followed addressed whether there is an outbalanced cost to small and medium companies that might have a disproportionate cost on innovation, and what NATO can do to increase the capacity of member states and partners to meet these costs and achieve the end goal of a secure accreditation process.

Colonel Jaak Tarien, Director, CCDCOE, closed the event by noting that the world is getting more complex as things happen simultaneously in today’s security environment. Nations need to improve their information sharing to allow for joint timely and credible responses.

We need to strengthen cybersecurity through the Cyber Defence Pledge and in close collaboration with partners.

[The videos are available on the Reves Center’s YouTube channel: Session One and Session Two.]

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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair...”

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Winter Programs: Geneva 2020 and Geneva 2021

BY KATE HOVING

January 6, 2020. Geneva, Switzerland

Day 1 of W&M’s first winter program in Geneva “The plan for the first week was morning lectures in a conference room at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters. As part of our tour of building on that first day, we went into the ‘situation room’ where a meeting had just taken place, and the wall had a map of the world with arrows showing flights out of Wuhan, China. The screen switched to a generic map of the world as we entered the room, but we had just gleaned one of the first meetings on the new virus that China had announced it had found the week before. The WHO had sent its first announcement about it on January 5. We spent the week hearing lectures from various staff members on health issues such as emergency preparedness, anti-microbial resistance, sexual and reproductive health, and an HR person spoke to the students about working at WHO. The emergency response framework had been fully activated in response to COVID, but at that time, we didn’t know this. The students and I were right there at the beginning of what would later be a world-altering pandemic.”

–Iyabo Obasanjo, Geneva winter program director, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology & Health Sciences, and Co-director of the Africa Research Center

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ifteen William & Mary students accompanied Obasanjo on that first winter program to Geneva. They had a week of classes in Williamsburg before traveling overseas.

A year later, in the middle of the pandemic, fourteen William & Mary students and Obasanjo began their Geneva experience as part of the 2nd William & Mary Winter Geneva study abroad program. This time, all sessions were virtual.

This is the story of the those two programs—from creation to implementation—in very different times.

THE RIGHT MAN, WITH THE RIGHT IDEA, IN THE RIGHT PLACE, AT THE RIGHT TIME

John Dennis ‘78, P ’21 is a Reves International Advisory Board Member and Founder and CEO of Mypulses, a research-based, digital health start-up in Geneva. Mypulses develops algorithms for sports, wellness and health using big data analysis of pulse wave forms. As the company website explains, Photoplethysmography (PPG)—used in many wearables to calculate heart rate frequency—is an optical technique that detects changes in blood volume,

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and can also collect pulse wave signals. With machine learning and with technical advances in PPG pulse wave collection, Mypulses has extended pulse wave analysis well beyond indications of cardiovascular health.

Dennis is uniquely situated at the intersection of medicine, technology and business—geographically and professionally—to create an opportunity to place William & Mary students on the forefront of international health management and technology. Luckily for W&M, he both understands this and is an alumnus who wants to give back to his alma mater.

“The origins of the Geneva program were inspired by a set of circumstances that bundled together looked like an ideal study abroad program,” Dennis explains. “The U.S., out of desire and pure necessity, is in the process of revamping its health care system. Health care costs are soaring and there is ever-growing pressure to move health care from a volume treatment-based system to more of an outcome-based system. An aging American population, which struggles increasingly with obesity and a plethora of related health problems, drives new demands. There is also an increased call for universal coverage. Add to this the rapid growth of digital health, e-health, mHealth and

W&M IN THE WORLD

tele-health, and you have all the necessary catalysts for major changes that are occurring in health care.”

Like most entrepreneurs, Dennis sees potential in the challenges.

“Change brings opportunity and in the case of health, it brings jobs—lots of new jobs. It will also require a lot of smart people to think differently about health and wellness,” Dennis says. “In short, W&M graduates are needed from a large number of academic disciplines: life sciences, engineering, math, information technology, management, business, and communications to just name a few. W&M graduates with an international perspective on health will be especially appreciated. How are other countries dealing with these same sets of challenges? Can we learn from their systems and import some of these ideas back to the U.S.? Equally important, as we have learned painfully this past year, how do we deal collectively with pandemics and other health issues that affect us globally?”

Geneva is ideal for the kind of program Dennis envisioned, as it is a hub for global health and healthcare. The World Health Organization (WHO) is only one of many international health-related organizations headquartered there. “These organizations are used to receiving visitors from universities, research institutes and health organizations. They are also a great source for health-related information from their many publications, web sites

and seminars,” Dennis explains. He just needed to connect them with W&M. “Starting three years ago, I contacted the WHO and several other international organizations to explore the possibilities of William & Mary students visiting them to ask questions and to learn from specialists from a wide variety of different health topics. The responses were positive and welcoming.” .

CONNECTING WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE AND PROGRAMS AT W&M

With the international partners interested, Dennis next reached out to his William & Mary connections. He found similar enthusiasm for his initiative across the university.

Dennis credits Sani Silvennoinen, Assistant Vice President, Development & International Advancement; Professor Mike Tierney, Director of the Global Research Institute; and Professor Jennifer Mellor, Director, Schroeder Center for Health Policy, for playing important roles in its creation.

Dennis also connected with the woman who would become the program’s director. “Professor Iyabo Obasanjo was an especially helpful early adopter to the idea, bringing her energy, enthusiasm and knowledge of health and public health policy.”

Sylvia Mitterndorfer, Director of the Global Education Office, welcomed his idea and recognized an amazing SPRING 2021 25

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opportunity in an area they’ve wanted to grow. “We are deeply grateful for John Dennis’ vision, commitment and support for the program. He and Iyabo had been in touch previously and then at a Reves International Advisory Board reception, John, Iyabo and I met and laid the foundation of what such a program could become. We were thrilled to expand opportunities for STEM students to study abroad, utilize the expanding winter break time to open new opportunities, and allow pre-med students to have the chance to meet directly with world experts.”

Dennis appreciated the Reves collaboration. “The Reves Center was extremely open, encouraging, and helpful in these exploratory efforts and with its implementation. They were early proponents and made many helpful suggestions while always being open and flexible to proposals.” Dennis also singles out Marina Knapp, Global Education Special Programs Advisor, for helping to working to secure COLL 300 credit for the program. Two courses were associated with the program: Universal Health Coverage and Global Health Management and Universal Basic Health Care, and the prerequisite was an introductory course in Kinesiology, Public Health, Biology, Environmental Science, Chemistry or Psychology.

In addition to COLL 300, students who completed all coursework would receive three credits.

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Knapp in turn gives credit to Dennis for his role, which extended about and beyond coming up with concept and connections. “John was integral in both the in-person and virtual programs. We would never have been as successful in creating this experience without him. He helped coordinate and organize most of our partner meetings and provided in-country support. This program is unique [for Reves] in that we do not have an in-country partner (through a university or travel agent) in Geneva, with whom we would coordinate to help us with those tasks. As a result, many of those responsibilities fell to John.”

GENEVA YEAR ONE: THE BEST OF TIMES

The first year of the program, after classes and preparation in Williamsburg, Obasanjo led the group of W&M students to Geneva for two weeks. In addition to the meetings at WHO, they attended seminars at the International Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and the International Migratory Organization. They supplemented their experiences with multinational organizations by learning about different aspects of medicine and technology: a visit to the Cantonal Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV); a presentation about ways alternative medicine is integrated into patient treatment; and a day spent with start-ups in an incubator dedicated to healthcare near Lausanne. “I am particularly pleased

W&M IN THE WORLD

Photos from the 2020 Geneva Winter Program. Courtesy of Iyabo Obasanjo.

that the students got the chance to learn about Swiss health care directly from a physician,” says Dennis. “With its decentralized government structure and a reliance largely on private enterprise to meet its health needs, the country’s health system is an interesting study for American public health policy.” Another highlight of the program was a presentation by Arthur Appleton ’80, an expert on the Swiss health system and global trade.

The students made the most of all that Geneva offered.

They visited several museums, including the Nestlé Nutrition Museum and Olympic Museum. Thanks to some lucky timing, their visit happened to coincide with the third winter junior Olympics in Lausanne, allowing the students to enjoy shows and celebrations connected to the Olympic events and to mingle with other young people.

It was a success by any measure. And then the pandemic became real.

GENEVA YEAR TWO: WINTER OF DESPAIR?

In spite of the unusual circumstances and accelerated timeline, Mitterndorfer had faith in the capability of the GEO staff. “Building programs and managing the entire cycle is what we do so well. Our in-house expertise is tremendous and exceptional. To create this program so quickly required world-class expertise and wonderful partners to make something happen quickly, especially in

the middle of a pandemic.” The pandemic had stopped most interaction, let alone international travel, and the question became whether the momentum of this program could continue, or whether it would be put on pause as so many other educational activities had been.

“In late September it became clear that international travel would continue to remain complex with quarantine and travel requirements which would make travel not possible given the parameters of the program,” Mitterndorfer recalls. “In addition, it was quite clear that the site visits, which represent the key element of the program, could not be done in person and would need to be done per video conferencing remotely.”

Once they made the decision to make it a virtual program, the core team—Dennis, Reves and Obasanjo—went into action to make it happen. As Mitterndorfer stresses, “Having to pivot a program from an in-person to virtual format in the middle of a pandemic underscored the critical importance of strong collaborative partnerships.

Without everyone’s flexibility and willingness to innovate this would not have been possible.”

Knapp recalls the first thing they needed to do was confirm that the partners would be willing to meet with the students virtually in January. “Iyabo and John had most of the heavy lifting in switching the curriculum to a virtual format and organizing virtual meetings with our partners.”

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Knapp in turn had to readjust the budget and finesse a two-week turnaround for opening the new applications to accepting students. The curriculum they crafted turned out to be amazingly similar to the first year experience.

“We kept the one week visit to WHO which worked well, because with the time difference our mornings were late afternoon in Geneva,” Obasanjo explains. “We did not have any of presentations [of the previous year] from Lausanne, but we could share links to two museums that had virtual tours, including the Olympic Museum.”

And because Appleton also had expertise in international business and law, this year in addition to his health care presentation, he could also speak about ways COVID-19 had affected global trade.

Still, Dennis acknowledges the limitations of a virtual experience. “No, it was not the same thing. The cultural aspects were especially less engaging. Nonetheless, just as many topics were covered over Zoom with WHO specialists [as in the first year].”

But even with the limitations, Dennis found a way to create a bit of the feeling of Geneva and its culture. “The students were deprived of walking the narrow streets of Lausanne, attending live evening events, and entering the grand halls of the WHO. But instead of rolling the fondue cheese threads around their bread chunks as they had in 2020, they saw how fondue was made from a video we filmed of a professional Swiss cook making the fondue in our kitchen.” .

THE STUDENTS: RESILIANCE & OPTIMISM

The students seemed to take it all in stride and appreciate every aspect. Knapp reports that students who responded to a survey afterwards were “wonderfully positive” in their feedback, especially pertaining to the live interaction with the WHO. “Most if not all are on some version of the pre-med track so there are not many courses available for study abroad that directly relate to the future careers.”

For Nicholas Kaufman ’22, Business Analytics Major and Public Health Minor, is a good case in point. “This program really appealed to me, because its academic focus-- global healthcare coverage and management--was directly aligned with my academic and future career goals. With my specific interests, finding academic opportunities aligned with my goals is often difficult, and this was a unique opportunity to learn with some of the leaders in the field of public health. Additionally, I have always wanted to travel to Europe, and I preferred the shorter winter program to spending an entire semester abroad.”

Kaufman entered the program with a bit of understandable skepticism. “Initially, I was concerned that being virtual would negatively affect my ability to immerse myself in the content of our program and interact meaningfully with other students and lecturers we had on the trip.

However, once the program began, I quickly realized that

this was not the case, as I feel like I had a really exciting, meaningful experience through the program.”

Kaufman’s favorite part of the program was the expert lectures at the WHO. “I loved the conversations we had around issues such as coronavirus, healthcare in developing nations, and global efforts to foster health around the world.”

Kaufman and the other students as well as Obasanjo singled out Christine Dennis’ lecture on nutrition and health as a highlight of the program. “Christine Dennis gave us resources and tips on how to stay healthy in college,” says Kaufman. “I still use some of her advice to this day!” A practicing nutritionist and naturopath in Switzerland and in the U.S. for nearly twenty years, Christine Dennis is also married to John Dennis and joined John in helping to make the students feel they were experiencing the best of Geneva.

This was Kaufman’s first study abroad experience, and a Reves Winter Scholarship enabled him to participate.

Knapp reports that Kaufman was not unique: “[The Virtual Geneva Program] was the first study abroad program through Reves for all the students involved. Also, more than half of our students received funding from the Reves Winter Scholarship.” Even with the reduced program cost--compared to longer programs, and some savings because this year’s was virtual--students who had received scholarships indicated their participation had been dependent on receiving the scholarship. Dennis, in addition to creating and shepherding the Geneva Program, also generously contributed to the scholarship fund.

Mitterndorfer is keenly aware of that aspect. “One of the rewarding elements was that once we pivoted the program to a virtual format, new students joined the program who otherwise would not have participated in the program. We were happy to provide a COLL 300 opportunity to students in the midst of a pandemic and make this Above: Nicholas Kaufman ‘22. Courtesy photo.

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accessible, including through scholarships, to students who had not yet had the opportunity to study abroad.”

But the positive comments from him and other students at the end of the program indicate that they don’t consider their virtual experience as a disappointment or pale substitute. They saw this as once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study in their field.

“Even though this study abroad experience was not exactly the one my classmates or I expected when we registered, I had an incredible experience and will carry the lessons and connections I made on the program for the rest of my life,” Kaufman says. “After the end of the program, I felt like I had a clearer idea of the opportunities that exist in healthcare management and public health, and I felt more confident in the path I have been going down at William & Mary. I also gained credits towards my minor and great perspective to bring to my future courses and career.” .

LESSONS LEARNED: A SPRING OF HOPE

For Obasanjo, there were some advantages to the Zoom format. “My usual classes are big, with rarely fewer than 25 students, but in a Zoom course of only 14 students, we could have very good discussions comparing health systems of different developed countries which seemed more effective and concrete than the discussions we had on the same topic in Geneva the year before, because it was towards the end of the second week and students were tired and excited about some of the sights they still wanted to see on their own. Via Zoom there was no distraction and students interacted with each other and asked each other questions about their presentations more than they did while we were all in the same classroom in Geneva.”

Dennis noticed the same thing: “One positive surprise from the virtual Geneva experience was the student participation levels. In the beginning, students hesitated to ask questions or make comments. However, after two or three sessions, participation really picked up with a lively back and forth between the speaker and the students.

It is possible that being physically in large WHO rooms or elsewhere can be a little intimidating. On Zoom the

students appeared to be more willing to speak out, express their views.”

As Obasanjo says, “Both experiences were great, being in Switzerland with students was a wonderful experience, and doing so virtually was also wonderful but different.

Each had its good points but the important part was that in both programs, students got to interact with each other and hear from experts doing important work in global health. Having to go virtually over the last year shows us is that there are possibilities with technology we haven’t tried that would be useful in higher education.”

All parties are ready to continue with the best of both experiences.

The Global Education Office staff are already incorporating lessons learned into planning for Geneva and other programs.

“This was the first virtual/remote study abroad program which we’ve offered, and we learned a great deal about the impact virtual opportunities can have,” says Mitterndorfer. “Reading student reflections about the impact was a powerful reminder that even when physical travel is not possible, virtual programs combining curricular elements, direct discussions with experts onsite, and co-curricular cultural activities have the power to create new high impact experiences for students.”

“The lessons we’ve learned from this program are very valuable as we consider how to continually enhance study abroad programming,” Mitterndorfer continues. “What this might look like in the future is unclear, but given the many different types of models of study abroad run through our office, some of the approaches of this program could enhance pre-program planning among other things. As a result of the success of this program and in light of the ongoing pandemic, the faculty of the International Studies Advisory Committee (ISAC) and GEO created a best-practices guide for virtual programming as a resource for future programs. In the shorter-term, we are building on the Geneva virtual program experience as we design a Prague virtual study abroad program in summer 2021 since the in-person program was canceled due to COVID-19.”

In Geneva, John and Christine Dennis are already planning for the future, too.

“After two years, the Geneva program has grown into an established and well-defined program. The program also has the ability to adopt to the interests of the attending students with emphasis placed in areas of most interest. The interests will undoubtedly change over the years with current topics such as COVID-19 commanding more attention than topics such as tuberculosis, which may be of less current interest. One idea Christine and I have would be to offer more presentations on nutrition next year. What we eat and how we get nutritional balance is key to health. Let’s see which topics are of most interest next year and how we plan accordingly. I look forward to the Geneva program 2022!”

Above: Screenshot of virtual fondue demonstration. Photo courtesy of Iyabo Obasanjo.

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THE PEOPLE OF W&M

An Afghan human rights activist gives and receives inspiration at William & Mary Law School

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BY KATE HOVING

Kandahar, Afghanistan 2017, Meeting at Faizy’s office, Kandahar provincial Council. Photo courtesy of Sarina Faizy.

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arina Faizy LL.M. ’21 is by any and all accounts an extraordinary woman..

A leading international spokesperson and advocate for women’s rights and peace in Afghanistan, Faizy was born after in 1997, three years after the Taliban established its rule in her native Kandahar. For most of her life, her world has been one of intermittent war and restrictions imposed by the Taliban, either of which would be enough to stifle anyone’s ambitions, especially those of a young Afghan woman. Instead, those challenges have motivated her to fight against them.

“Afghan culture is really amazing. The food, the traditions, the way we live–are all unique.

The only thing that we do not have is security.

I would like to show the world the way we are, how everything is right now,” Faizy explains.

“Every single day we have a bomb. I cannot sleep at night even though I think of myself as a strong woman and a fighter. It’s been more than forty-five years of war. I grew up in the war. My mother grew up and died in the war. It’s just awful, and it just keeps going on and on and on with no end. And the worst thing is that the fight is not an Afghan fight; it’s other countries that are selecting Afghanistan or using Afghanistan as a tool, which is painful for us because those who are dying are the Afghan people.”

Faizy has broken barriers, but she has also braved criticism, survived serious injury from

an IED and faced threats on herself and her family. She has experienced personal losses, including that of her mother at an early age, and more recently a powerful mentor and protector, Kandahar police chief Abdul Raziq, who was assassinated by the Taliban while she was in the U.S. And yet, her story is not one of limitations.

Almost all of Faizy’s accomplishments boast the qualifiers “first” or “youngest” or “only woman.” Faizy earned her undergraduate degree in law and international relations from Malali University in Kandahar in 2017. She was both the youngest and the first female Provincial Council Member in the county, representing Kandahar (2014 to 2019). She has practiced law, traveled as a young leader with the State Department, had an internship with a U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) program on Women in the Economy (WIE); and was a leadership fellow at the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

William & Mary Law School has always attracted current and aspiring leaders since its founding as the first law school in the U.S. Although her gender and country of origin may not superficially resemble George Wythe or John Marshall, she is driven by a similar call to public service. Her journey from Kandahar to William & Mary has been both remarkable and courageous. And that journey begins with her family.

THE PEOPLE OF W&M

An early start Faizy is one of ten – seven girls and three boys -- all of whom are educated and accomplished in their own right, thanks to the commitment of their parents. Faizy’s father is a retired colonel in the Afghan army, and her mother was a doctor. “I always take advantage of all the opportunities that I have, because most women in Afghanistan have been raised in families not like mine. The majority of women in Afghanistan are raised to stay in the home, without a voice outside in the community.” And not many have a working mother as an early example of what a girl can achieve.

Her mother died of a heart attack when Faizy was only 10 years old, but her impact and inspiration continue.

“She was amazing. If people ask if I have seen any angels, I say, ‘I have--my mom.’ But it’s not because she’s a mom. Most people say, ‘Oh, I love my mom because I spend more time with her’; or ‘I love my mom, because she did this for me and that for me,’ but my mother was truly amazing. I think the confidence and the kindness I see in myself come from her.”

Faizy watched her mother treat patients for free if they were struggling financially or had other problems. “She would tell her patients that they could come back whenever then needed to be treated again.”

Faizy appreciates the challenges her mother faced as a female doctor in Afghanistan, competing in a man’s world while raising a family. “She was under a lot of stress. But whenever she was at the home, it was just fun; she always created positive energy for her family. She was holding everything inside of her and just giving us a happy face, and maybe that’s why she had a heart attack -- because she was keeping it inside of her heart. I wish I could see her once more. This this will be my last wish, and the first wish that I have, to be able to see her again.”

“Coach Sarina”: an early start at testing boundaries and achieving results Some people can be taught to be leaders, and then there are some who for whom it’s so natural and such a driving force, that you can put them in any situation, and it won’t be long before they’re in charge. In Faizy’s case, not only does she naturally take the lead, but she also makes a point of teaching, coaching and bringing others with her.

Faizy’s face lights up when she talks about basketball. She established a girls’ basketball team at her high school. Girls’ team sports were discouraged in Kandahar, but that did not discourage her. Nor did the fact that no one in her high school had a basketball or knew how to play. “I never had a trainer, and my team never had a trainer; we learned everything from YouTube©. At first we didn’t even have a basketball. We had a volleyball,” she laughs. “Then slowly people paid attention. I contacted someone in Kabul and I said, ‘We have a team here, and we are excited to take part in the national games.’ They agreed. We did not have any idea what to do or how to do it, but we went there. We got the training from some

of the American players, and then they chose me as a trainer.” From player to trainer in six months. “I was a trainer for all the team, had forty-one students, and I was the lead for the team from 2010 until 2014.” The result? She led the team to a national championship.

Beginning of a Career Faizy was only 14 in 2011, when the Kandahar Media Center (KMIC,) operated by NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), hired her as a media relations officer. Even she was a little surprised that she was hired. “I was really, really young… I was the youngest person to apply,” she explains, “But they hired me, because there was no [other] female whose family would allow her to work with Americans there at that time.”

Why did she apply? “I decided to work there, because it was what I needed to do. I am a person with the kind of personality that, whenever I have a chance, I never say no to anything. Some people may wonder, ‘Is it too low level or high level for me?,’ but I see it as something that I am going to learn in this field, so why not just do it?”

Faizy was a natural working in media and coordinating diverse groups. She enjoyed it and used the opportunity to learn about politics, people and communication. “I coordinated all the meetings and informed the media about what was happening in our offices, encouraging them to cover our work,” she remembers. As with the basketball team, it wasn’t long before she was in a leadership role: “I had two people working for me.”

Building on success “There’s a saying that when you get a taste of delicious food, you want it eat more and share it; and then you want to learn the recipe; and then you want to cook it for your family. And I think success is also like that,” Sarina explains. “When I started working as a basketball coach and trainer, my motivation was to motivate other girls, and then I worked for almost three years with Americans and I gained confidence and training at the same time, but this was not enough. I felt I could not do anything because I was not a person who had the power to change things or make a decision. So I decided that I needed to get to the position where I could change things.”

Faizy became a member of the Youth Council in Kandahar.” And again, not surprisingly, it was not long before her fellow Youth Council members wanted her to run for chair. She initially demurred, noting there was an age requirement and she was too young, but her ability to speak five languages, including excellent English, made her the person they wanted to run. “They told me, ‘Just apply for it. It’s better to have someone than have an empty chair, someone who’s uneducated, or someone who’s not from the state.’” So she ran. “I competed with men, and I didn’t think people would work for me, but people really did volunteer for me. People invested in me. I didn’t waste one penny. I won.”

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“I felt I could not do anything because I was not a person who had the power to change things or make a decision.

So I decided that I needed to get to the position where I could change things.”

At a UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan Women’s Rights Meeting. Photo courtesy of Sarina Faizy

Elected in 2014, she was the youngest and the first female Provincial Council Member in Kandahar. But winning the seat was just the beginning of the battle. She still faced multiple frustrations and obstacles. She had to work slowly and incrementally. “I took advantage of any small opportunity I had, because whenever I tried to talk, [the men on the council] would try to keep me from talking.

They criticized me for working for Americans, or for going to embassies, because I was able to speak in English.”

She was also criticized for being straightforward and open-minded. “I don’t hide anything. When something is wrong, it’s wrong. For me it doesn’t matter if it’s your father, or you, or if it’s your family member. Wrong is wrong.”

Faizy endured and persisted despite the attacks and threats. “That [criticism] was really, really tough, not just for me, but for other colleagues, too, even men. For the entire younger generation. It was especially difficult for females, because we were told we were supposed to be only a symbol – sit, look, listen. Don’t open your mouth.

But I did. That’s why I was always in trouble and in newspapers nationally and internationally. But people paid attention.”

People did pay attention. They noticed she had energy and ideas, and she became a role model for other young women and men. She is proud to be seen as an example of what they can achieve, but worries they may not always see the price she has paid -- and still pays -- for her persistence and outspokenness. “They just know what you are right now; they don’t have any idea what you have been through, the situations, and how you suffer, and how you made these opportunities possible. It’s really easy to talk about what you did as a story, but when you were in a

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really difficult situation, you don’t have any idea how you will come through.”

Faizy continued her work on the council despite threats on her and her family. She promoted the issues that mattered to her, such as wage parity between men and women, and rights and education for women and children. “I spoke up, but it was causing problems for my family and me, so I went to India for almost three months until the situation was a little calmer, and then I could return.”

Building confidence and a network of supporters Despite the negative aspects of her activism, Faizy’s work first at the Media Center and now in politics were building her confidence. “I was also always taking chances; thinking ‘this will take me somewhere,’ and I really see the results now.”

The communication skills were essential. “You need to know how to take your thoughts and present them, really like lay them that the right way on the table, so you can get people’s attention to where they see this is something important that we need to do,” Faizy explains. “Talking about these [issues] is really unfamiliar for most people in Afghanistan who come from a family that is tradition, or maybe a little strict.”

She had found her mission: to educate as well as advocate for the people of Afghanistan. “We needed to start from somewhere. So I thought, ‘Why not me?’ If not me, then who better than me?”

Faizy also was growing her network of friends and colleagues to help in her professional and personal mission. “Once I make a contact for me, they’re my family members. It’s the Afghan or Asian culture: ‘I’m not your blood, but the blood color is the same, so let’s make it happen.’” She credits many mentors, family and friends in her life who have helped her. “I think it’s really

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Photos, clockwise from top left: With a photo of her meeting with NATO in Kandahar-Afghanistan; International Youth Day 2014; In Washington, D.C.; and Faizy with friend and team member, Cara Sandiego, with whom she worked on women’s rights (2018-2019).

Photos courtesy of Sarina Faizy.

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important to hold the hand of the right person, because we say that we can do it by ourselves, but we still need a hand, to hold it with full trust, to walk with the same fate.

And when we dream, we need someone to listen to the dream and reassure us that yes, it’s going to happen. Believe in it. And it’s possible we may find it difficult, but if we are with the right person we can achieve our dream.”

Traveling abroad – seeing a new world of opportunities Sarina’s first trip out of Afghanistan was to the U.S. in 2016, through the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) for current and emerging foreign leaders. She traveled to Washington, D.C., New York, Arizona, Minnesota, Boston and Texas. She loved the interaction with other young leaders from around the world. “You get to speak and share your experiences, and at the same time show and exchange your traditions and your thoughts. And you get a new dream to take back to your home country.”

When her term on council ended, Faizy’s next journeyed on her own to Dallas, where she had earned a fellowship in Women’s Leadership and Economics at the George W. Bush Presidential Center. The WE Lead program advances the role of women leaders who are increasing economic opportunity in their countries. WE Lead is designed to enhance the leadership skills of women around the world with an initial focus on women in the Middle East and North Africa. Women from seven countries are invited to apply to the very competitive program: Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia. WE Lead empowers and equip women to become effective leaders. Fellows develop leadership skills, exchange expertise, learn to advocate for social stability, and build civil society. Faizy’s skills and network grew and flourished during her fellowship.

In May 2019, having finished her fellowship, she was in the Washington, D.C. area. She continued her activism, including speaking about women’s rights and education at a conference sponsored by the U.S. State Department but she needed to consider her next step. Some friends suggested she join them on a trip to Williamsburg, where they told her they would give her a tour of a college. She jumped at the chance and found herself walking on the campus of William & Mary. “It’s so beautiful! Such beautiful buildings! I just wanted to walk and walk.” She felt a connection immediately.

She also discovered something else. “As I walked on campus, I learned about a William & Mary student [Army 1st Lt. Todd W. Weaver, 08’] who was a soldier in the Army and died [in 2010 at age 26] in Kandahar, in my hometown. I saw his name on a [memorial plaque] near the Wren Building. I took a picture. There were his shoes. I sat there, and I cried so hard. I think that is also why I am so connected with this university: he died in my country, and now I have to pay him back.”

And now she knew what her next step would be.

“I never thought that I would continue my studies in America,” Sarina says. “I had a thought that I may move

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Photos, top to bottom: Describing her mother at a presentation at the Bush Center; Photo with President and Mrs. Bush; Kabul 2019, RS-NATO peace meeting with the NATO ambassador and secretary of NATO. Resolute Support (RS) is a NATO-led, non-combat mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). Photos courtesy of Sarina Faizy.

THE PEOPLE OF W&M

somewhere but never ever had a thought to start my master’s degree, much less in one of America’s best universities, but I was so lucky. This university is amazing. I’m very excited.”

She applied to William & Mary’s LL.M. Program.

“I interviewed her for our program in spring 2020,” recalls Jennifer Stevenson, Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and director of the American Legal System Graduate Program. “She was highly recommended and had an unusual background, so I wanted to meet her immediately. Even through an online meeting, her fierce passions for women’s rights and justice were apparent. This young woman has a larger plan for her life.”

But to return to an academic setting is a major decision for someone who has been out of school and worked professionally.

Stevenson wanted to make sure the program would be right for her. “She had already had a lot of experience and connections—internationally and in the United States. She’d been a lawmaker in Afghanistan and worked in a war zone with the U.S. military. I was intrigued that she wanted to take on this academically rigorous program—to become a student again. Not everyone wants to go back to school and continuing learning from others.”

Faizy and her friends were asking the same thing: “Are you sure you want to go back to college?”

But as always, she made her decision not only for herself, but for her fellow Afghans. “This could be a good example for people who believe that it would not be possible—a woman alone, leaving a career, moving to different country.”

She has approached her studies with the same determination and energy she has with all of her ventures, making an impact on everyone around her.

In addition to Stevenson, Sarina has worked closely with Christie Warren, Professor of the Practice of International and Comparative Law and Director of the Center for Comparative Legal Studies and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding.

Sarina signed up for two of Warren’s fall semester classes, Comparative Law and Post-Conflict Justice and the Rule of Law. She is currently taking Warren’s spring semester class in Comparative Constitutional Law. “Usually our LL.M. students take a while to warm up to the way law school is taught in the U.S.,” Warren explains.

“Not Sarina – she immediately became one of the most active and popular students in all three of my courses. Her in-class contributions have added a great deal to the learning environment.”

Stevenson concurs. “Sarina is not afraid to ask questions or be ‘wrong.’ She is genuinely interested in knowing the answers and growing academically. It’s refreshing to meet someone who realizes how precious educational opportunities can be—especially for women.”

Photos, top to bottom: 1st Lt. Todd Weaver ‘08 (Photo courtesy of Kristina Weaver and W&M); ’Let every nation know’ The memorial plaque placed under Todd Weaver’s tree includes a quote from President John F. Kennedy. Photo by Erin Zagursky ; In remembrance.

Todd Weaver’s boots sit on the ground in front of the memorial tree that was planted in his honor. Photo by Stephen Salpukas.

An international education and collaboration Faizy has made the most of every opportunity to educate other students at the university, including speaking to undergraduate students in Associate Professor Rani Mullen’s government classes.

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She also has been eager to connect with her fellow students in Warren’s classes. “Sarina has been one of the most interactive students I have had during my time at W&M. She immediately engaged with all the course material and volunteered to give extra presentations to both classes on her experiences in Afghanistan. Her in-class contributions have been fascinating to me and to our other students,” Warren says.

Faizy is enthusiastic about the international nature of the law school and the university in general and intends to continue her connection and expand awareness back home. She also would like to see all the international students do the same. “At W&M we have students who are from so many different countries. We should help them to connect back with their countries and invite other students to follow their path to William & Mary. Or we could give them projects to pursue in their home country that they can apply there. Most of the people in Afghanistan have no idea that this kind of scholarship exists and the kinds of opportunities available.”

“Sarina is an example of exactly why it is so important and beneficial to have international students as part of our student body,” Warren says. “There may be a tendency to think that international students are here to learn about the US legal system, and while that is undoubtedly true, just as much learning is done by U.S. law students from our international students. The opportunity for all of us to learn from experiences shared by Sarina and our other international students is invaluable.”

Next Steps Faizy will graduate in May, and her LL.M. Degree is more than a personal achievement. “This degree is going to be really meaningful to my family to my people who believed in me and to the people who believe that women are just for the house and cooking and having babies. We should not lose just because we are Afghan women, just because we have war, or just because we need to be married at a young age. We cannot lose our dreams.”

Faizy is looking for a job in Washington, hopefully working for an NGO or other international organization or perhaps a U.S. agency to continue her work for women’s and children’s rights and education. “I’m looking for an opportunity where I can help more people and at the same time learn more skills, because the more I learn, the better I can give the skills back to somebody else or help other people in a better way.”

She also leaves William & Mary with her characteristic optimism and determination. “I’m so happy. I’m really blessed.

I think when you dream about something, it may take time.

It may put you in really complex and difficult situations. It is going to test how serious you are about your dream. But once you have made up your mind, you have to be confident that you are going to achieve your dream. It may be later than you think, but you are going to achieve it.”

“We should not lose just because we are Afghan women, just because we have war, or just because we need to be married at a young age.

We cannot lose our dreams.”

Photo: At Hampton, Virginia, City Center, for an interview with a local newspaper. Photo Courtesy of Sarina Faizy.

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THE PEOPLE OF W&M

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

A Conversation with Emily Bailey and Zabrina Williams

Emily Bailey (R) and Zabrina Williams (L) are co-workers in the International Students, Scholars and Programs Office (ISSP) at the Reves Center. They agreed to a Zoom conversation to talk about the work they do so well. Some definitions that might be helpful: The F-1 Visa (Academic Student) allows you to enter the United States as a full-time student at an accredited college, university, seminary, conservatory, academic high school, elementary school, or other academic institution or in a language training program; H-1B Visa (Employment) applies to employers seeking to hire nonimmigrant aliens as workers in specialty occupations, typically requiring a bachelor’s degree or higher; The J-1 (Exchange Visitor) visa in the United States is for people who wish to take part in work-and-study-based exchange and visitor programs in the U.S.

Q: What do you do at Reves?

EMILY BAILEY: I’m the Assistant Director for Immigration Services. Day to day that means I have some student interaction. I also arrange H-1B visas, which are work-based visas, for professors and other staff members and also for visiting scholars coming to do short term research at William & Mary.

I do a lot of training presentations.

For students, I’ll explain work authorization and taxes. I also train faculty and staff on immigration topics, such as the status required if they’re hiring someone or inviting a scholar. One I’ve done recently focuses on responding to government requests, such as responding to a government audit and RFEs [requests for further evidence from the US government].

ZABRINA WILLIAMS: I am Immigration Services Coordinator/Advisor for the Reves Center, and 99.9 percent of my job entails immigration services for students. The process is all encompassing, and I am often in constant

contact with students from the time they are admitted and need to request their immigration document so that they can apply for the student visa.

With the pandemic we’ve changed both how we communicate with students and how they receive documents – there’s a lot more conversation via email or zoom. Pre-pandemic I met in-person with continuing students for a variety of reasons, such as applying for OPT or CPT work authorization to help them through the process. [OPT work authorization allows F-1 students to gain practical experience in their major field of study for initially up to 12 months (extension is sometimes possible); Curricular Practical Training (CPT) work authorization allows F-1 students to gain practical experience in their major or academic program prior to graduation.]

I also work with the undergraduate admissions office, our graduate schools, and departments to train staff in using the iStart system to make sure that they’re up to date on new

processes. [iStart is a cloud-based digital customer onboarding platform created with ID scanning and recognition, database search and e-signature used to provide a variety of online services for our institution’s international students, scholars, and employees—as well as the staff that support them.] And along with the wonderful W&M IT department work to keep the iStart system running.

Q: Immigration, to someone who doesn’t do it every day, is intimidating. You have to be so detail-oriented with sometimes arcane processes. But in addition to helping with the forms, are you also a bit of counselor, coach or even a hand holder?

WILLIAMS: That is exactly right.

Yeah. Hand holding, is a big part of what I think we do. Immigration regulation can be intimidating, especially for undergraduates, who are usually not sure of the process because they’re just starting out.

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BAILEY: I think for me part of the stress is knowing all the immigration rules or regulations. And not only rules or regulations, but also what’s actually happening. Sometimes it might not be an official change or announcement, but maybe a change in how long it takes for documents to be processed or issues arising at a certain service center. Knowing the immigration landscape is important.

As far as working with people, you need to figure out what’s going on with them and what are the relevant details in their situation, which they might not even know. So part of it is drawing out what their situation is– whether they are going to be traveling internationally, or if they have employment plans or what their long term goals are. And then, given that information, you present to them their options.

A lot of times it’s just telling them, “Okay. If you do this, then this is what might happen,” or, “If you do this, this is what might happen, and here are some things that you need to think about as you’re selecting a major, as you are planning to travel, planning to start work.”

So a lot of the job – and I think it’s one of the things that makes the job both difficult and interesting-- is that each person and each situation is different, and there is not always one clear answer to give them.

WILLIAMS: Yes! There’s never just a standard answer. There’s no stock email you can use, because each situation is different. The smallest change in a situation can lead you down a whole other path. It’s just like Emily said; it’s figuring out what the student is asking and giving them enough information to facilitate what they are hoping to achieve, but not too much information to confuse them.

Q: In the last few years there has been some turbulence in immigration regulations, with new instructions, travel bans, delays, confusion. How has that had an impact on you?

WILLIAMS: For me it’s a challenge, because when you’re talking to a

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student—say when meeting to discuss OPT—you’re pretty sure you know the most up-to-date information, but I’ve found myself in this past year saying to students, “When you’re about to mail your application, shoot me an email just to double check, because things might change.”

For example, there is an issue now of a possible application fee increase,

“So a lot of the job—and I think it’s one of the things that makes the job both difficult and interesting— is that each person and each situation is different, and there is not always one clear answer to give them. ” but there is a court case that is still pending. A decision could come at any time, and you want to make sure students completing OPT applications have the most up-to-date information before mailing.

We want to make students have the most accurate information possible.

And then, to be honest, there are times when talking to students I just say, “You know, this is the information we have now.”

I’ve been saying that more this past year, really the past four years. This is the information we have now, and so you might just want to check again before you do X, Y or Z just to be

sure.” Students of course were aware of the turbulence of the past few years and so we try to limit their level of anxiety the best we can.

Q: How do you learn of changes in regulations? Does the government send out updates to people who are involved in immigration, or do you have to track them down?

BAILEY: It depends. Zabrina and I are both what are called Designated School Officials (DSOs), so we have special permission from the government to issue certain kinds of immigration documents like the F-1 and J-1 visas. Because of that designation, it’s like being on a listserv. Sometimes we’ll get emails from either the State Department or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) or the Student Exchange Visitor Program.* We also have a really strong professional organization, NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

They do a great job of paying attention to changes and developments.

As Zabrina said, sometimes court cases can really affect our work. So NAFSA pays attention to those kinds of things and compiles information that we can check. They also have some research resources that we use, with analyses of things like court cases, and they amalgamate recent guidance and recent trends. That’s really helpful.

We also get information from colleagues. I may be talking with a colleague who will share something or there are some listservs that we’re on, where you’ll see that everybody’s starting to have the same problem with something, maybe a particular Service Center where students are submitting documents and seeing delays that aren’t necessarily “posted” anywhere but colleagues are experiencing them. It’s not official but it’s useful.

Q: Speaking of working with colleagues, how did each of you find yourself in this field?

WILLIAMS: For me, completely by accident. I was leaving a position, looking for part-time employment

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and saw ISSP was looking for someone to help implement iStart. In my previous position as registrar at a private school, I had installed new systems from the ground up, we had some international students, so I thought, “I can help them do that.” I don’t remember how I started advising. I think Stephen Sechrist [former director of ISSP] and Emily just said, “You can do this.” And it just evolved over time.

I found myself in this whole second career that I was not planning for, but that I enjoy and find rewarding. I like working with young people, and I love Reves and ISSP. BAILEY: I taught primary school for a few years after college, and I learned that was not for me [laughs].

So, then, I was trying to find something to do other than teaching primary school, but it was the height of the 2008 recession, so I ended up getting a job as an administrative assistant for ISSP and the Global Education Office (GEO). I had two bosses: one for ISSP, and one for GEO. Steve Sechrist had a big interest in training and mentorship, so he held mini immigration trainings. He would tell us about the State Department, regulations, and things like that. I started learning from those, and then eventually I got the choice– did I want to do study abroad or did I want to work with international students?–and I decided to work with international students.

It’s been a lot of learning on the job and attending trainings. In this field there are some academic courses and degrees that are related, but I think, for the most part, for a lot of

people, it’s not always a direct path.

Mentorship and training are things I want to continue, because it is such a nice field, but if you don’t have someone training you, it’s hard to break into it.

Q: What do you think people don’t understand about what you do?

BAILEY: I think a lot of people think we’re just filling out forms and read from a guidebook, “Oh, here are the things that you need to do, International Student.” I think they probably don’t understand the nuance and how often things change, and that we can be affected by political situations.

There’s not always a clean answer to things. The answer often is, “We think that this has happened, this is how things happened in the past, but going forward, we’re not really sure.”

It requires so much knowledge and thought and understanding of details.

WILLIAMS: I agree. I think people don’t realize how detailed it is.

I didn’t know when I started. While training I would think, “Oh, this is the answer to this,” and then realize that, no, the answer is more nuanced.

Q: In addition to dealing with lots of legal details, a lot of times you’re also dealing with people for whom English is not their first language. You’re also describing regulations that even a native English speaker and U.S. citizen would find perplexing.

WILLIAMS: I can’t tell you how many response emails I rewrite before sending, because I want to match their level of fluency and comprehension. That can mean not getting too

“You understand that they have plans for themselves and they want to see them to fruition.

I want to be there to help. ” detailed, but that’s hard, because it’s immigration regulation, and you’re trying to explain something that is not easy to understand. Then at the same time you’re trying to make sure you’ve thought of all sides. My brain is usually fried at the end of the day, just from emailing [laughs].

Q: Have you seen a rise in the stress level of applicants?

BAILEY: The pandemic has brought a lot of anxiety, but also before that due to the political situation, we have seen a lot of worry from people uncertain about long term plans and their future, and we don’t always have the answers for that.

We can feel the anxiety coming across the phone or the email. One indication is the number of emails; they’ll send many, many emails. You can tell.

Sometimes, our job is just to listen and to provide the best information that we can. It’s trying to calm

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them as best you can but also being realistic at the same time, because you don’t want to tell them it’s going to be fine if it may not.

WILLIAMS: Sometimes you realize students are getting information from other sources, such as online chats, or other media and it is not always correct information. You can see that in the emails you receive. A lot of the time it comes from a place of anxiety (which is understandable) where students just want to be sure they have not missed anything.

We try to alleviate that anxiety the best we can. The past four years were tough enough, but then the pandemic on top of it really took it to a whole other level.

Q: What are your favorite and least favorite parts of your job?

WILLIAMS: My favorite part really is the people I work with. I’ve been working a long time, but I have not worked with a group of people as professional, kind and courteous, and who want to teach you.

They have no ego about you learning anything and wanting you to continue to grow in the field. It’s a team that really works well together.

For me the least favorite part has been the stress of the last few years, and then pandemic. I realize I’m stressed when I log off at the end of the day, and at nine o’clock at night I’m still thinking about a student or issue.

Letting go and not thinking so much has been the hardest part because you know students and their families are spending money to come to school, and it’s their life’s plan. While you don’t want to take all that on, you do in a way, because you understand that they have plans for themselves and they want to see them to fruition. I want to be there to help.

BAILEY: And I would say I find it really satisfying when I can give someone information to help them make a decision, and then they have the information, and they can choose whatever it is that’s best for them.

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I feel really good when I can see that light in their eyes, and they say, ‘Oh, I understand that this is going to affect what kind of job I take or my major.”

I just really like when I’m able to deliver the information and it helps them, because if they didn’t have it, who knows what they would do?

Because with immigration you can make decisions that can affect you for a long time without even realizing that it’s such a big thing. So when I can give them information that helps them and see that it’s been a positive impact in our life, I think that’s really great.

And on the flip side of that, as Zabrina said, sometimes the most challenging thing is just how high the stakes it can be.

I hate having to deliver the bad news that your long awaited plan, the thing you’ve planned for years, is not going to work out. I have to say, “I’m really sorry, but it’s not going to work out,” but I add, “And here are your other options.”

I’ve found myself in the shower thinking about a certain immigration situation, and that’s when it definitely gets too much, when you’re worried about the student or the scholar, and really hoping that you can help them with their situation, but knowing that you may not be able to.

Or also just the volume of work, just because it’s so much and really wanting to make sure that you’re not dropping something important just because it’s all high stakes with tuition or whether someone can work or attend school. It’s really a lot of heavy stuff, and hoping that we can give them the information they need and not mess things up.

We’re lucky, because at William & Mary we could definitely use more staff, but just compare us to University of Michigan or some other university where they handle thousands and thousands of international students. You probably can’t have as much personal advising just due to the numbers. So we’re lucky in that we can still have some of those face to face or zoom interactions with

people and talk with them and hold their hand sometimes.

Q: Thank you for talking about your jobs.

You both are usually reluctant to grab the limelight, but you do such essential work for the university.

BAILEY: We’ve talked about that sometimes. If you do the job well— maybe even a little too well—then people don’t notice.

WILLIAMS: Hey! I noticed! [laughs].

THE PEOPLE OF W&M

Deliang Wang returns to BNU

A

BY KATE HOVING

t 4:00pm, on Friday, January 15, 2021, approximately 50 members of the William & Mary and nearby communities gathered via Zoom to bid farewell to visiting scholar Deliang Wang.

In a time when a pandemic can exacerbate organizational silos, and Friday afternoons are probably the most difficult time to secure an audience, a wide array of faces from across the university—administration, faculty, staff, students and even some community members—gathered to thank Wang and say goodbye.

There was nothing perfunctory about this goodbye party. Genuinely engaged and warm, these were just some of the countless individuals whose lives and work Deliang had touched in his four years at William & Mary.

FIRST & FOREMOST A SCHOLAR

Wang received his Ph.D. in Linguistics from Beijing Normal University in 2006. As a professor in the School of Foreign Languages and Literature at BNU, he has published widely in the fields of text linguistics, cognitive linguistics, and second language teaching. He served as the vice chair of the English Department at BNU from 2011-2013.

“My research interests include discourse analysis, cognitive linguistics and foreign language teaching,” Wang explains. As a university student, his major was English language and literature, “But after a few years of study, I found myself interested in language itself:

how language works; why we say ‘it is this way not that way’; how language is acquired by children; in what way a second language can be learned quickly and efficiently; what is the cognitive mechanism of language use; and, further, how computers process language. All these are fascinating questions and topics I have pursued in my studies.”

Wang made ample use of the W&M Libraries. “W&M has a very good library, with rich resources, and the staff are very friendly and helpful. These research resources were a great help to my scholarly work. I really appreciate that.”

W&M CONFUCIUS INSTITUTE

In addition to his scholarly work, Wang served as the second Chinese director of the William & Mary Confucius Institute (WMCI), arriving in fall 2016. It was his first time as a director of a Confucius Institute, but not the first time he had visited William & Mary.

“I met Deliang for the first time in spring 2015 when he visited W&M with a group of professors of the School of Foreign Languages and Literatures,” recalls Ying Liu, Associate Director of WMCI. “The visit was brief, and neither of us knew at that time that we would work together at WMCI one day. I think that visit must have left him a very favorable impression of W&M.” Indeed it had, but it was also a big step to return as visiting scholar and director of WMCI. “I had never worked outside of China before, so this was a challenge and also an opportunity,” Wang explains.

“I had some struggles in the beginning, but by and by, I learned the William & Mary work protocols and the way

Above: Screen shot of about half of the going away party.

Courtesy Ying Liu.

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of doing things. People at W&M have been very friendly to me, and they are very professional. From them, I gained many communication skills. This was something I would not have had learned, if I hadn’t taken the position.”

The number and variety of Wang’s activities presented as many challenges as the cultural and linguistic differences.

Wang served as a liaison to the Confucius Institute (CI) Headquarters (Hanban) and to Beijing Normal University (BNU). Wang worked closely with Steve Hanson, Vice Provost for International Affairs and Director of the Reves Center, to communicate with Hanban and BNU. Wang co-organized cultural and scholarly activities, such as Confucius Institute Day, festival celebrations, cultural performances, China Night, World Taiji and Qigong Day, and numerous lectures. Wang and Liu also regularly provided translation and cultural consultation services to W&M and to the local community.

Wang approached all of his tasks with the same seriousness, care and patient good humor–whether as liaison between W&M and BNU leadership or in helping the visiting professors and interns get settled and acclimated to Williamsburg, by arranging everything from airport pickups or renting an apartment to buying a car.

Liu also credits Wang with launching three new programs: • W&M Summer Camp (2017): With Deliang as the chaperone, 17 W&M and Christopher Newport University (CNU) students attended cultural and language workshops, interacted with BNU students, and then visited various cultural and historical sites in Beijing and Zhuhai during their two-week stay in China; • BNU Winter Program (2019 & 2020): A special program for W&M students during winter term, requiring no language background, shorter time than the summer program and at lower costs, to encourage participation by a wider group of students; and • Faculty delegation visit to China (2019): He designed the itinerary for ten faculty members representing various departments at W&M. Wang also led the delegation to Beijing and Zhuhai, visiting Beijing Normal University and other places of interest.

LEADING A FACULTY DELEGATION TO CHINA

The 2019 delegation was not the first time Wang had introduced China to William & Mary colleagues. In 2017 Wang traveled to China with Jeremy Martin, chief of staff to W&M president Katherine Rowe, and Professor and Dean for Educational Policy, John Donahue. “It was immediately clear he was an ideal ambassador to ‘promote the study of Chinese language and culture,’” Martin recalls. “Deliang’s joyful enthusiasm for introducing

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John and me to his country was delightful. I’m not sure how many miles we walked together–from the Imperial City, to the hutongs, to the top of the Great Wall (there was a taxi in there somewhere)–we engaged one another as friends. That collaborative engagement and shared learning will be my enduring memory.”

Successfully organizing and managing the W&M faculty delegation is especially satisfying for Wang. “All ten professors who traveled to China told me the experience was unforgettable.” One of those ten, Professor AaronAndrew Bruhl, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development and Rita Anne Rollins Professor of Law, enthusiastically concurs: “The trip to China was a wonderful experience. Deliang was an outstanding leader and guide during the two-week visit. We saw many impressive cultural and historical sights, of course, but I will never forget the trip to the karaoke bar in Zhuhai where he treated us to a rendition of ‘Wo de pengyou’ (‘My Friend’).”

NEW ROLE AT BNU

Wang is now back at BNU, recently promoted to full professor of linguistics in the School of Foreign Languages and Literature. He teaches cognitive linguistics and academic English writing. “My next step is simple– focusing on teaching my students well and continuing my research in linguistics.”

Wang is also maintaining a collaboration with William & Mary. He emailed Liu in late February that the BNU School of Continuing Education organized a Lantern Festival for W&M and Tufts students, who had checked in for the spring semester. “I was honored to be invited to attend this event and had an opportunity to meet five W&M students. I talked to them and shared my experience at W&M, and we had a good time together.”

It is clear the connection between W&M and Wang will continue through scholarly and institutional collaborations and through a shared commitment to promoting the study of Chinese language and culture and furthering the mutual understanding between China and the U.S. “Deliang has left a lasting legacy here at William & Mary,” said Steve Hanson. “Through his patience, kindness, and intellectual engagement, he has truly brought W&M and BNU even closer together.”

But the connection will also continue because of Wang’s unique qualities that inspired friendship and respect among all he met in Williamsburg.

As Bruhl explains perfectly: “Deliang is a rare character who blends together extreme diligence and extreme joy.”

That is why William & Mary will miss Deliang Wang, and why William & Mary will always happily welcome him back. .

THE PEOPLE OF W&M

“A rare character who blends together extreme diligence and extreme joy.”

Photos clockwise from top: 2019 W&M Faculty Delegation to China; Fishing at Lake Matoaka; Calligraphy demo for W&M students; With (L-R) Ying Liu, John Donahue and Jeremy Martin at Tiananmen Square; Group photo of W&M summer camp at BNU; At International Community Day at W&M Basketball with Carrie Lynn Cooper, Dean of University Libraries, and Jennifer Stevenson, Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, W&M Law School. Courtesy of Ying Liu.

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Alumnus Abroad A Q&A WITH DR. RALF HANNAPPEL M.S. ‘86

Ralf Hannappel is Vehicle Programme Director, Electric Vehicles, at Jaguar Land Rover in England.

Where were you born? What do you consider your hometown?

I was born in a town called Duisburg in Germany. My parents moved though when I was 6 years old to the medieval city of Bamberg in Bavaria. Since I spent most of my youth there, this is really my hometown.

Why did you choose to attend William & Mary?

From the time I was a child, I had always wanted to study abroad, preferably in the U.S. William & Mary offered physics and was also connected back in the 1980’s to the German-American Women’s club. That club supports German-American friendship and is also located in Bamberg. As my family was a member of the club, I applied for a scholarship to participate in an exchange program between the U.S. and Germany to study physics. When I was accepted, they selected me for William & Mary.

Did you have a favorite course while you were at W&M? My favourite course was Numerical Mathematics. I always liked mathematics, and interestingly enough, I could use lots of what I learned later during my Ph.D. Did you focus on a specific area within physics? Any particular reason(s) you chose it?

I focused on quantum mechanics, a part of theoretical physics, because I

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loved the complexity of the associated mathematics.

What career path(s) have you pursued?

I decided to pursue a role where I could apply my Ph.D. in numerical simulations of non-linear turbulent flows in the industry. I had joined General Motors in Europe and started off in Engineering, tasked to do flow simulations around vehicles, replacing expensive experiments in wind tunnels by means of computer simulations. Later on, I decided to follow a more managerial career path and also to work in the electrified vehicle space, where I am now.

For some the goal of an advanced degree in sciences is a career in academia. But in your career, your aptitude in physics has led not only to innovations in technology and manufacturing, but also to a leadership role in business. Was that something you knew you wanted to do from the start, or did you discover your wide-ranging skills and interests along the way in your jobs?

My decision to leave the academic world was driven by my desire for speed. I actually was very interested in research, but I always thought that I needed a faster workplace, one where I could turn around things faster and bring something innovative to life. I wanted to be part of creating something that people on the street will use and see. I found that in the competitive world of the automotive industry.

After a certain time there, I noticed that as an expert in your field, you need to decide sooner or later whether you

want to continue to be an expert in your field or decide to become a more managerial leader. I decided for the latter and another new world of learning began to open—that of business, financials, marketing and many other areas involved in the development and marketing of cars. Each world was extremely challenging to learn and great to live in.

You have been a leader in electric car technology. For years, the U.S. auto industry resisted the shift. What do you think has led to the change in enthusiasm for industry and for consumers?

A very interesting question, indeed.

The advent of electrification has, painstakingly enough, been mainly driven by legislation that enforced certain CO2 targets onto the automotive industry, rather than by consumer requirements. One can see that the number of vehicles even in the biggest markets in the world for electric vehicles—China and the U.S.—is small compared to those of combustion engines.

Only in Norway, which is #3 worldwide with regard to total number of electric vehicles, the percentage of electrically propelled vehicles (Hybrids and Battery EV’s) sold was 70% in 2020. The government decided to become green and supported electrification of vehicles with big incentives. In addition, Norway’s electrification is about 98%— last time I read it—and produced by water power plants, which makes Norway independent from outside electricity resources.

THE PEOPLE OF W&M

Do you think the approach and reception are different in Europe and other parts of the world because of the US “car culture” or is it perhaps a difference in the way innovation and climate change are approached?

I do not perceive the perception and approach to electrification to be very different between the industrialized countries. The issues with electrification of transportation are very similar and are similarly perceived. What is different is the legislation. So there are, for instance, CO2 targets in Europe that stricter than in the US. But in the U.S., you have the ZEV (‘ZEV= Zero Emission Vehicle’) states that prescribe a strict number of cars with zero CO2 emission to be sold by manufacturers on top of the CO2 legislation. So legislation varies—also globally.

The biggest issue to overcome on the consumer side to buy EV’s are beyond the higher price driven by the high battery costs, the limited driving ranges and long charging times when one wants to go long distance. And that is an issue for Europeans as well as for Americans.

Do you have any current projects/ passions you would like to tell us about?

In my current role I am responsible for the planning, development and bringing to market of a completely new future electric vehicle for the Range Rover brand working in England. This is a very exciting endeavour, as the complexity and innovative character of working in a big team on such a new product and putting it out on the road is very rewarding.

Do you have a favorite memory or memories of your time at W&M? The nicest memory I have was actually the student life (sorry, Physics Department). I enjoyed the internationality as well as making many new American and international friends.

And guess what? I visited one of my former friends and his whole family in California a couple of years ago.

He got his Ph.D. back at W&M while I was going for my master’s degree.

He had just started to learn to drive during his time at William & Mary, and I still remember one night he took me to an evening event somewhere on the campus with his car. Man, was I scared about his driving style, but thank God we survived ;-). He is such a nice person, and we are still in touch.

How do you think your experience at W&M has affected your life and decisions you have made?

Being able to get my master’s degree in physics was a very important achievement for my future progression. To have two degrees from two different countries always helped my career, but besides the academic aspect, also having lived in another country and culture on my own definitely made it easier for me to accept other ways of thinking and living a lot more. At the moment I am living in England for instance, which is yet another great lifetime experience.

Do you have any advice for current students?

Go for your passion, the rest will follow. You will spend most of the day with work later in life and you have to

live with what you do for most of the day. So go for what you like most.

Is there any advice you wish you had received?

I was lucky to always have good friends that I could discuss all my ideas with, so I think I never missed an opportunity, for which I am really thankful.

Do you think international experience as a student is helpful in future life and career?

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to get to know other cultures and grasp every international experience you can get.

Anything else you would like to add?

Just one thing that I really learned that I would like to share. Coming to a different culture one always compares one’s own habits and culture with the new one. It is so hard not to do. Whether it is the way that in university public bathrooms one can see the feet of people, or houses have a different insulation standard, or that people seem to be a lot nicer abroad…lots of tiny things.

However, I learned that there is no right or wrong; there is no “this is better at home” or “this is better here.”

There only is, “This is different and new to me.” And this living in a different way with different values makes living so exciting. This was for me the most important lesson that I learned at William & Mary.

I am really grateful for having the opportunity to spend a year in the U.S., and especially in such an incredibly nice environment like William & Mary.

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