Educational Psychology Professors Kevin Cokley and Ricardo Ainslie, Special Education Assistant Professor Soyoung Park, and Kinesiology and Health Education junior Vida Nwadiei are part of three different projects awarded the President’s Award for Global Learning for the Africa, East Asia, and Latin America regions.
(third from left),and the rest of the winning
Africa region team.
Cokley’s project, The Color Complex, was selected for the Africa region. The project focuses on identifying and mitigating the negative effects of colorism in Ghana. Students, including Nwadiei, will investigate how businesses can stop the promotion of conventional “fair and lovely” beauty standards to young women of color. The team will conduct a qualitative study about the perceptions of skin bleaching and use their findings to create a campaign that educates people on the dangers of the practice.
Ainslie’s project, Health and Housing: A Comprehensive Needs Assessment of Low-Income Communities in Puebla, Mexico, is one of two finalists in the Latin America region. Together, the team created a comprehensive assessment of health needs, determinants, and resources in underserved areas of the region. The project focused on aspects of the built environment including housing, water, and air.
Park’s project, A New State of Mind: Mental Health in South Korea, was selected for the East Asia region. Park serves as the qualitative research faculty mentor for the team which will prototype and test a mobile app designed to shift public mindsets on mental health and suicide in South Korea.
A total of seven interdisciplinary teams of students and faculty were selected for the award. Each team received up to $25,000 and fully funded travel to pursue their projects. Teams will be traveling to their regions to conduct their research during summer 2019.
Kevin Cokley is the Oscar and Anne Mauzy Regents Professor for Educational Research and Development. Ricardo Ainslie is the M.K. Hage Centennial Professor in Education.
