Pérez MALAS / Eke NEH grant / Chinquee literacy award / Steffel MCTE award

Pérez to head Midwest organization

CMU associate professor of political science Orlando Pérez has been elected president of the Midwest Association of Latin American Studies, an organization that fosters an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to education and research on Latin America.

Throughout his one-year term as president, Pérez will provide leadership for the organization by planning the next annual meeting, heading the group’s advisory council, working to update and improve the organization’s Web page, and maintaining the organization’s finances.

“Being elected president is an honor and a way for me to give back to the profession,” said Pérez.

“My primary goals are to continue the growth of the organization, particularly by incorporating more students; modernizing the communications to use more e-mail and online platforms; improving the Web page; and working with the vice president to hold a successful annual meeting next fall.”

The Midwest Association of Latin American Studies, the oldest regional Latin American studies association in the U.S., organizes national and international annual conferences that address the myriad of themes reflected in the diverse interests of the membership. It includes the participation of social and natural scientists, artists, and humanists from all disciplines at its meetings and in its publications.

The organization also grants several awards each year to recognize outstanding student and faculty research papers presented at the annual conference.

Pérez specializes in Latin American politics, U.S.-Latin American relations, civil-military relations, and the politics of developing nations.

He is editor of Post-Invasion Panama: The Challenges of Democratization in the New World Order. His publications focus on the processes of democratization in Central America, the impact of U.S. intervention in Panama, and political economy and drug trafficking in Latin America.

Photo caption: Orlando Pérez (left) is the new president of the Midwest Association of Latin American Studies.

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Eke awarded NEH grant to teach African literature

English professor Maureen N. Eke will once again teach high school teachers from across the country about the creative works of African literature thanks to a $119,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Eke has received the award four times and will use the grant to host a three-week seminar focused on African literature for a select group of high school teachers.

“This grant is a great accomplishment for CMU; it gives us national presence,” said Eke. “It also is a great recruiting tool as teachers come from across the country to spend time at CMU, and several of them have recommended CMU to their students.”

The July seminar, “Writing Africa: Comparative African and Western Palavers and Perspectives,” will explore the various ways African, American and British authors write about Africa. Fifteen high school teachers from various disciplines will be selected to attend, and the grant will cover their travel, accommodations, meals and books.

The seminar will focus on the works of three African writers: Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka and Ama Ata Aidoo in relation to the African narratives of Polish and British writer Joseph Conrad and American writer Barbara Kingsolver. The seminar also will include visits to the Detroit Institute of Art and the African-American museum also in Detroit.

“Our main goal is to work with teachers to help them explore various ways in which they can use literature to teach about Africa in their classes,” Eke said. “We hope that it will enrich their understanding and approaches to teaching about Africa and enhance their students’ understanding of the cultures and history of the continent.”

More information on the “Writing Africa” seminar can be found at www.chsbs.cmich.edu/writing_africa.

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Chinquee receives literacy award

For 30 years, the Pushcart Prize has published hundreds of distinguished storytellers, poets, and essayists. CMU English professor Kim Chinquee is honored to have her work featured in the 2007 release.

Chinquee has been nominated in the Pushcart series five years in a row. This year her story “Formation,” which was published in Noon magazine, was nominated twice and received the Pushcart Prize. The short story is about a group of women in the United States Air Force.

“I was in the Air Force for eight years, and this story draws upon some of those experiences,” Chinquee said.

The “Pushcart Prize -- Best of the Small Presses,” includes the year’s best short stories, poems and essays originally published by small presses and literary magazines.

More than 100 of Chinquee’s short stories have been published in magazines and journals. She continues to work on two novels, Tell Me a Lie and Sink Tester.

“Winning this prize brings me closer to my goals,” Chinquee said.

Chinquee graduated from the University of Illinois with a master’s degree in creative writing. To read some of her stories, visit www.kimchinquee.blogspot.com.

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Steffel receives MCTE teaching award

English professor Susan Steffel was honored at the Michigan Council of Teachers of English annual fall conference in October by receiving the 2006 Charles Carpenter Fries Award for teaching and professional excellence.

The award recognizes teachers of English language arts who are excellent teachers, have long and faithful service to the profession and have demonstrated distinguished leadership in their profession at local, state and national levels. 

“It is especially meaningful to receive this award from my peers,” said Steffel. “I credit the MCTE, more than any other organization, with my remaining in the profession. Over the course of 30 years, MCTE has provided me with the opportunities, knowledge, and support it takes to meet the challenges of the profession and to grow individually.”

Steffel began her teaching career at Maple Valley High School in Vermontville, Mich., as a high school and middle school English teacher. After 18 years at Maple Valley she joined the faculty of CMU in 1991.

She served on the MCTE Executive Committee from 1996 to 2005, including a term as president in 2003-2004. She has been honored numerous times at CMU, receiving the Excellence in Teaching Award twice and the inaugural CHSBS Teaching Excellence Award in 2005.

The Fries award, first given in 1967, memorializes Fries, a University of Michigan Professor and early president of MCTE.

Photo caption: Susan Steffel (right) receives the 2006 Charles Carpenter Fries Award for teaching and professional excellence.

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