Jennifer Fish Awarded Provost’s Award for Leadership in International Education
By: Elizabeth Proffitt
Women's Studies Professor and Chair, Jennifer Fish, was awarded with the Provost's Award for Leadership in International Education for 2018 for her work, research and passion in ODU's Women's Studies Department.
This award recognizes faculty who have provided outstanding leadership Old Dominion University's international dimension in any department or college at the university.
Fish, whose background is in sociology, primarily focuses on researching the implications of women's labor and migration in informal economies, has conducted community based research with partner organizations in places all over the world including, Nepal, South Africa, Rwanda, Haiti and Senegal to name a few.
Fish was recommended for the award by the University's Outstanding Faculty Awards Committee and she is very grateful for the honor.
"The award captures my deepest intent as an educator and peace activist," Fish said.
"I feel very connected with this award because captures what I'm trying to do. I really believe that the university space is a transformative place for global connection," Fish said.
The award and her work as a whole encompasses and extends Fish's personal philosophy that she adopted when she was living and working in South Africa. There is a South African word "Ubuntu," meaning "I am who I am because of who we all are."
Fish believes that we live in a global community even when we are only living in our own respective communities. We ultimately need to care for one another, which is what makes a strong international educational program so vital, especially in a university setting.
"The most fulfilling part of my position is being able to see students encounter a moment of awakening, like when a Syrian refugee family who had just fled their home country invited us in for tea. I do believe that humanity is inclined toward peace and moments like that make me continue my work," Fish said.
Fish will be recognized at the University's annual Faculty Awards and Retirement Dinner May 1, 2018.