Past Awardees

Holly Diaz, an instructor in Leadership Studies, conducted research on women in leadership in Mongolia. Her work expanded on data collected with Karen Stout and students who participated in a Global Learning Program to Mongolia in 2016. These several visits informed Dr. Diaz's 2019 dissertation on the persistence of Mongolian women leaders. Dr. Stout's and Diaz's collaboration has resulted in conference presentations at the International Leadership Association Annual Meeting (2016, 2017) and the XVI Annual Mongolian Studies Conference (2024).

Sondra Cuban, Director of Adult and Higher Education, has received funding from GEO as well as from the American Center for Mongolian Studies (ACMS) and Henry Luce Foundation to support several research projects in Mongolia.  Her work explores contemporary migration and reverse migration patterns of Mongolian women between the countryside and capital city of Ulaanbaatar as well as reasons why Mongolian women have moved to South Korea, the strategies they employed, and the contributions and sacrifices they have made in that migration process.  She presented her research at the XVI Annual Mongolian Studies Conference and The American University of Paris, and her work appears on her website. She has a forthcoming article in Mobility Humanities (July 2025), and her book The Gendered Migrations of Mongolian Women published by ACL Press in its Economic Exposures in Asia series is due out in 2026.  Dr. Cuban was elected to the ACMS Board of Directors in 2024.

Diana Gruman, professor of Psychology (in collaboration with David Sattler and several colleagues at National University of Mongolia), engaged in a project to assess the climate for students in Mongolian schools. This research resulted in "School Climate in Mongolia: Translation and Validation of the What’s Happening in This School," published in Learning Environments Research in 2022. 

Cynthia Horne, a professor in the Political Science department research on the nexus of globalization and women’s empowerment in Mongolia has led to a publication in Europe-Asia Studies, a forthcoming book chapter, as well as a presentation for the American Center for Mongolian Studies Invited Speaker Series in Ulaanbaatar.

Derek Moscato, professor of Journalism, explores the implications of Mongolian public diplomacy through national sport, specifically major sporting events such as Naddam.  He is interested in ways that Mongolia showcases its excellence in sports such as archery, horse racing, and wrestling not only to create national identity and soft power but also opportunities for cultural, economic, and political dialogue across Northeast Asia and beyond.

David Sattler, Professor of Psychology work focuses on environmental threats to nomadic herders, school climate, mental health issues, and the social and psychological impacts of COVID-19 vaccination.  His research, in collaboration with colleagues at National University of Mongolia, appears in Journal of Environmental Psychology, Learning Environments Research, and International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.