Research Opportunity in Mongolia
Dr. David Sattler (WWU Psychology), sharing photographs from his previous trip with the same people in the images they are holding
Dr. Holly Diaz (WWU Karen W. Morse Institute for Leadership) photo of Kharkhorin Ger Camp
Dr. Cynthia Horne (WWU Political Science) photo of Mongolian soldiers in full regalia for the Naadam parade
Eligibility: current Western faculty for whom research is a required component of professional development.
Time Frame: April – October is the optimal time frame for these projects.
Number of projects funded annually: To be determined based on the number of applicants and requested amounts.
Amount of funding: Up to $10,000. Both new proposals and continuing projects will be considered. Projects that include a graduate or undergraduate research assistant may apply for additional funding for student travel, up to $4,000. Additional funding may also be available from the American Center for Mongolian Studies’ Field Fellowships.
Deadline: April 1, 2021
Past Awardees
In 2021, Sondra Cuban, Director of Adult and Higher Education, received funding from IGE as well as from the American Center for Mongolian Studies and Henry Luce Foundation to support two research projects in Mongolia. The first project explores factors that help explain the contemporary migration of Mongolian women from their home in the countryside to the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. The other study looks at reasons why Mongolian women have moved to South Korea, the strategies employed, and the contributions and sacrifices they have made in that migration process.
David Sattler, professor of Psychology at Western, received the award in 2020 to continue his work on climate change and mental health in Mongolia, working with colleagues at the National University of Mongolia.
Cynthia Horne, a professor in the Political Science department at Western, received the award in 2019. Her research focused on the nexus of globalization and women’s empowerment in Mongolia.
David Sattler, professor of Psychology at Western, received the award in 2018 to research climate change and mental health in Mongolia, working with colleagues at the National University of Mongolia.
In 2017 Holly Diaz, an instructor in Leadership Studies, conducted research on women in leadership in Mongolia with support from the same grant.
Her work expanded on the data collected in 2016 by Karen Stout, Diaz and students who were participating in a Global Learning program to Mongolia to learn more about women in leadership in that country. Their combined research resulted in presentations at two conferences.
Photo by Elbegsaikhan Tsogtbayar