By UC Davis Dateline

"Calling her an “institutional cornerstone,” the Middle East Studies Association of North America recently presented its annual Jere L. Bacharach Service Award to Distinguished Professor Suad Joseph. The award recognizes outstanding service to the association and the profession, and is named after the University of Washington historian who received the honor in 2004.

Joseph has appointments in the departments of Anthropology, and Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, and is the founding director of the Middle East/South Asia Studies Program.

She is a past president and served on numerous committees of the Middle East Studies Association of North America, an organization in which she has been involved since graduate school.

“She has routinely led and developed many major professional and academic initiatives, with impressive success in fundraising for their long-term sustainability,” the association said in a write-up on her award. “In all her endeavors, she has included, encouraged and empowered women scholars from North America and across the Middle East.”

Joseph is the founder of the Association for Middle East Women’s Studies and co-founder of the Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies. She is the founding editor of the Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures, six volumes examining Muslim women globally and non-Muslim women in Muslim-majority societies.

“It is an honor to recognize Suad Joseph as a dedicated and generous colleague who has built connections and institutions both in the US and in the region, promoting some of the best scholarly and educational networks across the globe in our field,” the association stated.

...

U21, formally known as Universitas 21, a network of research universities, recently announced Professor Diana Farmer, a pediatric and fetal surgeon, as the recipient of a 2020 U21 Award for advancing global perspectives in her field.

“Collaborating across disciplines and borders has become increasingly important, and Dr. Farmer’s pioneering leadership, both at UC Davis and around the world, has been instrumental in advancing global opportunities in medical education,” said Joanna Regulska, vice provost and associate chancellor of Global Affairs at UC Davis. “At home and abroad, her commitment, advocacy and innovation are nothing short of inspiring.”

Regulska presented Farmer’s nomination for the U21 Award. The awards are presented annually in recognition of individual or team efforts at U21 universities.

Farmer is chair of the Department of Surgery and surgeon-in-chief of UC Davis Children’s Hospital. She first recognized the importance of a global view in surgery as a medical student, when she accepted an opportunity to study in Asia.

As a surgeon, she has worked continuously to correct inequities that exist globally in health care. Her work has focused on access to surgical treatment, particularly for children. As a mentor and educator, she has created unique opportunities for surgical students to learn abroad and address global health challenges."

Read the full story at UC Davis News.