Fung Global Fellows Program Celebrates 10th Anniversary

In May, the Fung Global Fellows community gathered on campus to mark the program's 10th anniversary, to recognize achievements and celebrate with academic, arts and social events. Marquee events included remarks by Deborah Yashar, Donald E. Stokes Professor of Public and International Affairs, and by Mark Beissinger, Henry W. Putnam Professor of Politics, as well as interdisciplinary panels on the research topics pertinent to the fellows' interests. Participants were also treated to a performance of "Feuillets d'Hypnos," a collaborative translation project between Sandra Bermann, Cotsen Professor in the Humanities and 2020-21 Fung Global Fellows director, and 2020-21 Fung fellows Fabrice Langrognet and Jernej Habjan, and Princeton undergraduates. 

From left, 2022-23 fellow Nithya Joseph, program manager Nicole Bergman, and 2022-23 fellow Veda Vaidyanathan. Celebrants enjoyed an American-style BBQ dinner and live bluegrass music to close out the festivities.

The Fung Program, administered by PIIRS, has brought together exceptional international research scholars from all disciplines around a common topic. It is funded by a portion of a $10 million gift from Princeton 1970 alumnus William Fung of Hong Kong and is designed to substantially increase the University's engagement with scholars around the world and to inspire ideas that transcend borders. "There are few resources for up-and-coming academics or junior faculty to come to Princeton and meet each other, participate in the larger Princeton community and benefit in their areas of research," said Fung, who was unable to attend, in recorded remarks. "This is a very noble cause."

Kristin Surak, center, a 2018-19 fellow who is currently an associate professor of political sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, speaks on the topic of “International Society and Interdependence.”

Laavanya Kathiravelu was a 2015-16 Fung fellow and is now an associate professor in the School of Social Sciences at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. "The fellowship provided the impetus to think of my work at the intersections of migration and ethnic studies," she said, reflecting on her time at Princeton. "It was useful to explore a new research area and to be given the time and space to think and talk to peers. Those types of opportunities are rare when in a tenure-track trajectory." She thought it was "fantastic to see some of my cohort, some of whom I had not seen for many years," she added. "I enjoyed hearing about their research and I made connections that I hope to follow up on."

Deborah Yashar, center, served as the director of the Fung Global Fellows Program in 2015-16 and is the current director of PIIRS. In her welcome, she stressed that it has never been more important to consider global engagement and scholarship, to tackle global challenges and to celebrate community.