Nineteen SMU Honors students awarded Richter Research Fellowships

Nineteen SMU Honors students have been awarded Richter Research Fellowships through the University Honors Program to conduct independent research around the globe this summer. The undergraduates’ research topics range from child obesity in Australia to nonprofits in the Republic of Zambia. 

For the second year, grants also have been awarded to Honors students for independent study at SMU-in-Taos.

“The Richter fellowships represent an important opportunity for Honors students to pursue topics that interest them – inside or outside their primary majors,” says David Doyle, director of the University Honors Program and assistant dean of Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences. “Upon returning from one to three months of focused research, our Richter University Honors Scholars write and submit scholarly articles to academic journals and magazines.”

SMU is one of only 12 universities that offer the competitive fellowships, which are supported by the Paul K. and Evalyn E. Cook Richter Memorial Funds.

This year’s winners:

Ashley Bruckbauer of Round Rock, Tex., a senior majoring in art history and advertising, will study the influence of foreign teachers in Nanjing, China.

Andrew Coit of Houston, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering and minoring in Spanish and musi, and Erica Ritz of Minneapolis, a sophomore majoring in international studies and art history with a minor in Italian, will travel to London and Greece to examine the controversy surrounding the ownership of cultural artifacts such as the Elgin Marbles.

Vivian Costandy of Plano, Tex., a junior majoring in international studies and English with a minor in Spanish, will travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to investigate the fallout of the “dirty war” resulting from the 1976 military coup.

William Elder of Dallas, a junior majoring in history and German with minors in classical studies and Latin, will investigate early military history in Osnabruck, Germany, and Cambridge, England.

P.J. Gardner of Omaha, Neb., a junior majoring in political science, will remain in Dallas to continue researching and writing his senior thesis on expansionism and American politics.

Steve Hader of Grafton, Wis., a senior majoring in finance, Spanish and Latin American studies, will investigate the e-commerce environment in Madrid, Spain.             

Victoria Kean of Pittsburgh, Pa., a junior majoring in marketing with minors in German and Chinese, will study the effects of the Holocaust on the Jewish people in the German state of Thuringia.

Kate Kirk of Van Alstyne, Tex., a junior majoring in finance and economics with a minor in international studies, will analyze nonprofit organizations in the Republic of Zambia in Africa to determine their effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability.                  

Drake Konow of Baton Rouge, La., a sophomore majoring in foreign languages and religious studies with a minor in human rights, will explore religion and the impact of monastic life on life and culture in the south of France.

Patrick Littlefield of Sherman, Tex., a junior majoring in religious studies and psychology, will study the Emerging Church movement in London. The worldwide movement seeks to adapt Christianity to a postmodern world.

Preston Kyle Osborn of Dallas, a sophomore majoring in political science and accounting, will explore the nature and volume of crime in early modern England through the SMU-in-Oxford program.          

Rebecca Quinn of Dallas, a junior majoring in Spanish, French and art history, will travel to Barcelona, Spain, to examine the relationship between nationalized Catholicism and church architecture from the 1940s to 1960s during Francisco Franco’s regime.

Astrud Villareal of Dallas, a junior majoring in biology with minors in chemistry and international studies, will study the child obesity epidemic and its human rights implications in Australia.

In addition, five Honors students received Taos Richter fellowships to pursue research in June at SMU’s New Mexico campus. They are:

• Alexandra Davis, a sophomore majoring in art history.
• Kyle Hobratschk, a junior majoring in art and creative advertising.
• Jacqueline Wilcher, a sophomore majoring in business.
• Caroline French, a senior majoring in dance and business.
• Thomas (Drew) Washington, a senior majoring in economics.

Learn more at smu.edu/honors.

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