{"id":536,"date":"2018-10-19T13:51:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T17:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/interpretationandmethod.com\/?p=536"},"modified":"2018-10-19T13:51:00","modified_gmt":"2018-10-19T17:51:00","slug":"in-lee-ann-fujiis-memory-a-fund-to-support-travel-to-apsa-meetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/interpretationandmethod\/2018\/10\/19\/in-lee-ann-fujiis-memory-a-fund-to-support-travel-to-apsa-meetings\/","title":{"rendered":"In Lee Ann Fujii’s memory: a fund to support junior scholars"},"content":{"rendered":"

To honor the memory of Lee Ann Fujii, a respected scholar of comparative politics and qualitative methods, friends and colleagues of Lee Ann\u2019s are raising funds in order to rename the American Political Science Association\u2019s Minority Fellows Program (MFP) annual travel grants program in her memory<\/span>. After discussing Lee Ann\u2019s incredible work as a mentor and her commitment to diversifying the discipline of political science, her colleagues decided that taking steps to foster the careers of junior scholars from diverse backgrounds would be one of the best means by which to honor Lee Ann\u2019s legacy.\u00a0As Lee Ann\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0before she passed away, the barriers to a more diverse discipline are numerous. For many students and junior scholars, financial barriers can be a particular impediment to gaining a foothold in the discipline.<\/p>\n

The MFP travel award program is one of the association\u2019s most important means for fostering early career opportunities for scholars from diverse backgrounds. The MFP supports individuals from underrepresented groups applying to doctoral programs in political science or in the early stages of their doctoral education. Currently, the travel grant program provides small grants to approximately 15 MFP Fellows to help them attend the APSA Annual Meeting \u2013 a key professionalization activity. The goal is to raise $35,000 in order to expand the program\u2019s granting capacity for five years and rename it in Lee Ann\u2019s honor for the duration of that period.\u00a0Beginning with the 2019 Annual Meeting, APSA will award the Lee Ann Fujii MFP Travel Grant<\/span> as a tribute to Dr. Fujii\u2019s commitment to supporting the next generation of scholars and her contributions to the discipline.<\/p>\n

In thinking about Lee Ann\u2019s life work, her colleagues decided that working to expand access and opportunity for a new generation of scholars would be a particularly fitting way to honor her memory because, as her former student Lahoma Thomas has\u00a0written<\/a>, building a diversified discipline was a key component of Lee Ann\u2019s mentorship. As Ms. Thomas said, \u201cLee Ann emphasized the importance of building community among like-minded scholars. She\u00a0recognized that attending conferences was an important space for young racialized scholars to network and meet others\u00a0with similar methodological practices and epistemological sensibilities. As a strategy to reduce the barriers\u00a0inhibiting the participation of racialized doctoral students at APSA, this fund honours Lee Ann\u2019s commitment to diversifying the discipline.\u201d Another student of Lee Ann\u2019s, Jessica Soedirgo, concurs: \u201cLee Ann was both a mentor and a role model. She was a fierce advocate, an exceptional listener, and generous with her time and comments. She helped me find my scholarly voice and modeled through her own work how to stay true to it.\u00a0I am so deeply grateful to Lee Ann for believing in me and investing in me as a person and as a scholar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Detailed information about the program can be found here: www.apsanet.org\/mfp\/travelgrant<\/a>. Gifts of any amount in the form of cash, appreciated stock, or direct transfers from retirement accounts are accepted from both APSA members and non-members alike.<\/p>\n

How to Give:<\/strong><\/p>\n