The Ann Dunham Soetoro Endowment is a tribute to an independent thinker who used Applied Anthropology to analyze situations and prevailing assumptions to develop creative and effective solutions. It is a living legacy to a compassionate human being who lived and worked among the people she was studying, seeking to understand their culture and values in a way that allowed her to bring about lasting change.
With a faculty position housed in the Anthropology Department at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and fellowships administered by the East-West Center, the Ann Dunham Soetoro Endowment will support action-oriented research and teaching that seek to influence the next generation of committed scholars working in Asia and the Pacific.
Ann Dunham Soetoro’s dedication to education for herself and her children, and to providing educational tools to communities in Indonesia, reflect her belief that knowledge builds the foundation by which people can help themselves and others.
Her commitment to partnering with others to create sustainable change is evident throughout her life’s work and studies. While at the Ford Foundation in Indonesia, Ann worked with non-governmental organizations to support programs addressing women and poverty; later she established extensive microcredit programs throughout Indonesia and Pakistan. Ann personally sponsored dozens of students in Indonesia so they could work with her to learn about microcredit, research and crafts.
| THE ANN DUNHAM SOETORO ENDOWMENT |
The endowment will honor Ann Dunham Soetoro and the work this fund will perpetuate. It is a natural extension of her studies at UH Mānoa as an East-West Center scholarship student, as well as her life as a researcher, faculty member and grant maker.
The Ann Dunham Soetoro Endowment is a collaborative effort between UH Mānoa and the East-West Center. As partners these two institutions together represent the highest concentration of Asia-Pacific specialists in the United States, making this the optimal location for the Endowment.
The Ann Dunham Soetoro Endowed Chair in Anthropology
The endowed faculty chair will support the work of faculty whose research and teaching focuses on Southeast Asia. The endowment will support the recruitment of an outstanding anthropologist with a demonstrated commitment to research that engages communities in action-oriented work capable of addressing issues of local concern and global significance.
The endowed chair will strengthen and expand that tradition of scholarship by supporting an established scholar of Southeast Asia to build a curriculum and research program that attracts students from throughout the region, as well as work with others to create new models for collaborative action relevant to contemporary issues.
The Endowment will make it possible for the Chair to turn knowledge and commitment into research and results just as Ann did by addressing cultural, economic and social realities in rural and urban Indonesia.
Ann Dunham Soetoro Graduate Fellowships
Creating opportunities for graduate students to follow Ann’s footsteps by seeking innovative solutions.
Fellowships will be granted in cooperation with the East-West Center to students who represent Ann’s values and interests in nurturing understanding, engaging in community service, and promoting empathy to encourage global cooperation. Supported by endowment funds, these fellowships will be awarded to students for generations to come.
Fellowships will be awarded to students focusing on:
* Anthropology or other social sciences, with an emphasis on action-oriented and collaborative work addressing contemporary issues of pressing concern in local communities and the region as a whole.
* Development studies with particular emphasis on communities in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, focusing on connections between economic change and the social and cultural factors that give meaning and value to people’s lives.
* Women’s studies addressing the role of women in social and economic change. There will be a preference for candidates from the U.S. or Indonesia, with secondary preference from other Southeast Asian countries.
Through the recipients and their work, Ann’s values and appreciation of an intercultural and international education will be perpetuated, and help us better understand and heal our world.
| CONTRIBUTE TO THE ANN DUNHAM SOETORO ENDOWMENT |
We invite you to join us as we create new opportunities for intercultural and international education to nurture future generations of critical thinkers who partner with communities to bring lasting positive change.
How you can give:
You can make a gift online.
Mail your contribution:
ATTN: Ann Dunham Soetoro Endowment Fund
UH Foundation
P.O. Box 11270
Honolulu, HI 96828-0270
For more information, please contact Leslie Lewis at Leslie.Lewis@uhfoundation.org or (808) 956-9702.
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