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April 2019 Funding Cycle Announcement from Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language

CONWAY, Ark. (May 9, 2019) – During the 2018-2019 academic year, the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language awarded a total of $101,099 in grants for student cocurricular projects, faculty-led campus projects, and faculty-led study/travel projects in literature and language. In the April 2019 funding cycle, the Foundation approved $15,994 in grants for the following four student cocurricular projects:

*Megan Bellfield ’20: Spanish Language Immersion in Buenos Aires

Project supervisor: Dr. Gabby Vidal-Torreira, Department of Languages             

After concluding a semester abroad in Valparaíso, Chile, Megan Bellfield will extend her South American experience by taking courses at Expanish, a language school in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Megan’s participation in Expanish’s immersion and homestay programs will increase her proficiency in Spanish and expand her knowledge of Argentinian culture.

Eliot Peterson ’20: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Internship and Holocaust Literature Research Project

Project supervisor: Dr. Dorian Stuber, Department of English     

Eliot Peterson is currently a Peregrin Scholar of Holocaust Literature and Education under the supervision of Dr. Dorian Stuber, and this summer he will intern at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) in Washington, D.C. While working as a Museum Services Intern, Eliot will do research in the USHMM’s archives for his senior thesis on the postmemory of trauma in Holocaust literature.

*David Samuel ’20: Learning through Service in Hebron, Palestine

Project supervisor: Professor Hope Coulter, Department of English

David Samuel will further his study of the Arabic language in Hebron, Palestine, this summer. Building on his previous study of Modern Standard Arabic in Morocco and Oxford, England, David will spend his time in Hebron learning the local Levantine spoken dialect and serving the community by leading journalism writing workshops and teaching English to Palestinian students. The service elements of this project will serve to strengthen both the language and leadership skills that David will need to reach his post-graduate goal of working with B’tselem, an Israeli human rights organization.

*Madeleine Scott ’20: Thinking in Tongues: Intensive Language Study through Biomedical Research

Project supervisor: Dr. Andrea Duina, Department of Biology

Biology and French major Madeleine will travel to Montpellier, France, where she will complete an eight-week summer internship in a cystic fibrosis research lab in the University of Montpellier’s Rare Genetic Diseases department. During this time, Madeleine will improve the breadth of her French vocabulary and learn specialized language directly related to her intended future career in the sciences. In addition, Madeleine will take an introductory-level Italian course in order to deepen her Romance language studies. Through this project, Madeleine will be able to combine her passions for language study and science, and she will gain practical laboratory experience while increasing fluency in her chosen foreign language.

*Murphy Scholar in Literature and Language

About the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation

Hendrix-Murphy Programs enrich the study of literature and language for Hendrix College as a whole as well as for students with intensive interest in those areas. The late Mr. Charles H. Murphy, Jr., former Chair of the Board of Murphy Oil Corporation and former member of the Hendrix Board of Trustees, established the Foundation in 1978 in memory of his mother, Mrs. Bertie Wilson Murphy. A 1905 graduate of Galloway Women’s College—which later became part of Hendrix College—Mrs. Murphy possessed a lifelong love of literature and language, to which these programs are exclusively dedicated.

About Hendrix College

A private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns recognition as one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions, and is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its academic quality and rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a fixture in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.