December 8, 2005 Source: Queen's University:
http://qnc.queensu.ca/story_loader.php?id=43987f36adf1b Queen's alumnus receives prestigious Canada-US Fulbright award KINGSTON, Ont. – Ian Griffiths has been named a 2005 Canada-U.S. Fulbright Fellow, a prestigious title reserved for a select few in Canada and the United States. As a Fulbrighter, Mr. Griffiths will pursue a degree in city planning at the University of California at Berkeley. Mr. Ian Griffiths completed a Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies and Development Studies from Queen’s University in 2004. While at Queen’s he acquired a strong background in political and development theory, as well as an interest in global urban issues and urban planning. Mr. Griffiths was able to apply his knowledge as both director of and participant in the Project on International Development. Mr. Griffiths spent three months in Bolivia working with a local NGO, as well as with ten students under his guidance, on two micro-enterprise projects in rural areas. Before taking up his Fulbright award, Mr. Griffiths also served as the Rural Development Research Intern at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture where he researched training strategies for microfinance projects for women in rural areas of Latin America. As a Fulbrighter, Mr. Griffiths will be studying urban planning, with a focus on international planning and urban development. He hopes to learn how public policies affect the accessibility of basic services to a city’s population, as well as how the physical design of communities can contribute to accessibility to services and to environmental sustainability. "Mr. Griffith's work thus far this semester has been as expected – outstanding," said Ms. Kaye Bock in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of California at Berkeley. "He is carrying a full-time course load for graduate students, […] [covering] regional and transportation planning, as well as design. His involvement extends outside of the classroom; he will be one of two student members serving on the admissions committee for our Master of City Planning program. Overall, I must say that Mr. Griffiths has exceeded all of our expectations, and we're delighted to have him with us in the MCP Program." "We are pleased to be able to support this important work in urban development," said Dr. Michael K. Hawes, Executive Director of the Foundation for Educational Exchange between Canada and the United States of America. Upon his return to Canada, Mr. Griffiths hopes to work in a municipality with significant urban challenges related to accessibility and sustainability. Eventually he would like to work internationally as an urban planning consultant in a development context. The generosity of the Ford Motor Company Fund contributes significantly to the ability of the Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program to support Mr. Griffith. Long regarded as the world’s premiere academic exchange program, the Fulbright attracts exceptional scholars from more than 150 countries worldwide. Among the fastest growing of the bilateral exchanges is the Canada-US Fulbright Program. Named for former U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright and supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs Canada and the United States Department of State, the Canada-US Fulbright Program has engaged more than eight hundred scholars in high-level academic exchanges since 1990. For further information, please contact: Jennifer Regan, Canada-US Fulbright Program, (613) 688-517, jregan@fulbright.ca
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