Three doctoral students have been named 2013 King Chavez Parks Future Faculty Fellowship recipients by the Graduate School at Michigan State University.
Carleen Carey, Carmel Martin-Fairey and Isabel Montemayor will use the fellowship to complete their dissertations and graduate within one year of receiving the award this summer. In return, the students are required by the State of Michigan to teach or serve as an administrator in a college or university setting for three years.
Originally from Virginia, Carey is studying urban education. She completed her bachelor’s degrees in English and sociology at Williams College in Williamstown, Ma., and then obtained a master’s degree in African American and African Studies at Michigan MSU, where she is currently conducting her dissertation research. Carey has taught undergraduate courses in children’s literature and in the social foundations of education while working on her graduate degrees. She has also served as a research assistant on a project to assist the department with re-accreditation and on a professor’s online database management project. Carey currently works as a grant writer and program developer at the Center for Applied Inclusive Teaching and Learning in the Arts and Humanities.
Martin-Fairey is from Ohio and is now studying behavioral neuroscience. She attended Tuskegee University for her undergraduate education, earning dual degrees in animal and poultry science and business with a minor in the sciences. Martin-Fairey then obtained a master’s degree in zoology at North Carolina State University. Her research into endocrine active properties of dietary constituents and their impact on pubertal behavior and mammary gland development led Martin-Fairey to an interest in the brain. Aside from her research, Martin-Fairey is an active member of the Prince Hall Affiliated Order of the Eastern Star, where she contributes to many community service projects throughout the greater Lansing area.
Lansing native Isabel Montemayor is starting her seventh year in medical anthropology at MSU. She earned a master’s degree at MSU after receiving her bachelor’s degree in international relations and comparative politics from Central Michigan University. Montemayor is currently researching the health maintenance strategies of a transnational population of Mexican immigrants living in the Michigan. Her research focuses on the impact of macro-level institutional policy on the health related experiences of both documented and undocumented immigrants.
The King Chavez Parks Future Faculty Fellowship program is made possible in part by the State of Michigan, with state appropriations provided to Michigan public universities that offer graduate degree programs. MSU adds to the appropriation to provide a larger award package, which includes a $35,000 stipend, three tuition credits and one year of health insurance coverage.