History PhD Student Melissa Armstrong is a Carleton all-star. A large banner celebrating her achievements is draped across the Athletics Centre as part of the #CU75 campaign. This campaign, leading up to the university’s 75th anniversary in 2017, showcases some of the amazing people who have been or are still affiliated with Carleton.
Not only did Armstrong, help Team Canada win a silver medal at the Pan Am Games this summer but she also won a coveted Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS) in 2014.
The Vanier award is worth $150,000 over three years. Armstrong is using her funds to travel to South Africa to make use of the archives that are spread out across that country, to conduct interviews with South Africans, and to present her research at African history conferences.
Right now, she is in South Africa. “The hospitality that I have experienced in South Africa is without parallel,” shares Armstrong. “People are warm and welcoming and eager to show you the best of their country. And I am very grateful to a number of people here.”
Her PhD research explores the genesis and growth of the health department created by the African National Congress (ANC) while it operated in exile and assesses the continuity and change between this early department and the one formed by the ANC after it came to power in South Africa in 1994. She is also looking at links to Cold War politics and the global anti-apartheid movement.
Armstrong originally chose to study at Carleton primarily because she wanted to work with Professor Susanne Klausen, a South African medical historian. “She provides experienced guidance and I have full confidence that her supervision will dramatically strengthen my research.”
Armstrong in Cape Town
Armstrong is also delighted that Carleton is home to the first Institute of African Studies (IAS) in Canada, to which more than 40 faculty members are affiliated. “I have already been given opportunities to present my research at events organized by the IAS.”
To find out more about other CU75 participants, go to this website.
Carleton’s #CU 75 Campaign
On Sept. 19, Carleton launched the second phase of its public awareness campaign leading up to the university’s 75th anniversary in 2017. This multi-year campaign celebrates the people who have been transformed by Carleton and those who have worked so hard to support it since 1942, when a group of visionary citizens opened the doors of Carleton College to students building their careers after the Depression and military service in the Second World War.
Melissa’s banner is upper L. Photo taken at CU75 Launch event Sept. 19/15
Carleton kicked off the campaign in September 2014 by unveiling massive portraits of alumni, students, donors and a very special former chancellor, Lester B. (Mike) Pearson, who also lectured on campus in history and political science after he left politics and right up until his death in 1972.
The latest phase was unveiled at the Carleton Leadership Gala on Saturday evening in the River Building. The event also featured top alumni award-winners. The A.D. Dunton Alumni Award of Distinction was presented to Jagmohan Humar, while Erica Cherney received the Humanitarian Award and Eric Chan (eepmon) received the Young Alumni Achievement Award.
Other people featured in this second stage of the campaign include Privy Council Clerk Janice Charette, singer and radio host Julie Nesrallah, Secretary of the Treasury Board, Yaprak Baltac, Google Adviser Shona Brown, Olympian Waneek Horn-Miller, pioneer plant biologist Margaret McCully, entrepreneur John Ruddy and student entrepreneur Melissa Vong.
The public awareness campaign will include many new participants over the next two years.
The project is part of Carleton’s Strategic Integrated Plan and was led by the Department of University Communications with support from faculties and administrative departments. The campaign is focused on showcasing stories that profile academic excellence among our students, faculty, staff, as well as the alumni, donors and founders who have contributed to Carleton’s success.
Monday, September 21, 2015 in Awards, Grad Student Research, News
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