Oxford’s Harris Manchester College 2024 Summer Research Institute award recipients announced
Contact: Nicol Tinsley
VCU Global Education Office
(804) 828-6463
nctinsley@vcu.edu
Richmond, VA (May 14, 2024) — VCU’s Global Education Office, in collaboration with the Office of the Vice President for Research, has awarded two VCU faculty the opportunity to participate in the University of Oxford’s Harris Manchester College Summer Research Institute (SRI), occurring June 23 - June 30, 2024, in London, England. The fellowships have been awarded to John Fife, Ph.D., associate professor of STEM Education and director of the VCU School of Education’s Center for Innovation in STEM Education; and Alena Hampton, Ph.D., associate dean for Academic Affairs and Student Success, and associate professor in rehabilitation counseling. Each recipient is awarded a grant to conduct research projects undertaken this summer.
The Summer Research Institute fellowship is awarded to faculty whose research or scholarly projects will benefit from the unique resources available at the University of Oxford, including access to some of the University’s 100 libraries, many of which hold collections and archives of international importance, enabling them to enhance their research projects through a week of focused study. The projects will also support the internationalization of VCU.
"The Global Education Office and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation sponsor two VCU faculty member's participation in the Harris Manchester Summer Research Institute to allow them to engage in meaningful research abroad and to collaborate with other academics,” said Jill Blondin, Ph.D., associate vice provost for global initiatives. “This kind of experience expands VCU's global reach for the benefit of all."
As director of the Center for Innovation in STEM Education, Fife leads a mission to “reach the missing millions by creating interdisciplinary research, outreach and training opportunities to develop the knowledge and skills of youth and teachers to enhance the STEM workforce,” he said.
Supported by three National Science Foundation (NSF) grants, he explains that his work focuses on building a STEM learning ecosystem in Central VA and measuring the ability of these ecosystems to enhance teacher training and consequently the STEM workforce.
Fife states he is “particularly interested in learning more about the similarities and differences between the UK and the United States in terms of how AI and other new technologies are utilized in STEM teacher recruitment and retention and the role of each nation's history in facilitating these differences.” He will partner with Robert Klassen, Ph.D., professor of Education at the University of Oxford, using knowledge gained to “assist VCU in emerging as a national catalyst for innovation in STEM Education, which will facilitate the development of the workforce.”
As a recipient of the SRI award, Fife expresses his desire to utilize the opportunity he has been given. "I am deeply honored and grateful to have been chosen as one of two scholars from VCU to participate in the Summer Research Institute this summer,” he said. “My work as director of the Center for Innovation for STEM Education will benefit from the unique resources available at Oxford University while bolstering the internationalization of VCU. Together, with a cohort of diverse scholars, educators and researchers, as well as with support from VCU’s Office of the Vice President of Research and Innovation and the Global Education Office, we will strive to elevate the global impact of our shared work while learning more about the culture and resources of Oxford University.".jpg)
Hampton’s research during the SRI will be devoted to the imposter phenomenon (IP) for which research has increased in recent years. She began data collecting quantitative and qualitative data nationally in July 2023. Hampton explains, “The goal of this study is to better understand the imposter phenomenon in higher education, in students, staff, faculty, and administrators. Specifically, this study seeks to examine the relationship between IP and perfectionism, trait anxiety, self-efficacy, resilience, coping and perceived discrimination in higher education leaders.”
Hampton feels that participating in the Harris Manchester College Summer Research Institute would allow for the expansion of this project to include an international population of students, faculty, and administrative leaders.
“I am thrilled about the opportunity to participate in the Harris Manchester Summer Research Institute,” said Hampton. “I hope to expand my current research project on the imposter phenomenon to an international project by collecting data from faculty, staff and students at the Harris Manchester College, one of the most diverse colleges at the University of Oxford,” she said.
The chosen faculty award recipients are considered Visiting Fellows of Harris Manchester College. The SRI draws scholars with diverse interests from many U.S. universities. It assembles faculty from around the world and from different disciplines to engage in an intense and stimulating research week.
This year, VCU’s Harris Manchester College Summer Research Institute award will have funded 26 research projects of VCU faculty since 2009. The application process for submitting research for possible funding will re-open in spring 2025.