Current News
Excellence Award Winner
New Friends Board Members
Conversation Group Book Club
Nobel Prize Winner Addresses Friends
Swiss Wins Friends’ Excellence in Teaching Award
Yves Plancherel, a graduate student in the Geosciences Department, has won the Excellence in Teaching Award presented annually by the Friends of Davis International Center to the outstanding international graduate assistant for excellence in teaching undergraduates. Yves, a thirty-one year old from Switzerland, has been a graduate assistant for the past two years to Dr. Gregory E. van der Vink, a visiting faculty member in the Department of Geosciences and the Princeton University 250th Anniversary Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching.
For detailed information about Yves Plancherel and the Excellence in Teaching Award, click here.
New Friends' Board Members
The Board of Trustees of Friends of Davis International Center has elected two new members to the board: Sheila Siderman and Ada Wong. Welcome to them both!
Sheila Siderman has had a varied career, first as a high school chemistry teacher and then in educational publishing. While she was teaching chemistry, Sheila concurrently worked in a number of anti-poverty educational programs where she taught urban teachers; taught at Florida A & M in the first summer Upward Bound program; and taught at Sarah Lawrence in a similar program.
From 1970 until her retirement in 2008, Sheila was in educational publishing. Her specialty was mathematics textbooks, which she wrote and edited. She also worked on textbooks for science and social studies. She worked as a staff member at various publishing houses for nine years and then ran her own publishing companies.
Sheila holds a chemistry degree from City College of New York and a Master of Arts in Teaching Science from Harvard. She also completed half of the coursework for an MBA at NYU.
She and her husband moved to Princeton in 1984 and joined the Host Family program that year. She previously served on the Friends’ Board of Trustees for a number of years in the 1980s.
Ada Yung became a volunteer tutor in January 2008 with the Individual English Conversation Program sponsored by Friends of Davis International Center and has been active since then in assisting Carl Clough, chair of the program.
Currently a senior corporate marketing executive in Joulé Inc., a multi-million staffing solutions company headquartered in Edison, New Jersey. Ada has held management positions in the areas of corporate communications and marketing and advertising for the last six years. Her areas of specialty are content development, branding, and electronic design.
Ada was born in Hong Kong and educated in Hong Kong, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. After she received the International Baccalaureate from the United World College of the Atlantic on a full scholarship, she came to the United States on the Aw Boon Haw Foundation fellowship. She graduated from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2000 and a concentration in U.S.-Asia comparative regional studies and strong studies in Economics.
Ada also received a mini-MBA business certificate after completing business coursework at Rutgers University’s Center of Management Development in the spring of 2004.
Ada is married to William Yung, a practicing nutritionist in New York City. They reside in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, and are active in community service, from inner-city organizations to student mentorships.
Conversation Group Book Club
The Friends’ Book Club is a group that meets monthly to discuss selected books chosen by the group. The members of the club number between ten and twelve, and all are participants in the Friends’ Group English Conversation Program. The book club was started, and is led, by Ilse Lazovick, a tutor in the Group English Conversation Program. The purpose of the club is to offer an opportunity for international students to practice their spoken English and to find enjoyment in reading books in English
This past spring, the club members read Loving Frank, an historical novel by Nancy Horan about the word-famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. Among some of the other books the club has read are The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates and The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith.
Some books that may be read this fall are: Reading Lolita in Tehran, Obedience, Astrid and Veronica, and Pride and Prejudice.
When discussing a book, the club members look at plot, characters, writing style, and the period of time in which the action takes place. With many countries represented, the different ideologies make for interesting discussions. The variety of opinions expressed gives insight into various cultures.
For further information, contact Ilse at plazovick1@comcast.net.
Nobel Prize Winner Addresses FDIC
Eric F. Wieschaus, developmental biologist at Princeton University and Nobel Prize-winner, addressed tutors and students at the luncheon sponsored by Friends of Davis International Center. The luncheon honored tutors in the Friends’ Group and Individual English Conversation Programs and the students in the Individual program. Held at Frist on April 22nd, the luncheon was organized by Carl Clough, chairman of the Individual Conversation Program. (Click here to view photos of the Tutor Luncheon.)
Dr. Wieschaus was the co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1995 for his work revealing the genetic control of embryonic development. He is the Squibb Professor in Molecular Biology at Princeton and Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
His topic at the luncheon was “Biological Basis for Altruism.” He examined the basis for altruism in humans by comparing altruism in Belting ground squirrels and vampire bats. He believes that altruism in humans, as defined as individual intentions that favor others, is influenced partly by biology and partly by making an individual choice to benefit the group.
Dr. Wieschaus asked rhetorically: “Can altruism help mankind?” His opinion was that “it is wiser to view people as being good because optimism brings about change in behavior.” A lively discussion with the audience ensued.
To learn more about becoming a volunteer, click Volunteering.
Last modified 09/14/2009
E-mail comments to Hanna Hand or call (609) 258 -1170.