Mershon affiliate Dorothy Noyes, professor of English and Comparative Studies and former director of the Center for Folklore Studies, was awarded an honorary doctorate in folkloristics at the 99th Anniversary Celebration of the University of Tartu in Estonia on December 1, 2018.

Currently serving as president of the American Folklore Society, Noyes was recognized for contributions to international folkloristics and for fruitful collaborations with Tartu’s Department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore.

Noyes’ ethnographic and historical research addresses the traditional public sphere in Romance-speaking Europe; she also writes on folklore theory and on the international policy careers of culture concepts.

"Dorothy Noyes is a highly esteemed scholar of festival and political performance and an outstanding specialist in folklore theory and history," the university announcement said. "Fluent in Catalan, French, Spanish and Italian, she has conducted extensive research on and in Catalonia and western Europe more broadly. Her path-breaking research, which combines folklore studies with insights drawn from political science and international relations, has opened up new opportunities for scholars interested in exploring expressive culture as a means of agency in diverse contexts, past and present."

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Last October, hundreds of veterans, citizens, and their families turned out on a rainy Saturday to celebrate the opening of the National Veterans Memorial and Museum in downtown Columbus.

The ceremony, marked with speeches by Sens. Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, Reps. Joyce Beatty and Steve Stivers, L Brands CEO Les Wexner, and a keynote by retired Gen. Colin Powell, marked the opening of one of the most anticipated architectural creations in the world.

Built next to the Scioto River with a stunning view of the Columbus skyline, the museum’s structure consists of a pathway that spirals up to a rooftop sanctuary. A neighboring 2.5-acre memorial grove provides space for veterans and citizens to reflect about their service.

In attendance at the grand opening outside the 53,000 square foot, $75 million facility was Mershon affiliate Peter Mansoor, Gen. Raymond E. Mason Jr. Chair in Military History, who serves on the Veterans Advisory Committee that helped shape the vision for the building, grounds, and exhibits. Mansoor also personally fact-checked all the historical content.

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Each year, the Mershon Center for International Security Studies holds a competition for Ohio State University faculty and graduate students to apply for grant funds to support research related to international security.

Faculty research and seed grants and graduate student research grants may be used for a variety of research-related purposes including travel, interviews, experiments, surveys, library costs, and more.

The mission of the Mershon Center is to advance the understanding of national security in a global context. Our understanding of international security draws from a wide range of perspectives, approaches, and substantive foci. Consequently, successful applicants may come from a variety of disciplines that engage international security broadly conceived.

The center places an especially strong emphasis on supporting interdisciplinary research. Applicants are encouraged to develop collaborative interdisciplinary proposals that include a statement on how their project will contribute to the interdisciplinary development of knowledge.

Please note that as of 2019 research grant funds will no longer cover speaker series and conferences, which will be judged in a separate competition.

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Two Mershon Center faculty affiliates are among five Ohio State University researchers elected this year as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Fellows are selected by their academic peers. It is considered one of the most prestigious honors given to U.S. scientists.

“These five faculty represent what makes Ohio State a national leader in research that serves Ohio, the nation and the world,” said Morley Stone, senior vice president for research.

New Fellows affiliated with the Mershon Center are:

John Casterline, professor of sociology. For distinguished contributions to the field of social demography, particularly for studies of fertility, family planning and the demographic transition in developing nations in Africa. Casterline is a member of the Mershon Center Oversight Committee.

Ellen Peters, professor of psychology. For contributions to basic research on affect, numeracy, and risky decision-making, and for translational research on communicating health risks and improving medical decisions and policies. Peters co-organized Mershon's 2016 conference on Risk and Security.

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