Economist Jessica Montgomery's CGII-funded research focused on the economic impact of property rights in post-apartheid South Africa. Her project looks at what happens when a nonprofit transfers title deeds from local governments to residents, enabling them to use their properties as collateral and access formal credit. Montgomery also studied property rights in Appalachia, finding that weaker protections for surface owners led to more surface mining and lower property values.

The Center for Global Inquiry and Innovation closes out the 2024-2025 academic year during what can only be described as a season of consequence and challenge. In the most important ways, this grant cycle has been enormously successful.

Nnenna Onyima will receive her PhD in French this month, finishing her UVA studies. Originally from Nigeria, she earned her BA in French from Imo State University, Nigeria and her MA in French from the University of Virginia. While at UVA, she participated in the International Student Citizen Leaders Fellowship, a yearlong program which gives international students the opportunity to design and realize a project to support UVA’s international student community.

Anu Karippal is a doctoral student in anthropology studying the relationships between humans and elephants in South Asia. She caught up with UVA Global to discuss her research, her experiences as an international student from India, and her thoughts on relationships between humans and with the more than human world.

Professor Len Schoppa has been awarded The Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan. The Order of the Rising Sun is one of Japan's highest honors, awarded for distinguished service to Japan and its people in various fields. Schoppa, who has taught in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia since 1990, specializes in the politics and political economy of Japan. He spoke to UVA Global about his work between Japan and the U.S. and his advice for students interested in Japan.

Pierre-Christian Fink joined the Global Studies faculty in Fall 2024 and is currently teaching in the Global Commerce in Culture & Society track. His research explores how financial elites create markets that are hidden from the public but powerfully influence citizens’ economic opportunities across the globe.

Anna Chekhovich of Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation discusses the use of cryptocurrency as a tool to fund global activist movements with Professor Ian Appel of the Darden School of Business.

Eight UVA students were selected this year to participate in the prestigious Oslo Scholars Program. The goal of the Oslo Scholars Program is to provide students the opportunity to work directly with an international human rights or democracy organization, providing them with direct hands-on experience in how their academic work can have real world impact.

Phoebe Crisman (Global Studies, Architecture) has received an award for Excellence in Education Abroad. Elizabeth Wittner (CAELC), Bonnie Gordon (Music), Fern Hauck (Family Medicine) have received an award for Collaborative Excellence in Public Service for work with local refugee communities.

Beneath Ghana’s rich soils lies a treasure the world desires––gold. The rush to unearth this precious metal has led to a host of health problems from illegal mining, or galamsey. This unregulated, small-scale mining has poisoned rivers, destroyed land, and broken communities. More than 150 students from across Grounds came forward to solve this real-world health problem in the annual Global Health Case Competition held by the Center for Global Health Equity (CGHE). The case – water pollution in Ghana, is a major environmental health problem, impacting communities across the world.

Brady Sack is a second-year medical student and was the 2024 Center for Global Health Equity (CGHE) Ram Family Foundation scholar. The Ram Family Center for Global Health Scholar Award was established to honor Dr. Bellamane M. Ram and Dr. Anjan Kumari Ram who practiced medicine in India and the United States. The award supports interdisciplinary work in communities in Southern India and is open to students from all schools across Grounds.

Ambassador Steve Mull, Vice Provost for Global Affairs, affirms UVA's commitment to global experiences, despite a rapid cascade of executive orders and other policy changes from the federal government over the past several weeks.

Professor Sylvia Tidey (Anthropology, Global Studies) discusses her research on aging transgender women in Indonesia, funded by a CGII center grant. She found that transgender women often fall into a care void as they age, lacking family support and state services. She compared care models in Jakarta, Java, and Bali, focusing on the evolving needs and possibilities for older LGBTQIIA individuals in Indonesia.

The world seems increasingly attracted to authoritarian solutions for pressing political issues, such as climate change, ethnic violence, and economic turmoil. In the Philippines, however, the next generation is actively building the organizations, campaigns, and movements to rebuild a democratic civic sphere. Over the past year, UVA’s Democratic Futures Project (DFP) has enabled undergraduate students to support and document these efforts, most recently through the publication of Care at the Core: The Power of People in the Grassroots.

Andreja Siliunas joined the Global Studies program this fall as joint faculty with the Engagements program. A qualitative researcher, Siliunas uses archival, interview-based, and ethnographic methods to study inequality, memory politics, and nationalism in a globalizing world. In 2023, she earned her PhD in Sociology and Social Policy from Harvard University and, following that, taught in UVA’s Sociology department during the 2023-24 academic year.

In Fall 2024, the Center for Global Inquiry + Innovation awarded its latest round of grants to support impactful global research endeavors led by faculty and graduate students. The grants awarded included 24 Graduate Global Research (GGR) grants, seven Center Grants for individual faculty research, and three Global Programs of Distinction (GPOD) grants.

Join Professor Tyler Jo Smith, director of UVA's Interdisciplinary Archaeology Program, as she explores the fascinating intersections of art, religion, and culture in the production and consumption of alcohol across ancient civilizations. From the symposia of ancient Greece to the bronze vessels of China, this conversation delves into how alcohol shaped rituals, beliefs, and artistic traditions throughout history.

Omokolade Omigbule is a third-year anthropology doctoral student and an interdisciplinary doctoral fellow in Indigenous studies at the University of Virginia. He is a budding Black Atlantic archaeologist from Osun state, southwest Nigeria. In this interview, he discusses his journey into archaeology and his hopes to empower communities through history, and the importance of open-mindedness in the pursuit of knowledge and cross-cultural connection.

The Center for Global Inquiry + Innovation (CGII) was founded in the fall of 2013 by Jeff Legro, then Vice Provost for Global Affairs, to support global, interdisciplinary, and collaborative research. The center awarded its first grants that winter. Now, over a decade later, UVA Global reflects on CGII’s impact.

Discover how UVA professors Allison Bigelow and Rafael Alvarado are partnering with Mayan scholars and communities to preserve and revitalize K’iche and Yukatek languages. Through innovative digital tools, including text encoding and hand-drawn animations, their project bridges a centuries-old narrative with modern technology. Learn about the principles of data sovereignty, the challenges of cultural preservation, and how community-led efforts are shaping the future of Mesoamerican language and literature.

UVA’s Center for Global Health Equity has announced the recipients of the 2024 Dick & Nancy Guerrant Global Health Equity Professor Award. Professors Michaela DuBay, CCC-SLP, Ph.D. and Christopher C.