“The world needs different kinds of minds to work together.” 

Farzaneh received her master’s degree from IUP in TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) and is now a candidate in the Doctor of Education in Administration and Leadership Studies program. She will graduate in 2024. Farzaneh came to IUP from Iran in 2016, having earned her undergraduate degree from Azad University in Tehran. She assists the Office of International Education and the College of Education and Communications as a program assistant to the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program for International Teachers (FDAI), an intensive professional development opportunity for K-12 teachers from around the world, funded by the US Department of State. Farzaneh helps with FDAI participant logistics, courses, faculty advisors, and the International Education Friendship Program. She is a recipient of a grant from the Institute of International Education, a scholarship from the IUP Dean’s Merit Fund, and the 2019 Global Women’s Leadership Award. Farzaneh has been very active in the IUP community, having served as president of the Graduate Student Assembly and as a member of the University Planning Council; the Institutional Success through Program Innovation, Redesign, and Evolution (INSPIRE) Committee; the board of directors of the Student Cooperative Association; the University Budget Advisory Committee; and the Library and Educational Services Committee. Last summer, she worked with a group of young Afghan refugees through an English language skills program at ARYSE Academy, an alliance for refugee youth support, and considers this the most rewarding work of her professional career. Read more of Farzaneh’s story in the IUP Magazine article “Home Is Where the Mind Is.” We thank you, Farzaneh!

Gwen has been at IUP for 25 years and is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and the director of IUP’s Pre-law program. Last semester, she became chair of the department, and her goals include helping students navigate the hoops of college and creating a sense of community among the department’s students and faculty. Her teaching and research areas include American government, public policy, judicial process, the UK’s Supreme Court, international human rights, federal Indian law, and areas of US constitutional law that include the right of privacy and the First Amendment’s protection of expression. Gwen chairs IUP’s Free Speech Project, which involves raising awareness about what the First Amendment means in the context of a public university. She is deeply committed to protecting the robust exchange of ideas but also believes that we need to be thoughtful and consider the ramifications of our words on others. As such, she is excited about her work as a cochair of IUP’s Difficult Dialogues Project. Gwen feels privileged to be part of IUP’s Community Bias and Hate Response Team, which allows her to combine her study of constitutional law and her dedication to fostering an inclusive campus environment. She is the advisor to the newly recognized student organization IUP House of Drag. Gwen has assisted with many notable programming efforts on campus, including the Constitution in Crisis series, the annual Constitution Day events, and Six O’Clock Series presentations (See this week’s topic, “The Value of Protecting the Speech We Hate”). Her vast knowledge about free speech, the Constitution, and law and her passion for a safe campus environment have been invaluable to our IUP community. We thank you, Gwen!

EVENTS OF NOTE THIS WEEK
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