College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

March 22, 2007
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences recognizes international efforts
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University recognized international activities by its faculty, staff and students during its annual international dinner on Wednesday, March 21.

Four individuals were specifically honored for their international work including Mark Rectanus, professor of world languages and cultures; Roger Bertelsen, LAS academic adviser; Karin Brandt, senior political science and international studies major; and Cilia Maria Ruiz-Paz, junior psychology and international studies major.

LAS faculty members who have participated in the Fulbright Scholar Program and individuals who have received the ISU International Service Award were also recognized.
The awards bestowed at the event included:

Mark Rectanus, professor of German in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, received the LAS Distinguished International Service Award. A faculty member at Iowa State since 1984, Rectanus is the director of the Languages and Cultures for the Professions Program. He is a former Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung Research Fellow and a Fulbright-Hays Graduate Fellow. His research areas include publishing; print culture and media studies; and globalization and cultural politics.

As an academic adviser in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Roger Bertelsen works with LAS international studies secondary majors and linguistics majors, primarily U.S. students who have international interests. He also works with international exchange students. Prior to working in LAS, Bertelsen worked for 18 years in the Intensive English and Orientation Program. Bertelsen received the LAS International Staff Service Award.

Karin Brandt, a senior political science and international studies major, has received the LAS Student International Excellence Award. While a student at Iowa State, Brandt has served as an undergraduate research assistant for the Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Uganda, researching refugee and forced migration issues in northern Uganda and Burma. She has also been an intern on literacy development in northern region of Ghana after completing a study abroad program at the University of Ghana in Accra in the spring of 2006.

Cilia Maria Ruiz-Paz, a junior psychology and international studies major, has received the LAS Student International Excellence Award. Ruiz-Paz has participated in a student exchange program with Rotary International and has been accepted into the fall 2007 undergraduate program for Semester at Sea. She serves on a number of student organizations including as president of the Asociacion de Latinoamericanos, and the Latino Heritage Month Committee. She has also served as a member of Iowa State's President's Advisory Committee on Diversity.