Paul A. Rodell

As an undergraduate student, Rodell was introduced to Southeast Asia thanks to NIU’s excellent faculty, especially J. Norman Parmer (for Malaysia) and Paul Van Der Ver (for Indonesia). Upon graduation Rodell joined the Peace Corps and served in the Philippines where he worked in agriculture extension and community development for two years and in the main office in Manila for a third. After his experience he remained in the Philippines and enrolled in an interdisciplinary MA program, Asian Center, University of the Philippines. Shortly after returning to the US, he enrolled as a Ph.D. student in history at SUNY Buffalo and worked under the late John A. Larkin. He wrote a comparative dissertation in local history of four towns in the Philippines who participated in the founding of La Iglesia Filipina Independiente (the Philippine Independent Church) at the turn of the century. After a post-doc appointment with Ohio University’s Southeast Asia Studies program, he joined the history department faculty at Georgia Southern University. Professor Rodell decided to create this award because when he returned for his dissertation research, his student Fulbright Award barely covered his expenses. Thankfully, his Filipino friends took him under their care. Their added support allowed him to pursue additional research opportunities that made his final dissertation much stronger. Hopefully, this modest award will enable future graduate students who discover added dimensions they can make to further enhance their projects.