VIO Staff
VIO Staff
Professor Joel Harrington, Associate Provost for Global Strategy
joel.f.harrington@vanderbilt.edu (on sabbatical during the 2009-2010 academic year)
Joel F. Harrington is Associate Provost for Global Strategy at Vanderbilt University. He is also Professor of History and a member of the Graduate Department of Religion.
The Associate Provost for Global Strategy is charged with overseeing Vanderbilt's international strategy, a responsibility that includes: identifying institutional needs and opportunities in order to fulfill the university's internationalization goals; developing selective international partnerships at the university, school, and departmental levels; coordinating international faculty and student exchanges; enhancing international dimensions of the undergraduate learning experience (both on-campus and abroad); and promoting Vanderbilt's academic reputation globally. He has direct administrative oversight of the Vanderbilt International Office (VIO), the Global Education Office, and the English Language Center. He also chairs the Advisory Council for International Affairs, a board composed of representatives from Vanderbilt's ten schools, as well as from the Office of International Advancement, the Division of Public Affairs, the Global Education Office, the English Language Center, International Student and Scholar Services, and the Office of International Services (HR).
Harrington is a native of Toledo, Ohio, and as an undergraduate he studied at the University of Notre Dame (B.A. English & History 1981) and l'Université Catholique de l'Ouest (France). His graduate work was conducted at the Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen (Germany) and the University of Michigan (M.A. History 1983, Ph.D. History 1989). He has taught at Vanderbilt University since 1989. He has been awarded fellowships from--among others--the Fulbright-Hayes Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Herzog August Bibliothek, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and the American Philosophical Society.
Harrington is a historian of Europe, specializing in the Reformation and early modern Germany, with research interests in various aspects of social history, particularly marriage, children, and the family. His most recent book, The Unwanted Child: The Fate of Foundings, Orphans, and Juvenile Criminals in Early Modern Germany (University of Chicago Press, forthcoming in 2009) examines the issues of abandoned and street children through the perspectives of six historical figures, arguing that the significance of informal foster parents in pre-modern Europe was much greater than most historians have assumed. His other scholarly publications include Reordering Marriage and Society in Reformation Germany (Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995; paperback 2005), and A Cloud of Witnesses: Readings in the History of Western Christianity (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001). Projects currently underway include a study of an early modern executioner's journal and a comparison of concepts and laws relating to infanticide and witchcraft.
Professor Harrington’s courses at Vanderbilt have included: Renaissance Europe, Reformation Europe, Western Civilization Survey to 1700, Freshman Writing Seminar, History of Christian Traditions, History of Modern Childhood (Honors), Religion and the Occult in Early Modern Europe, Marriage and the Family in Early Modern Europe, Graduate Seminar on Early Modern Social History, Christianity and the Evil World in Western History (MLAS evening program for adults).
Professor Harrington will be on sabbatical in Germany during the 2009-2010 academic year.
Dr. Dawn Turton, Executive Director
Dawn Turton is the Executive Director of the Vanderbilt International Office. Dawn received her B.A. from the University of Birmingham, England. After graduation she spent several years teaching English overseas in Greece, South Korea and Poland. She received a Master’s degree in Linguistics from Ohio University in 1997 and a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Southern California in 2001. She came to Vanderbilt in 2002 as Director of the English Language Center and has been in her current position since 2006.
Her current responsibilities include overseeing the operations of the Vanderbilt International Office, Global Education Office and English Language Center. She also works with faculty, centers, departments and schools to develop and support international initiatives as well as overseeing policies and procedures relating to international programs and agreements.
Dawn chairs the International Policies and Procedures Committee at Vanderbilt and serves on other international committees including the Advisory Council for International Affairs and the Study Abroad Risk Assessment Committee. She served as President of the Consortium of University and College Intensive English Programs (UCIEP) from 2005-2007 and was recently appointed to the Professional Development Committee for the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA).
Dr. Xiu Cravens, Assistant Dean for International Affairs, Peabody College of Education and Human Development
Xiu Cravens serves as the China Liaison for the Vanderbilt International Office. She is the assistant dean for international affairs at Peabody College of Education and Human Development, and a research assistant professor of education policy at Peabody’s Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations.
Professor Cravens earned her B.A. in linguistics and literature from Peking University, and her M.S. in communications from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She received her Ph.D. in education policy from Peabody College in 2008. She is an active member of the Nashville community and is involved in partnerships and initiatives promoting school leadership development, career development for disadvantaged youth and social integration for new Americans.
Ms. Shelley McFarlan, Program Coordinator
shelley.l.mcfarlan@vanderbilt.edu
Shelley McFarlan is a Program Coordinator for the Vanderbilt University International Office (VIO). She oversees the Nichols Humanitarian Fund which enables Vanderbilt students to volunteer for international humanitarian relief efforts and assists with the Global Summer Fellows program that enables students to participate in summer abroad opportunities. She plans programming for international campus events, lectures and incoming delegation visits. In addition, she co-edits VIO's semi-annual publication, Vanderbilt International and facilitates the development of strategic international core partnerships. She earned her B.A. in Economics and Sociology from
Ms. Carolyn Miller, Program Coordinator
Carolyn's responsibilities include editing VIO's semi-annual publication, Vanderbilt International, managing VIO's Curriculum Grants Program, coordinating international undergraduate academic initiatives, and organizing international visits and campus events. She joined VIO in Oct. 2007, after four years at Vanderbilt’s Center for Teaching (CFT) where she was responsible for the International Teaching Assistant Program and coordinating CFT programs. Prior to Vanderbilt, Carolyn taught English at English Language Services at Belmont University and worked in Belmont’s International Office and Office of the Assistant Provost. She holds an M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from Peabody College (2002) and a B.A. in International Studies (Latin American concentration) from Kenyon College in 1999. Carolyn studied overseas at the University of Alicante (Spain) and the School for International Training (SIT) in Quito, Ecuador.
Mr. Andrew Moe, Program Assistant
Andrew Moe is a second-year master's student in higher education administration at Peabody College. He received a double B.A. in Journalism and Political Science from Arizona State University, where he served as programming board president, Leadership Scholar, and student assistant to the Senior Vice President and Secretary of the University. Andrew has worked for a number of organizations, including the U.S. Department of the Interior, Voice of America, Tennessee Board of Regents, and Fair Wisconsin. In the summer of 2009, he studied in The Netherlands as a Humanity in Action Fellow. He is attending Vanderbilt as a Point Foundation Scholar.
Mr. Pat Nitch, Graduate Assistant
patrick.m.nitch@vanderbilt.edu
Pat Nitch is a first-year master’s student in Human Development Counseling at Peabody College. He graduated from Vanderbilt in 2008 with a B.A. in Economics. During his undergraduate career at Vanderbilt he studied abroad at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, while interning at General Electric. In the last year, Pat worked for the Campaign for Change in Florida, and taught English as a second language.
Ms. Melissa Smith, Program Coordinator
melissa.p.smith@vanderbilt.edu
As Program Coordinator, Melissa’s primary focus is Vanderbilt’s international research collaborations. She works to facilitate partnerships between Vanderbilt and our core partners and other peer institutions overseas, manages the VIO grants program, and assists faculty in identifying sources of funding for their international collaborations. Prior to joining VIO in fall 2007, Melissa was the Associate Director of Development for Vital Voices Global Partnership in Washington, D.C., a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing women’s leadership worldwide. She holds a M.T.S. from Vanderbilt Divinity School and a B.A. from Furman University in Greenville, SC.