Marcus Early Career Research Award Helps Faculty Reach Finish Line

In its second year, the College of Liberal & Creative Arts’ Marcus Early Career Research Award will help five faculty members complete their book and film projects that explore social-justice issues in the U.S. and abroad.

The award, supported by the George and Judy Marcus Funds for Excellence in the Liberal Arts, provides a one-semester leave in 2021 – 2022. It funds projects in research, scholarship and creative activities. Probationary tenure-track faculty in their third, fourth or fifth year are eligible. Last year, three assistant professors won the award.

Assistant Professor of International Relations See-Won Byun will complete a book examining differences between regions of China in its economic integration with Asia. “The Middle Kingdom’s Revival: Global Linkages on China’s Periphery” argues that China’s rise in the global economy “is largely a success story of coastal provinces.” Inland areas have been slower to develop.

“After four decades of market reform, China’s quest for global leadership depends critically on how it manages regional pressures at home as globalization moves inland,” Byun said.