Jeanne Moseley, senior lecturer in the division of nutritional sciences and the director of the Global Health Program, and Anthony Ong, professor of human development, have been named 2021 Kaplan Family Distinguished Faculty Fellows in Service Learning.

The Kaplan Family Distinguished Faculty Fellowship recognizes faculty members who have had a significant impact on undergraduate, professional or graduate education at Cornell by involving their students in service-learning programs. Kaplan faculty fellows receive $5,000 to further develop a community-based learning or research project, to initiate a new effort, or to make service-learning courses a regular part of the curriculum.

Jeanne Moseley works closely with faculty and undergraduate students from across the university to teach, develop and evaluate curriculum and experiential learning opportunities for the Global and Public Health Sciences major and the undergraduate minor in Global Health. For nearly 15 years, Jeanne has cultivated and directed global health partnerships and programs in Tanzania, India, and Zambia. She serves as the lead instructor for numerous global and public health courses.  Her current areas of interest are student leadership development, the pedagogy of community engaged learning and the critical dimensions of reciprocity in the context of international partnerships and collaborations. 

Credit: Cornell University

Since 2007, Moseley has partnered with faculty from Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University-College (KCMUCo) to design, implement, and evaluate a rich service-learning experience for equal numbers of Cornell and KCMUCo students in global health and development policy. 

“This generous award will allow us to strengthen this long-term partnership by working together to redesign and create new virtual content for our 2021 collaborative program. We will also expand our existing Ripple Effects Mapping evaluation project to assess the impact of the program on our Tanzanian faculty partners, students, and alumni. Lastly, we plan to develop and launch a website to recount the stories and influence of our partnership and share educational resources and policy case studies.”

Anthony Ong is professor of human development at Cornell University, where he directs the Human Health Labs. He received his PhD in developmental psychology from the University of Southern California and completed his postdoctoral training in adult development and aging at the University of Notre Dame. His research and teaching have been recognized by the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Gerontological Society of America, and he is the recipient of the APA Springer Early Career Achievement Award in Research on Adult Development and Aging, the Margret M. and Paul B. Baltes Early Career Award in Social and Behavioral Gerontology, and the Merrill Presidential Scholar Award for Teaching. 

Credit: Cornell University

“This generous award will allow us to undertake a community-based research project to evaluate the feasibility of a multicomponent positive affect skills intervention—Project PATH (Positive Affect, Transitions & Health)—among formerly incarcerated adults, a vulnerable population who face high rates of mental health problems. Addressing mental health issues among formerly incarcerated individuals is important because psychological symptoms significantly predict increased rates of substance abuse, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and recidivism (i.e., continued criminal justice involvement after release from incarceration).”

Barbara Kaplan ’59, her husband, Leslie Kaplan, son Douglas Kaplan ’88 and daughter Emily Kaplan Dodge ’91 established the fellowship award in 2002 to recognize and support greater involvement in civic engagement at Cornell.

The Kaplan Family Distinguished Faculty Fellowships are administered by Cornell’s Public Service Center.