December Green honored with 2013 International Education Award

December Green, director of international studies at Wright State and known for her deep commitment to educating students on issues and cultures of foreign countries, was named recipient of the university’s 2013 International Education Award.

December Green, with award, is flanked by Donna Schlagheck (left), chair of the Political Science Department, and Laura Luehrmann, associate professor of political science.

Green, Ph.D., is a distinguished scholar with an extensive record on politics in the developing world, gender violence, ideologies and contemporary Africa. She is sought out for her commentary and expertise on various subjects, especially human rights and contemporary African politics.

“Dr. Green has been instrumental in the development of international curriculum on our campus,” said Stephen Foster, associate vice president for international affairs.

Green developed several new concentrations in the international studies major, including Asian Studies, Global Gender Studies, and Research and Intelligence Analysis. Programs she developed and led include “Human Rights in Europe,” “Comparative Human Rights: Morocco and Spain,” “Comparative Human Rights: Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand,” and “Comparative Human Rights: Argentina and Brazil.”

Next summer Green will be taking students to London, Paris, Brussels and The Hague as part of teaching “Human Rights in Europe.” She has previously taken students on numerous overseas trips and taught as a visiting instructor at the University of the Basque Country in Spain.

“December reaches her students on a level that few other professors do,” said Laura Luehrmann, Ph.D., associate professor of political science. “Her passion ignites their hunger to respond to injustices before them and to dig more deeply to really understand countries, cultures and the peoples who navigate the personal and the political.”

Green obtained her bachelor’s degree in history and master’s and doctoral degrees in government and international studies from the University of South Carolina. She has been director of the international studies program at Wright State since 2000.