By Max Eberts

When the George and Joan Berry Faculty Success Grant was announced this past spring, there was enthusiastic interest systemwide among junior faculty members. But even Jenny Thigpen, associate professor of history and director of WSU ADVANCE, was surprised when she and the selection committee received 33 completed applications from junior faculty across Washington State University.

“It was an eye-opening experience on several levels,” said Thigpen. “My colleagues and I were surprised to see such a large number of proposals, and then as we reviewed the applications, we were truly impressed by the high quality of the proposals.”

These junior faculty seeking funding for their impressive proposals made it clear there is a crucial need for more research funding. As Thigpen stated, “This process has cast a spotlight on how important such awards as the George and Joan Berry Early Faculty Success Grant truly are in helping faculty advance their careers.”

The $5,000 award may be used to support activities related to scholarship and research activities, including covering the cost of travel to attend conferences or engage in research, lab equipment, funding a graduate student assistant, data collection, and other activities.

George and Joan Berry established the faculty grant after many conversations with deans and faculty members over their years of giving—which have included endowed professorships in engineering, arts and sciences, and education, among many other gifts.

“Through these conversations,” said Joan, “we learned that junior faculty had difficulty advancing their careers as a result of few research and scholarly funding opportunities for them, so we wanted to fill that need.”

In particular, Joan wanted to provide a grant that would help support women early in their careers, including women who have had to divide their time between motherhood and their research pursuits, as well as underrepresented faculty in all disciplines at WSU.

WSU ADVANCE is creating paths for faculty success

The George and Joan Berry Faculty Success Grant is under the guidance of WSU ADVANCE in the Provost’s office, whose focus is providing institutional support to increase the representation of women and historically under-represented faculty in all disciplines. ADVANCE also offers other grant opportunities, including the External Mentor Grant Program, the Transitions Grant, and the Leadership Training Program.

“We were initially funded by a National Science Foundation grant, which recognized that funding opportunities for junior faculty, and especially for women and underrepresented minorities, are hard to come by,” said Thigpen. “Now the Berry Grant will help provide those breakthrough moments junior faculty need to advance their careers.”

Thigpen and members of the selection committee, called liaisons—all seasoned faculty members from various WSU disciplines and campuses—reviewed all 33 proposals, making the case for how the grant would enhance their scholarship and research at WSU. From the many strong proposals, one emerged.

The George and Joan Berry Faculty Success Grant inaugural winner

Assistant Professor of Piano Yoon-Wha Roh, the first Berry Grant winner, is a pianist who has performed as a soloist with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Saint Petersburg (Russia) Philharmonic Orchestra, the Korean Philharmonic Orchestra, the Seoul National Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Classical Symphony Orchestra, to name a few.

For a pianist, performing a piano concerto with an orchestra is regarded as the highest form of creative activity and research in the field of classical concert music, as it entails extensive work, research, and collaboration in understanding everything from the composer’s thinking behind a concerto, to the historical interpretations of a concerto, to the conductor’s interpretation.

The grant came just in time to help Roh pay for her travel for two international performances she outlined in her proposal in June and October. In her first performance in June with the Musica Sinfonietta in Penang, Malaysia, she performed Chopin’s first piano concerto. Following this concert, she and two members of the Musica Sinfonietta gave a workshop and a master class in Singapore at the Aureus Academy, one of the top music conservatories in Asia for students.

At her second performance with the Jeonju Philharmonic Orchestra in Jeonju, South Korea, in October, Roh will perform the Beethoven Concerto No.4, Op.58. Following this concert, she will also give a workshop at the Ewha Women’s University in Seoul.

According to Thigpen, “What pushed Roh’s application to the top was her schedule of international performances and master workshops that would not only advance her career as a pianist and enhance her abilities as a teacher to share what she had learned with her WSU students, but that would also promote WSU on the international scene.”

These opportunities will foster relationships with conductors and orchestras abroad and raise WSU’s visibility on the international scene. But for Roh, it is about the continuous process of learning and achieving mastery.

After attending Yonsei University in South Korea, she pursued her advanced degrees in the U.S. at three of the top music schools in the country, where Roh was able to study with three great teachers.

“They all changed the way I thought about and played a piece of music,” said Roh. “One taught me to sing every note and phrase so that the notes I played were part of my voice. Another taught me to focus on nuances and articulation, and my last teacher taught me to be more self-aware of my sound. Now I am sharing with my students what I learned.”

Prime mover of a great university

Joan Berry truly believes that teaching is a prime mover of a great university. “Having top faculty and teachers at WSU is what inspires and challenges our students to go on and accomplish great things,” said Joan, “This is the true motivation behind establishing this gift and several faculty endowments.”

While the Berry Faculty Success Grant provided funding for Roh, the large number of deserving proposals was a call to action for Thigpen to make additional funding available. “We’re always looking for ways to support our faculty, including through our ADVANCE grants to fund special projects,” said Thigpen. “Fortunately, our budget allowed us to provide grant money for two additional faculty members who had submitted outstanding proposals.”

Those are Arezoo Zare, associate professor of mechanical and materials engineering, and Darryl Singleton, assistant professor of Black music in America and social justice.

“The need is great at WSU to provide more funding opportunities for our talented junior faculty so they can have those breakthrough moments that Professor Roh is now having in her career,” said Thigpen.

In the meantime, Roh is taking advantage of invitations to perform with internationally renowned orchestras and conductors.

“There’s a beautiful feeling that comes from the experience of collaborating with a conductor and an orchestra,” said Roh. “It’s like the feeling of being a part of a team making a discovery—it’s similar to the feeling I also have when I see lightbulbs go off in the heads of my students.”

For Joan Berry, “Engaging and inspiring students is not possible without professors dedicated to teaching.”

If you would like to make a gift to WSU ADVANCE, or to further discuss ways to support faculty excellence at WSU, please contact the WSU Foundation at 509-335-6686 or 800-448-2978.