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Photo Courtesy of the Visual Production Center: WIU professor Fetene Gebrewold was recently awarded a Rotary Grant for University Teachers; he will use the award to teach public health courses in Ethiopia in Summer 2009, and when he returns to Western, he will share the knowledge he gains with the WIU community.
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Western Professor Awarded Rotary Grant to Work and Research in Ethiopia

October 27, 2008

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MACOMB, IL -- To gain a greater understanding of public health issues is one reason Fetene Gebrewold will travel to Ethiopia next summer. Another one is help create awareness and promote understanding of public health issues facing developing countries.

Thanks to a Rotary Grant for University Teachers, Gebrewold, professor in the department of health sciences at Western Illinois University, will travel to Ethiopia to teach public health courses at Haramaya University in Dire Dawa and conduct workshops in the surrounding communities and villages.

"This award will help me further my understanding of the various causes of infectious and waterborne illnesses that are quite prevalent in developing countries," Gebrewold said. "When I return, I will share my knowledge with my students and colleagues at Western and as well through local and regional workshops and conferences."

Born in Harewa, a small community in the Ethiopian province of Harar, Gebrewold pursued higher education in the U.S. and earned his Ph.D. in public health, with an emphasis in environmental health studies, from Oregon State University.

"My research interest lies in environmental and occupational health, and this trip to Ethiopia will not only help me educate and create awareness there, but it will also enable me to gain a deeper understanding of public health from a developing countries' perspective," he explained.

According to the Rotary Club's website, applicants need to be sponsored from a local Rotary Club chapter in order to have their applications considered for the competitive Rotary Grant for University Teachers. Gebrewold's application was sponsored by the Bushnell (IL) chapter.

"The application then went to the district Rotary Club, and I was invited for an interview," Gebrewold explained.

Gebrewold's interview resulted in a winning application; he was notified in August of his award. He noted he plans to be in Ethiopia from May through August 2009.

For more information about Gebrewold's Rotary Grant for University for Teachers, contact Dana Moon, assistant to the dean in the College of Education and Human Services, at
(309) 298-1690 or DM-Moon@wiu.edu. For more information about Rotary Grants for University Teachers, visit rotary.org/en/studentsandyouth/educationalprograms/rotarygrantsforuniversityteachers.

Posted By: Teresa Koltzenburg (WIUNews@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing