The Margaret S. Glauber Faculty-Student Research Fellows and Scholarship Fund
The Margaret S. Glauber Faculty-Student Research Fellows and Scholarship Fund supports faculty-student research collaborations in the humanities and social sciences. The program is made possible through the generosity of Margaret "Maggie" Glauber '51.
The Glauber Faculty Fellow is a W&M faculty member appointed for two years and receiving a $5,000 stipend per year. Each year, the Faculty Fellow selects two Glauber Student Fellows from the applicant pool, who receive $4,000 for their summer research projects and, when eligible, need-based student financial aid.
Faculty Fellows for 2022-24
Zach Conrad is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and a faculty affiliate at the Global Research Institute. He is a nutritional epidemiologist and food systems scientist, and his research utilizes large datasets and modeling techniques to examine the complex interactions between food choice, diet quality, and sustainability. His current research projects evaluate the effects of popular weight loss diets on nutritional quality, cardiometabolic health outcomes, environmental sustainability, and affordability. He has over 40 peer-reviewed publications and his work has been cited by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization; the US Environmental Protection Agency; and more. His research is currently supported by the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Science and the Commonwealth Center for Energy and the Environment. He teaches four courses throughout the academic year that draw over 450 students total, including Science of Nutrition; Nutrition in Health and Disease; Population Nutrition, Policy, and Programs; and Sustainable Food Systems and Diets.
Betsy Konefal specializes in modern Latin American history. She received a Ph.D. in Latin American history from the University of Pittsburgh, 2005; an M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, Center for the Study of Human Rights, 1996; and a B.A. in International Relations and Latin American Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, 1990. Betsy joined the William and Mary faculty in 2005 and is the author of For Every Indio Who Falls: A History of Maya Activism in Guatemala, 1960-1990, which was named a Choice “Outstanding Academic Title, 2011. She has received grants and fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, AAUW, the US Institute of Peace, and Fulbright-Hays. She is now working on a book-length project examining the complicated history of Maya resistance and state repression, and the relationship between them. The project looks specifically to sites of massacre and present-day exhumations to build a better understanding of causal links between activism and acts of genocide, both before and after state terror.
Student Fellows for 2023-24
Madison Korol is a junior from Pittsburgh, PA majoring in Kinesiology & Health Sciences and minoring in Mathematics and Psychology. The nutritional epidemiology field encompasses an intersection of her studies, which sparked a strong interest in Professor Conrad's research. She worked with Professor Conrad during the Spring 2023 semester conducting research on the sustainability of popular diets. During her Fellowship, she will be focusing on the Mediterranean diet's health, environmental, and economic outcomes. On campus, Madison is passionate about her involvement across several organizations including Reveille Acapella, Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women, and Campus Recreation where she works as a group Barre instructor.
Chloe DiStaso, a rising junior from Fairfax VA, is double majoring in Integrative Conservation and Environmental Science & Policy on the science track. During the Spring 2023 semester, she worked as a research assistant for the PERL Research Lab on campus, conducting research on ecotherapy in the school environment. This research has helped spark her interest in the relationship between environmental science and mental and physical wellbeing. During her Fellowship, she will be focusing on the relationships between diet quality and environmental sustainability and affordability. On campus, Chloe is able to continue her passion for dance through William and Mary’s Syndicate Hip Hop Dance Team. Chloe is also involved in the Jewish campus organization, Hillel, as well as the Citizens’ Climate Lobby environmental group on campus. Through this group, she helps to educate the student body on environmental issues and policy. Additionally, Chloe enjoys her weekly involvement in William and Mary’s knitting club.
Mayra Blanco is a rising senior from Alexandria, VA, majoring in Psychological Sciences and minoring in Kinesiology and Health Sciences. She is very excited to work under Professor Konefal this summer and learn more about activism and human rights in Guatemala during the 1960s-90s. Professor Konefal's book about the history of Maya resistance and state repression inspired her to look deeper into indigenous rights at a global scale and throughout history. She grew up in a predominantly Quechua-speaking family (indigenous language) and learned a myriad of Andean traditions and cultural products such as folkloric Bolivian dances and music. Growing up she overheard many conversations about political movements in Bolivia regarding indigenous rights and grew curious about the political atmosphere in Bolivia during Evo Morales's presidency and how it impacted indigenous people's occupations in that time period. With her academic background, she looks forward to applying psychology and health sciences to activism in indigenous communities impacted by political movements and the understanding of generational trauma in indigenous families and communities. She is elated to embark on this new journey in her academic trajectory at William & Mary and to enhance her knowledge on political activism and human rights in indigenous populations across the Americas specifically in its application to occupational therapy, which is the field she will be entering in the near future. Mayra is involved in Griffin School Partnership in the Literacy Lab, Best Buddies, W&M Campus Buddies, Latin American Student Union, W&M Remote Area Medical, Conversations to Remember Non-Profit Corp., W&M Mosaic House, Zodiacs Dance Crew, W&M First Generation and Low Income (FGLI), and a member of the PLUS cohort of 2020 (WMSURE), Alpha Lambda Delta and Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society, and La Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha Inc. at W&M.
Laina Lomont is a rising senior from Washington, D.C., pursuing a double major in history and government. Last summer, Laina interned with the Comisión Provincial por la Memoria in Argentina, where she used declassified archives and interviews to build profiles of people who were ‘disappeared’ throughout the military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s. Laina will deepen her understanding of human rights and transitional justice issues this summer while conducting research about Catholic student organizing in Guatemala during the 1960s and the revolutionary group, Ejército Guerrillero de los Pobres. At William & Mary, Laina is a research assistant for the Geospatial Evaluation and Observation Lab (geoLab) and serves as the Managing Editor of The Monitor, W&M’s Journal of International Studies. She is also involved in Chi Omega Sorority, Campus Buddies, and Birding Club.
