Karen Mancl Nets Diversity Award for Links 'Across Colleges and Oceans'

by Kathy Lechman

Karen Mancl of the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering received the Bill Williams Diversity Award for Faculty/Staff during the May 10 CFAES Recognition Program in Columbus. While her focus is on waste management and rural wastewater treatment, she has combined her research activities with mentoring new faculty as well as a group of Chinese graduate students.

Through her efforts to understand the culture, backgrounds, and needs of Asian engineers and scientists, she actively mentors faculty not only in CFAES but also in the College of Public Health. She has fostered interdisciplinary understanding and cooperation across colleges and across oceans to China. She is the faculty advisor to the Chinese Culture Connection, a student club in the College of Humanities; has participated in a U.S. Department of Agriculture/Chinese Ministry of Agriculture exchange program; has collaborated with the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences; and has led a study abroad program to China for 15 undergraduate and graduate students.

She also recently developed a new course for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) students called "Environmental Issues in East Asia."

In addition to her research and teaching, Mancl began learning Chinese by enrolling in Chinese 101. She has now completed all four years of the curriculum and studies Chinese daily. Not stopping there, the full professor has also completed a master of arts degree in East Asian Studies. She hopes to publish her work in a Chinese journal.

Mancl received a plaque at the banquet, which was accepted on her behalf by Scott Shearer, the chair of her department, and will receive a $1,000 monetary award.