Ruth Needleman wins second Mesa Refuge fellowship

     March 7, 2008 - While busy teaching in Brazil, Professor Ruth Needleman of the Indiana University-Northwest Campus has received another honor.

      Needleman was selected as a 2008 resident of the Mesa Refuge writing fellowship program, the second time she has received such an honor.

       Needleman, who has been in the labor studies program at IU Northwest for 27 years, is currently on a Fullbright Scholar’s grant for four months in Brazil. She is teaching a graduate class on Race, Gender and Class for master’s students in Portuguese and doing research on the educational programs of the social movements in Brazil.

     Needleman said her acceptance into Mesa program will allow here to spend two weeks at Mesa Refuge, located near Point Reyes Station in Northern California. She plans to start writing on her Brazil experiences as a way to organize her thoughts and materials to prepare a book on worker education – a pathway to engaged citizenship.

     “I have been working on this subject and researching it for about five years and need the time to reflect, write and plan.”