Critical Language Scholarship Program | Building Research on…

Building Research on Environmental Science in Indonesia: Walker DePuy

Walker DePuy (CLS 2014 Indonesian)’s Ph.D. research is on environmental anthropology, with a particular focus on Indonesia. His Alumni Development Fund enabled him to attend and present preliminary dissertation research at the East-West Center’s 14th Annual International Graduate Student Conference on the Asia-Pacific Region in Honolulu. His presentation at the conference was entitled “The politics of (non-)carbon valuation and territoriality in an Indonesian landscape.” At the conference Walker was able to gain valuable experience presenting academic research and also meet and develop working relationships with several graduate students with similar research interests, paving the way for potential future collaboration.


The Alumni Development Fund in 2014 awarded funding to 65 alumni from the 2014 cohort who submitted proposals for activities to assist with their continued language learning and/or professional academic development. Priority was given to applications that incorporated or explained how their activity would have a wider impact on others (e.g. students, CLS alumni, community).

2014 ADF projects covered a wide scope of topics and activities. Some projects focused on improving the awardee’s CLS language skills in order to indirectly affect the public through the creation of language materials, improving one’s effectiveness at their workplace, and sharing their research and CLS experience at national conferences. Other projects directly impacted others, for example through the creation of an international pen-pal exchange, language tables at universities, and community events highlighting their host languages and cultures.