Armstrong State University Director of International Education Dorothée Mertz-Weigel, Ph.D., has been selected to participate in a Japan Studies Institute Fellowship at San Diego State University from June 5-18, 2017. The two-week Summer Institute will focus on the study of modern Japan and encourages participants to develop strategies for incorporating Japanese studies into courses on their campuses.
 
Mertz-Weigel will experience two weeks of intensive seminars, lectures, readings, films and cultural activities related to Japanese history, culture, literature, government, business, language and education. The formal program is complemented by a number of off-campus and evening activities.
 
Institute faculty members include Japanese scholars, community, artists, journalists and government officials. Fellowships are sponsored by the Nippon Foundation, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and San Diego State University.
 
Mertz-Weigel joined Armstrong in 2007 and is an associate professor of French Language and Literature. She has directed the Foreign Language Lab and served on the Foreign Language Academic Advisory Committee, as well as the Faculty Senate. Honored with the H. Dean Propst Award in 2010 for her efforts in student academic and extra-curricular engagement, Mertz-Weigel introduced an eFrench program to Armstrong’s campus last fall. She also directs the annual Francophone Film Festival.
 
Mertz-Weigel holds a doctorate in French Literature from The Ohio State University.