The Isserman Fellowship: A Chance to Make a Difference
By Amy Karagiannakis
Named fellowships provide essential financial support to graduate students pursuing advanced research and creative projects at the College of Fine and Applied Arts. In 2011, alumna Dr. Ellen Jacobsen-Isserman (MUP ’74) established the Andrew Mark Isserman Fellowship in honor of her late husband who was a professor of Urban and Regional Planning at Illinois from 1973–1981 and 1998–2010. Fellowships like this are critical in attracting highly talented and motivated students from around the world.
This year’s Isserman Fellowship recipient was Urban and Regional Planning doctoral student Ouafa Benkraouda. Her research focuses on the convergence of technology, transportation, and informality in urban environments. Benkraouda examines areas predominantly occupied by lower-income groups and migrant worker communities in the United Arab Emirates.
Ouafa Benkraouda had the opportunity to meet Dr. Ellen Jacobsen-Isserman in Urbana last November to extend her gratitude and talk about how the fellowship will advance her research. Jacobsen-Isserman described what it was like to meet an Isserman Fellow and see her gift in action, “When Andy died so unexpectedly in 2010, he was in the middle of an exciting semester of teaching. The establishment of an Isserman Fellowship had been included in our estate plans, so our family decided to partially fund the fellowship in 2011 while people in the department still knew Andy. It was also our wish to meet the recipients as time went on to continue to foster Andy’s great commitment to students and the Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Having dinner with Ouafa was an informative and lovely experience – it’s rewarding to support students and to see the outcomes of Andy’s legacy as a teacher and researcher.”
Professor Andrew Isserman was a pioneer in fostering early international collaboration in urban and regional planning. He organized multiple international planning conferences across Asia and Eastern Europe. The Isserman Fellowship ensures that the legacy of Professor Andrew Isserman and his work will continue to make a lasting impact in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning.