Dr. Astrid Villamil, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, has won a University of Missouri South African Education Program (UMSAEP) Award to conduct research in collaboration with the University of Western Cape. Villamil will examine how inclusion and equity processes exist in a South African university and what unique challenges and opportunities emerge.

Villamil aims to advance knowledge about institutional equity and inclusion outside Eurocentric and North Atlantic contexts, a line of research that she has already explored in past research projects. Her project will contribute to enlarging global inquiry within the communication discipline and advancing knowledge in the fields of cultural and organizational communication. Villamil looks forward to this unique opportunity to describe institutional practices around equity and inclusion in a South African context.