Assistant Professor of Piano Yoon-Wha Roh is the first winner of the George and Joan Berry Faculty Success Grant, which was awarded over the summer.
An internationally acclaimed piano soloist, Roh was selected from a pool of 33 highly qualified junior faculty for the $5,000 award that may be used to cover expenses supporting scholarship and research activities, including funding a graduate student assistant, data collection, lab equipment, related travel, and other needs.
Roh has already put the funding to good use, covering travel expenses for an international performance earlier this year with the Musica Sinfonietta in Penang, Malaysia (performing Chopin’s first piano concerto) and an upcoming October performance with the Jeonju Philharmonic Orchestra in Jeonju, South Korea (performing the Beethoven Concerto No. 4).
In addition to her recent and upcoming performances on the international stage, Roh has performed as a soloist with the Saint Petersburg (Russia) Philharmonic Orchestra, the Seoul National Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Classical Symphony Orchestra, to name a few.
“What pushed Roh’s proposal application to the top were her international performances and master workshops that not only advance her career as a pianist and as a teacher but also promote WSU on the international scene,” said Jennifer Thigpen, associate professor of history and director of WSU ADVANCE, adding that the selection committee was amazed by the truly high quality of the 33 applications they received.
For Roh, winning the grant is part of the continuous process of learning and achieving mastery she has pursued throughout her career.
“Now I am sharing with my students what I learned,” said Roh, who attended Yonsei University in South Korea and earned advanced degrees in the U.S. at the New England Conservatory of Music and other top institutions.
Residents of the Palouse will have the opportunity to see Roh perform at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at Bryan Hall Theatre. She will play Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 58, with the WSU Symphony Orchestra. Admission is free.
George and Joan Berry established the faculty success grant after conversations with deans and faculty members over their years of giving — which have included endowed professorships in engineering, arts and sciences, and education, among other gifts.
“We learned that junior faculty had difficulty advancing their careers as a result of few research and scholarly funding opportunities for them, so we wanted to fill that need,” said Joan Berry.
Berry also wanted to provide support for junior women faculty — as well as underrepresented faculty — including those who have had to divide their time between motherhood and academic pursuits.
Creating paths for faculty success
The Berry Grant is under the guidance of WSU ADVANCE in the Provost’s office, which provides institutional support to increase the representation of women and historically under-represented faculty in all disciplines.
“We were initially funded by a National Science Foundation grant for such junior faculty opportunities,” said Thigpen. “But the need is great, and the Berry Grant will help provide additional opportunities for junior faculty.”
For Thigpen, the large number of deserving proposals was a call to action to make additional funding available.
“Fortunately, our budget allowed us to provide grant money for two additional faculty members,” she said.
Those are Arezoo Zare, associate professor of mechanical and materials engineering, and Darryl Singleton, assistant professor of Black music in America and social justice.
“The need is great at WSU for more funding opportunities for our talented junior faculty so they can have those breakthrough moments that Professor Roh is now having in her career,” Thigpen said.
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