"The Alfred Reschke award came into my life at the perfect time when I was defining myself; it has confirmed my love for sociology and is tangible encouragement for me to further my dedication to understanding the social world."
-- Serena Tang, Class of 2010

Serena Tang is one of three winners of the Reschke Scholarship in 2009-2010, which honors the late Alfred Reschke, a former student and assistant in the Sociology Department at UW-Madison. It was endowed by a generous bequest from his wife, Luvella K. Reschke. Serena is pursuing concentration in analysis and research (CAR) - an option within the sociology major. She and her family live in Hong Kong. Her research project has been on the destabilizing effect of children upon marriage.

"Receiving the Gerald and Barbara E. Marwell Award for Summer 2009, was both an honor and an incentive, in at least two important ways. First, it allowed me to work on my research projects, after completing a challenging first year as a Sociology graduate student. Being an international student, this was really important support. Second, knowing that there are individuals willing to so generously encourage intellectual effort and academic advancement, reinforced my sense of belonging to a professional and academic community that is engaged in a long term intellectual project, through the formation and support of new generations of researchers."
-- Matias Cocina

Matias Cocina is the 2009 recipient of the Marwell Fund Award, a fund established in 2008 by Gerald and Barbara E. Marwell as supplementary recruitment funding for graduate training and research in sociology.

The Hong-wen and Cheen Liao Graduate Scholarship in Sociology was established in 2009. Hong-wen is an alumna of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a master's and PhD in the Department of Sociology and her husband, Cheen, graduated from UW-Madison with a master's degree in Computer Sciences.

Appreciative of their educational experience on our campus, Hong-wen and Cheen generously decided to give back to the next generation of students by establishing funds in both the Department of Sociology and the Department of Computer Sciences. The Liao Graduate Scholarship Fund in Sociology assists accomplished graduate students with financial need. To personalize their support, Hong-wen and Cheen requested that support of a Taiwanese student would be particularly meaningful as it reflects their background and personal experience while meeting a direct departmental need.