Edna Andrews | Scholars@Duke

Edna Andrews
Nancy and Jeffrey Marcus Humanities Distinguished Professor of Slavic and Eurasian Studies

Edna Andrews is Professor of Linguistics and Cultural Anthropology, Nancy & Jeffrey Marcus Distinguished Professor of Slavic & Eurasian Studies, and Chair of the Linguistics Program at Duke University. She received her PhD from Indiana University and holds an honorary doctorate from St. Petersburg State University (Russia). Her books include Markedness theory: The union of asymmetry and semiosis in language (1990), About Sintetizm, Mathematics and Other Things: E.I. Zamiatin's novel WE (1994, in Russian), The Semantics of Suffixation (1996), Conversations with Lotman: Cultural semiotics in language, literature and cognition (2003), A Calculus of Meaning: Studies in Markedness, Distinctive Features and Deixis (1996, edited volume). Her newest book is Neuroscience and Multilingualism (Cambridge University Press, 2014). Recent articles in cognitive neuroscience and semiotics include "H.M's Language Skills: Clues about Language and the Medial Temporal Lobe" (2005), "Semiospheric transitions: A key to modelling translation" (2009), "Language and Brain: Recasting Meaning in the Definition of Human Language" (2011). Professor Andrews is the guest editor for a special issue devoted to brain and language of the journal Brain Sciences (2013). Her current research includes an extensive longitudinal fMRI study of second language acquisition and multilingualism. The first paper published from this study appeared in Brain Sciences 2013, 3(2), 849-876 (Multilingualism and fMRI: A Longitudinal Study of Second Language Acquisition. Co-authored with C. Casabo-Voyvodic, J. Voyvodic and J. Wright.) Professor Andrews was awarded the University Scholar/Teacher award on September 26, 2013 by the President of Duke University, Richard Brodhead.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Nancy and Jeffrey Marcus Humanities Distinguished Professor of Slavic and Eurasian Studies, Slavic & Eurasian Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2011
Professor of Slavic Languages and Literature, Slavic & Eurasian Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 1998
Director, Center for Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies, Office of Area Studies and International Studies 2005
Director of the Program in Linguistics, Linguistics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2018
Professor in the Linguistics Program, Linguistics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2013
Professor in the Department of Cultural Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 1998
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, University Institutes and Centers 2008
Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society, Duke Science & Society, Initiatives 2018

Contact Information

321B Languages Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
Box 90259, Durham, NC 27708-0259
eda@duke.edu (919) 660-3142

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., Indiana University at Bloomington 1984
Previous Appointments & Affiliations
- Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Linguistics Program, Linguistics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2019 - 2020
- Director of the FOCUS Program, FOCUS Program, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2014 - 2017
- Chair in the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies, Slavic & Eurasian Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2015 - 2016
- Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Linguistics Program, Linguistics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2015 - 2016
- Director of the Linguistics Program, Linguistics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2013 - 2015
- Director, Undergraduate Studies, Slavic & Eurasian Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2009 - 2012
- Acting Chair, Slavic & Eurasian Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2009
- Chair, Department of Slavic Languages and Literature, Slavic & Eurasian Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 1999 - 2006
- Director, Linguistics Program, Slavic & Eurasian Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 1996 - 1999
- Associate Professor with Tenure, Slavic & Eurasian Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 1990 - 1998
- Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 1996 - 1998
- Associate Professor with Tenure, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, Duke University 1993 - 1996
- Acting Chair, Slavic & Eurasian Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 1993
- Assistant Professor, Slavic & Eurasian Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 1984 - 1990
Recognition
In the News
- MAR 29, 2022
  
  A War, a Humanitarian Crisis and an Economic Threat
- JAN 5, 2022 Duke Research Blog
  
  Keeping the Aging Brain Connected With Words and Music
- OCT 6, 2021 Trinity College of Arts and Sciences
  
  ‘Truth is a Linguistic Question’: Five Scholars on Fraught Questions of Language Discrimination
- OCT 18, 2019
  
  Seminar Series to Raise Awareness of Language Discrimination
- SEP 28, 2017
  
  Two Decades Later, FOCUS Remains a Staple of Duke's First-Year Program
- JAN 9, 2017
  
  The Neuroscience of Language Learning: Why Most Humans Are Bilingual
- MAY 9, 2016 FactCheck
  
  Edna Andrews: Putin did not call Trump a ‘genius’
- MAR 10, 2014 Duke Research Blog
  
  My Brain and Your Brain Speak Different Languages
- NOV 18, 2013
  
  Faculty Council Raises Linguistics to Program Status
- SEP 20, 2013
  
  Language & the Brain, in Research and the Classroom
- MAY 9, 2013
  
  Civil Rights Tour Brings History to Life
Expertise
Global Scholarship
- Expertise
  - Russian Federation (Country)
- Research
  - Russian Federation (Country)
- Teaching
  - Russian Federation (Country)
Research
Selected Grants
- Research and Writing on Russia awarded by Carnegie Corporation of New York 2017 - 2022
- U.S. Department of Education Language Resource Centers Program awarded by Department of Education 2018 - 2022
- 2014-2018 Language Resource Center awarded by Department of Education 2014 - 2019
- Research and Writing on Russia awarded by Carnegie Corporation of New York 2015 - 2017
- Language Resource Centers awarded by Department of Education 2010 - 2015
- Slavic & Eurasian Language Resource Center NRC awarded by Department of Education 2010 - 2014
- National Resource Center awarded by Department of Education 2006 - 2011
- National Resource Centers awarded by Department of Education 2006 - 2010
- National Resource Center/Foreign Language & Area Studies Fellowships awarded by Department of Education 2006 - 2007
- Slavic & East European Language Resource Center awarded by Department of Education 2002 - 2007
- National Resource Centers awarded by Department of Education 2003 - 2007
- Title VI National Resource Center/Foreign Language & Area Studies Fellowships awarded by Department of Education 2003 - 2006
- Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships awarded by Department of Education 2000 - 2003
- Slavic & East European Language Resource Center awarded by Department of Education 1999 - 2003
- National Resource Center for Undergraduate Studies awarded by Department of Education 1997 - 2000
- National Resource Centers and Foreign Language and Area Studies Programs awarded by Department of Education 1998 - 2000
- National Resource Centers and Foreign Language and Area Studies Programs awarded by Department of Education 1997 - 2000
- Joint Undergraduate National Resource Center for Slavic Studies awarded by Department of Education 1994 - 1997
- Joint Undergraduate National Resource Center for Slavic Studies awarded by Department of Education 1994 - 1997
- The Duke-UNC Center for Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies awarded by Department of Education 1994 - 1995
- Russian Language Instruction awarded by Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation 1989 - 1990
- Acquisition of Russian Language Material for Classroom and Language Lab USe awarded by Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation 1986 - 1987
Fellowships, Supported Research, & Other Grants
- Seed Grant: Strategic community building: An alternative to discriminatory practices across disciplines (SCB) awarded by Duke Office of Faculty Advancement 2020
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Books
  - Andrews, E. Neuroscience and multilingualism, 2014.
  - Andrews, E., and S. Dickey. Slavic Linguistics: In Honor of Ronald Feldstein, 2011.
  - Andrews, E., and E. Maksimova. Russian Translation: Theory and Practice (2 volumes). Vol. Two volumes. Routledge Publishers, 2010.
  - Andrews, E. Slavic Linguistics 2K: A Retrospective Volume. Edited by E. Andrews, S. Franks, R. Feldstein, and Fowler G. Slavika Publishers, 2006.
  - Andrews, E. Conversations with lotman: Cultural semiotics in language, literature, and cognition, 2003.
  - Andrews, E. Contemporary Russian Studies: Language, Culture, Text. GLOSSOS, 2002.
  - Andrews, E. Russian: A Grammar of Contemporary Russian. Lincom Europa, Munchen, 2001.
  - Andrews, E., G. Averyanova, and G. Pyadusova. Russian Verb: Forms and Functions. Russkij jazyk: Moscow, 1997.
  - Andrews, E. The semantics of suffixation in Russian. Munchen, Germany: Lincom Europa, 1996.
  - Benjamins, John. A Calculus of Meaning: Studies in Markedness, Distinctive Features and Deixis. Edited by E. Andrews and Y. Tobin, 1996.
  - Andrews, E. Markedness theory: The union of asymmetry and semiosis in language. Durham, NC: Duke Univeristy Press, 1990.
  - Andrews, E. A first year Supplementary Russian grammar, 1987.
  - Andrews, E. A second year grammar and one-stem dictionary, 1987.
  - Andrews, E., G. McLaws, and A. Rogers. A handbook of Russian verbal prefixes. Bloomington: Physsardt, 1983.
- Academic Articles
  - Andrews, Edna, Cyrus Eierud, David Banks, Todd Harshbarger, Andrew Michael, and Charlotte Rammell. “Effects of Lifelong Musicianship on White Matter Integrity and Cognitive Brain Reserve.” Brain Sci 11, no. 1 (January 6, 2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11010067.
    Full Text Link to Item
  - Andrews, E. “The importance of lotmanian and peircean semiotics in linguistic analysis.” Balkanistica 33 (January 1, 2020): 221–30.
  - Andrews, E. “The importance of Lotmanian semiotics to sign theory and the cognitive neurosciences.” Sign Systems Studies 43, no. 2–3 (January 1, 2015): 347–64. https://doi.org/10.12697/SSS.2015.43.2-3.10.
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  - Thompson, R. J., I. Walther, C. Tufts, K. C. Lee, L. Paredes, L. Fellin, E. Andrews, et al. “Development and Assessment of the Effectiveness of an Undergraduate General Education Foreign Language Requirement.” Foreign Language Annals 47, no. 4 (December 1, 2014): 653–68. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12112.
    Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Andrews, Edna, Luca Frigau, Clara Voyvodic-Casabo, James Voyvodic, and John Wright. “Multilingualism and fMRI: Longitudinal Study of Second Language Acquisition.” Brain Sci 3, no. 2 (May 28, 2013): 849–76. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci3020849.
    Full Text Link to Item
  - Andrews, E. “Language and brain: Recasting meaning in the definition of human language.” Semiotica 2011, no. 184 (April 1, 2011): 11–32. https://doi.org/10.1515/semi.2011.020.
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  - Andrews, E., C. Bae, N. Davis, P. Kang, N. Mehta, and T. Hausburg. “Speech and Sung Phoneme Perception,” 2011.
  - Andrews, E. “Markedness Theory: Tense and Aspect in the Russian Verb.” Edited by Robert Binnick, 2010.
  - Andrews, E. “Series of articles on semiotic topics.” Edited by Paul Cobley, 2009.
  - Andrews, E. “Redefining Discontinuity in Cultural Space: Principles of Semiospheric Explosion,” 2009.
  - Andrews, E. “Lotman and the Cognitive Sciences: The Role of Autocommunication in the Language of Memory,” 2009.
  - Andrews, E. ““The Semiotics of Jurij Lotman.”,” 2008.
  - Andrews, E., and E. Maksimova. “Semiospheric Transitions: A Key to Modelling Translation,” 2008.
  - Skotko, B. G., E. Andrews, and G. Einstein. “Corrigendum to "Language and the medial temporal lobe: Evidence from H.M.'s spontaneous discourse" [Journal of Memory and Language 53 (2005) 397-415] (DOI:10.1016/j.jml.2005.05.003).” Journal of Memory and Language 54, no. 4 (May 1, 2006): 635. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2006.01.003.
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  - Andrews, E. “Zamyatin and the circle of colors,” 2006.
  - Andrews, E. “Neurolinguistic perspectives on Second Language Acquisition.” Language (Journal of the Linguistic Society of America), 2005.
  - Andrews, E. “Medial Temporal Lobes and Languages: The Case of HM,.” Journal of Memory and Language, 2005.
  - Andrews, E., and B. Skotko. “H.M.’s Language Skills: Clues About Language and the Medial Temporal Lobe.” Journal of Memory and Language, 2005.
  - Skotko, B. G., E. Andrews, and G. Einstein. “Language and the medial temporal lobe: Evidence from H.M.'s spontaneous discourse.” Journal of Memory and Language 53, no. 3 (January 1, 2005): 397–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2005.05.003.
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  - Andrews, E. “Slavic Languages in the Context of Languages of the Worl. Review of Comrie/Corbett The Slavonic Languages.” Seej, 2005.
  - Andrews, E. “Redefining textual boundaries: Torop and the Tartu school of semiotics.” Semiotica 144 (December 1, 2003): 377–80. https://doi.org/10.1515/semi.2003.033.
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  - Andrews, E. “Memory, Language and Brain.” Prague School Linguistics, 2003.
  - Andrews, E., and E. Maksimova. “Zamjatinkskij Puskin.” Russkaja Literatura, Journal of the Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Puskinskij Dom, 2003.
  - Andrews, E. “Teorija postroenie xudozhestvennogo prostranstva: Lotman i Florenskij,” 2003.
  - Andrews, E. “Viktor Shklovskij: proza 20-x godov,” 2003.
  - Andrews, E. “Peterburg Axmatovoj i Bloka,” 2003.
  - Andrews, E. “Gender Roles and Perception: Russian Diminutives in Discourse.” Edited by M. Mills, 2003.
  - Andrews, E. “Tartu School Contributions to the Study of Literary Texts: The Work of Peeter Torop.” Semiotica 144 (2003): 377–80.
  - Andrews, E. “Russian Derivational Morphology and Shifting Reference.” Townsend Memorial Volume, 2002.
  - Andrews, E. “Russian Contributions to Cognitive Science: Vygotsky, Luria, Jakobson and Lotman,” 2002.
  - Andrews, E. “Text and Culture: Continuous Discontinuity in Lotman and Zamjatin,” May 2001, 347–70.
  - Andrews, E. “The Tartu school at the end of the twentieth century.” Semiotica 131, no. 3–4 (December 1, 2000): 267–71.
  - Andrews, E. “Recasting Animacy: The Codification of Perceptual Distinctions in Language.” Edited by E. Contini-Morava and Y. Tobin, 2000, 205–23.
  - Andrews, E. “Jakobson between East and West: 1915-1939.” Seej (The Slavic and East European Journal), 2000.
  - Andrews, E. “The Role of Semiotics in Modern Linguistic Theory.” Edited by G. Fowler, 2000.
  - Andrews, E. “Nine short articles on major figures and central theoretical constructs in semiotic and linguistic theory.” Edited by P. Cobley, 2000.
  - Andrews, E. “K opredeleniju semioticheskogo prostranstva,” 2000.
  - Andrews, E. “The Tartu School at the End of the Twentieth Century.” Semiotica 131 (2000): 267–71.
  - Andrews, E. “Lotman's communication act and semiosis.” Semiotica 126, no. 1–4 (January 1, 1999): 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1515/semi.1999.126.1-4.1.
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  - Andrews, E. “The Memory of Language in the Language of Memory.” The Peirce Seminar Papers (An Annual of Semiotic Analysis) 4 (1999): 623–37.
  - Andrews, E. “The Jakobsonian Legacy in Contemporary Poetics.” Semiotica 123 (1999).
  - Andrews, E. “Peirce and Jakobson Revisited: The Relation of Visual and Auditory Signs in Human Language.” The Peirce Papers Iii 12 (1997): 11–27.
  - Andrews, E. “Interpretants and linguistic change: The case of -x- in modern standard colloquial Russian.” Journal of Slavic Linguistics 1 (1997): 199–218.
  - Andrews, E. “Einstein: Selected Works (vols III & IV) by Richard Taylor & William Powell.” Europe Asia Studies, 1997.
  - Andrews, E. “The semiotics of catastrophe: Interpretants and linguistic change.” Edited by I. Rauch, 1997, 179–82.
  - Andrews, E. “The shift of ’shame’ in Slavic.” Ijslp XXXIX–XL (1996): 299–312.
  - Andrews, E. “Cultural sensitivity and political correctness: The linguistic problem of naming.” American Speech 71, no. 4 (January 1, 1996): 389–404. https://doi.org/10.2307/455713.
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  - Andrews, E. “Sovremennaja zizn’ i vopros o tabu,” 1996.
  - Andrews, E. “Political correctness and cultural sensitivity: The linguistic problem of taboo.” American Speech 71 (1996): 389–404.
  - Andrews, E. “Upotreblenie laskatel’nyx form v razgovore s det’mi,” July 1995.
  - Andrews, E. “Adult speaker and child addressee: Usage and perception of Russian diminutives.” Russian Language Journal XLIX (1995).
  - Andrews, E. “Osobennosti razvitija russkoj leksiki v novejsij period (na materiale gazet).” The Slavic and East European Journal 39 (1995).
  - Andrews, E. “Evaluation in ELT by Cyril Weir & Jon Robers.” American Speech, 1995.
  - Andrews, E. “Seeing is believing: Categories of visual perception in Russian.” Edited by E. Contini-Moraga and R Sussman Goldberg, 1995, 361–80.
  - Andrews, E. “The Port-Royal Grammar.” Secol Review, 1994.
  - Andrews, E. “Markedness theory: An explication of its theoretical basis and applicability in semantic analysis.” Edited by C. Gribble, CH van Schooneveld, and C. Townsend, 1994.
  - Andrews, E. “Gender and declension shifts in contemporary standard Russian: Markedness as a semiotic principle,” 1994.
  - Andrews, E. “The interface of iconicity and interpretants” 2 (1994): 9–28.
  - Andrews, E., M St Johns, and F. Borchardt. “Gender signalling in Russian: A contrastive analysis of native speakers and artificial neural networks.” Language Quarterly 31 (1993): 1–40.
  - Andrews, E. “The iconicity of gender shifts in contemporary Russian,” 1993, 202–13.
  - Andrews, E. “’Vzaimosvjaz’ tvorcestva Bulgakova i Zamjatina.” Vestnik Spbu, January 1992.
  - Andrews, E. “Contemporary Morphology.” Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 1992.
  - Andrews, E. “Language: A Theory of its Stucture and Use by Pers Saugstad.” Language 67 (March 1991).
  - Andrews, E. “Markedness Theory by Ed Batistella.” American Speech, 1991.
  - Andrews, E. “The boundaries of sense: Cvetaeva’s extension of the morpheme,” 1991.
  - Andrews, E. “Pierce’s emotional interpretant: A key to bilingualism.” International Review of Applied Linguistics (Iral), August 1990.
  - Andrews, E. “A dialogue on the sign: Can Peirce and Jakobson be reconciled?” Semiotica 82, no. 1–2 (January 1, 1990): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1515/semi.1990.82.1-2.1.
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  - Andrews, E. “A semiotic revolution: Peirce and Jakobson on the nature of the sign.” Secol Review 14 (1990).
  - Andrews, E. “Peirce's emotional interpretant: A key to bilingualism.” Iral International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 28, no. 3 (January 1, 1990): 185–200. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral.1990.28.3.185.
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  - Andrews, E. “Cognitive Science.” Secol Review, 1990.
  - Andrews, E. “Semanticeskij analiz russkix glagol’nyx pristavok i predlogov o i ob,” January 1990.
  - Andrews, E. “Grammar and pragmatics: The two axes of language and deixis,” 1990.
  - Andrews, E. “Lingvistika i poetika i interpretacija teksta: Zimnaja noc Pasternaka,” October 1989.
  - Andrews, E. “A study in linguistic sign theory: The suffix -K-A/-KA in modern Russian.” Edited by Y. Tobin, 1989, 123–34.
  - Andrews, E. “Frontiers in Semiotics edited by J. Deely, B. Williams & F.E. Kruse.” American Speech 62 (1987).
  - Andrews, E. “Jakobsonian markedness theory as mathematical principle,” 1987, 177–97.
  - Andrews, E. “Gender shifts and myths about markedness,” 1987.
  - Andrews, E. “Markedness theory in morphology and semantics: The reconciliation of contextual versus general meaning.” The Secol Review X (1986).
  - Andrews, E. “A reevaluation of the relationship between grammatical gender and declension in modern Greek and Russian.” Ijslp XXXIV (1986).
  - Andrews, E. “An extention of the concept of shifter in verbal categories: Perceptual versus transmissional deixis,” 1986, 73–80.
  - Andrews, E. “The prefixes DE- and UN- in modern American English.” American Speech 61 (1986).
  - Andrews, E. “A synchronic semantic analysis of the preverbs O- and OB- in modern Serbo-Croatian,” 1985, 7–18.
  - Andrews, E. “Markedness reversals in linguistic sign systems,” 1985, 169–80.
  - Andrews, Edna. “A Semantic Analysis of the Russian Prepositions/Preverbs O(-) and OB(-).” The Slavic and East European Journal 28, no. 4 (1984): 477–477. https://doi.org/10.2307/307635.
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  - Andrews, E. “An error analysis of modern Russian” 6 (1983).
- Book Sections
  - Andrews, E. “Markedness.” In The Oxford Handbook of Tense and Aspect, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195381979.013.0007.
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- Other Articles
  - Andrews, E., and E. A. Maksimova. “Russian translation: Theory and practice.” Russian Translation: Theory and Practice, August 4, 2009. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203880692.
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Teaching & Mentoring
Recent Courses
Scholarly, Clinical, & Service Activities
Presentations & Appearances
- V. Conferences and Invited Lectures A. Conferences organized: 1. JULY 2009: We won a bid from the U.S. Department of Defense to host their LEARN conference, devoted to Russian language and linguistics. I was one of the keynote speakers. Other participa. December 16, 2009 2009
- Conferences and invited lectures. December 14, 2009 2009
Outreach & Engaged Scholarship
Service to the Profession
- Promotions and Journal reviews. December 14, 2009 2009

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Previous Appointments & Affiliations

In the News

Global Scholarship

Expertise

Research

Teaching

Selected Grants

Fellowships, Supported Research, & Other Grants

Selected Publications

Books

Academic Articles

Book Sections

Other Articles

Recent Courses

Presentations & Appearances

Outreach & Engaged Scholarship

Service to the Profession