Running Scorecard of Mongolia Across Various Indicies

For individuals looking to track Mongolia's progress,  Dr. Julian Dierkes the Coordinator of the Program on Inner Asia at the Institute of Asian Research based at the University of British Columbia,  has compiled and updates a list of diverse but currently relevant indices.

For more information  go to Mongolia Scorecard

Understanding Mongolian History through Collaborative Research and Public Discussion

Summary of Report by  Erdene Myagmar, ACMS Visiting Scholar Fellow

On March 15^th 2013,   Dr. Erdene Myagmar from the Department of Archeology and Anthropology at the National University of Mongolia returned from her three month visit to Western Michigan University.  As a recipient of the ACMS Visiting Scholar Fellowship, she worked in collaboration with Dr. Jacqueline Eng and her graduate student J. Gomez  to conduct a comparative analysis of the Asian population archeological data sets to address interesting new questions about population health during different time periods.  This resulted in a collaborative paper “Investigation of the Effects of Diet, Sex, and Age on Dental Health Among Ancient Asian Samples from China and Mongolia” which was presented at the 40^th annual North American Meeting of the Paleopathological Association held  April 9-13, 2013.

 During her fellowship she also conducted two other projects with the Department of Physical Anthropology at the Cleveland Museum of  Natural History.  One was the examination of cranial nonmetric traits  of  Native American remains to be used in future research of the biological affinities of Asian and American populations.  The other was the study of long bones and skeletal material from fetal, infant and sub-adult remains of a known age to be used for comparison with bioarcheological excavations within Mongolia.

Dr. Erdene also provided two well received public lectures during her stay in Kalamazoo.  The first was on “Bronze Age nomadic cultures of Southern and Eastern Mongolia” targeted to professors and graduate students of Anthropology.  The second was titled “Mongolian Nomads: History and Culture” which was targeted to a more general academic population.

We congratulate Dr. Erdene Myagmar and welcome amongst the ranks of the ACMS Alumni.

Support Positions with the OSCE for the 2013 Mongolian Presidential Election

Since Mongolia has joined the Organization for Security and Co-operation  there has been a major long and short term election observation project underway which started with last year's election.  With the Presidential election scheduled for June 23rd, the OSCE is looking for individuals to fill a number of support positions.  These positions are open to all interested in being involved.

For more information follow this link: OSCE Mongolia 2013

Introduction from the incoming Resident Director Marc Tassé

"It’s been just over a week since my arrival in Ulaanbaatar, it is a pleasure to find the time and introduce myself as the new Resident Director for the American Center for Mongolian Studies. I am both excited and humbled by the task at hand.  The ACMS has been an active and respected member of the local community, something I aim to maintain and foster during my time here. As the first Canadian Director for the ACMS, I hope that I can live up to the legacy left by my predecessors.

This is my third tour through Asia, the first being a three month term in Thailand as a volunteer research assistant with some time spent as a resident in a local Buddhist monastery.  The second was a 6 year term in South Korea, working as an international trade consultant as well as getting heavily involved in the local traditional culture scene. I have also been involved in the direction of several non-profit and community organizations, both in Canada and overseas.

I have recently come out of a three-year work sabbatical, during which I completed a Masters of Global Management from Royal Roads University and a Masters in International Business Administration for the Munich University of Applied Science, I was searching for an opportunity that would combine my experience in international management, passion for learning, and intrigue in traditional Asian cultures. Being the Resident Director of the ACMS fulfills all of these requirements and more.

During the next few months I will be working on strengthening our relationships with the local academic, NGO, government and private sectors in order to facilitate the activities of our members and the research community.  By developing new relationships I hope to expand the options available and discover new areas where the ACMS can have an impact.

I look forward to hearing from all of you suggestions on how the ACMS can continue to grow and fulfill its mission of supporting the development of Mongolian Studies and academic exchanges." -Marc Tassé

Understanding Mongolia: Fact, Fiction and Everything in Between - By Brian White, Editor, The Mongolist

5:30 PM, Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013 AMERICAN CORNER, ULAANBAATAR PUBLIC LIBRARY NAMED BY D. NATSAGDORJ

The digital age has made easy information something we take for granted. Every second journalists, academics, think tanks, bloggers, and many other knowledge producers provide timely analysis and synthesis of complex issues. Except on Mongolia. Information is a bit more sparse in that area, and it is often difficult to sort out what is fact, fiction, and everything in between because of a lack of trusted information sources and even information itself. Brian White created the blog "The Mongolist " in 2012 as his way to supplement his own unending curiosity about Mongolian politics, business, and society and to contribute to a better understanding of Mongolian issues among the public by using an investigative evidence based approach to his writing. In this lecture, Mr. White will present on several topics he's investigated for his blog and expand on some of their more interesting and important implications.

ACMS Library Fellowship 2012

American Center for Mongolian Studies is pleased to announce the second year of the ACMS Library Fellowship. This fellowship supports US advanced graduate students, faculty members, or professionals in library and information sciences from colleges and universities to conduct short-term library development projects and/or research in Mongolia for a period of up to 12 weeks between May and October 2012. The ACMS Library Fellowship program is intended to help support the development of the ACMS research library and build stronger connections among local library partners through specific defined projects designed to enhance collection content, resource accessibility, and training.

Fellows are hosted by the ACMS and should propose projects that have measurable positive outcomes for the scholarly community served by the ACMS. Project proposals with similar outcomes and impacts on local partner libraries are also especially encouraged. Fellows spend a minimum of 4 weeks and a maximum of 12 weeks onsite in Mongolia at the ACMS library. Projects must begin after May 1, 2012 and end no later than September 30, 2012. Prior experience working in Mongolia is not a requirement. Due to conditions set by the funding agency only US citizens are eligible to apply to this program.

Deadline to submit application: February 15, 2012.

More information on how to apply at: www.mongoliacenter.org/librarian

The fellowship is supported with funding from the US State Department Education and Cultural Affairs Bureau and the Council of American Oversees Research Centers.

ACMS Mongolian Visiting Scholar Program 2012

The American Center for Mongolian Studies (ACMS) is pleased to announce the second year of the ACMS Mongolian Visiting Scholar Program. The Visiting Scholar Program provides funding support for 3-12 week short-term visits by Mongolian scholars to US universities and academic research centers to work with US based counterparts on collaborative projects and public outreach activities. Project proposals in all academic fields are eligible, and small colleges and universities are especially encouraged to apply.

Applications for the program must be submitted by a US host institution representative on behalf of an invited Mongolian scholar. Visits to the US must begin between September 1 and December 31, 2012. This program is intended to fund non-degree, scholarly exchange activities.

Deadline to submit application: February 15, 2012.

More information about how to apply at: www.mongoliacenter.org/exchange.

The Program is supported by the US State Department Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau (ECA) and the Council of American Overseas Research Centers.