News and Progress

Soccer coach gives the best of both worlds

Jan. 25, 2007

John Bies, foreground, endowed travel funds to expand horizons for graduate students. From left, Doug Sanders, Jason Wells, Noriko Porter and Athanasios Chymis joined Bies on campus to share their experiences.

A generous donation from John Bies expands horizons for MU students. In 2003, he endowed a scholarship fund for international travel for graduate students. Young soccer players from South America convinced Bies, PhD '72, of Landrum, S.C., that American students should acquire the international savvy needed for success. As a professional soccer coach, Bies noted the cultural maturity of players who traveled extensively outside their native countries. He attributed the skill to travel and exposure to other cultures.

So far, four MU graduate students have gained the insight and confidence of international travel, thanks to Bies' gift. They are also drawing global attention to the academic preparation provided at Mizzou.

Jason Wells, of Columbia, who completed his PhD in political science, is applying what he learned about emerging democracies in South Africa in 2005 to the course he is teaching at MU. Wells interviewed South African legislators about attitudes since the demise of apartheid there, thanks to funding provided by Bies.  

Doug Sanders, of Nevada, Mo., is a sixth year doctoral student in molecular pathobiology. He expanded his understanding of international stem cell research at a conference in Lausaunne, Switzerland, where he presented a poster about using stem cells from bone marrow to treat diseases that attack the central nervous system.

Noriko Porter, a fifth year doctoral student in Human Environmental Sciences from Kanazawa, Japan, recently traveled to Tokyo to conduct research for her dissertation comparing parenting styles in the U.S. and Japan.

Athanasios Chymis is a sixth year doctoral student in agricultural economics from Athens, Greece, completing his dissertation on corporate social responsibility. He presented a paper on the relationship between market pressure and responsiveness to stakeholders at a conference in Merida, Mexico.

The students' experiences gratify Bies, whose own career was inspired by opportunities at Mizzou. He carefully chose MU for his doctorate in industrial education because of its academic rigor. "We worked our buns off," he says. "It was very competitive."

Higher education in the U.S. is the best in the world, Bies says. By funding international travel, his scholarship recipients get the best of both worlds: rigorous academic instruction and exposure to other cultures.