The University of Michigan’s Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG) has named U-M Women’s and Gender Studies Professor Robert Wyrod its 2015 Junior Faculty Scholar. The competitive award enables untenured faculty working in the field of women, gender, and sexuality to advance toward tenure by providing office space and course relief for one semester. Professor Wyrod, a University of Chicago-trained sociologist, studies the intersections of gender, sexuality, and social change. His first book, Privilege in a Plague: AIDS and the Remaking of Masculinity in Africa, under contract with the University of California Press, examines how the long-standing AIDS epidemic has shaped gender and sexuality in Africa, especially African masculinities. Professor Wyrod has begun his second major research project. At IRWG, he plans to write an article on Chinese development aid in Africa, especially in Uganda, and its impact on gender relations and the lives of African women. Chinese aid prioritizes large infrastructure projects that often employ men and emphasize “development not gender,” in contrast to Western patterns of “gender and development.” One of Wyrod’s goals is to determine if Chinese aid is largely beneficial or detrimental to African women. Sarah Fenstermaker, director of IRWG, notes, “In past work, Professor Wyrod has given us tremendous insight into the lives of Ugandan women. The question of how the character of development changes those lives is a crucial one for understanding gender and social change.” The deadline for IRWG Junior Faculty Scholars applications is February 1, 2016. For more information about faculty funding available from IRWG, see http://irwg.research.umich.edu/funding/faculty.html