Eight Penn State faculty members are recipients of Fulbright grants for the 2015-16 awards cycle. These awards give recipients opportunities to teach, do research, and immerse themselves in other cultures. Penn State is consistently among the nation’s top Fulbright producers in a program that is highly competitive and rigorously reviewed.
“A Fulbright experience directly contributes to Penn State’s globalization efforts, and provides an opportunity for faculty members to compare curricula, teaching and research methods, and other tangibles that lead to global citizenship,” said Michael Adewumi, vice provost for Global Programs.
The Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs’ section of the U.S. State Department sponsors the Fulbright program. The Institute of International Education’s Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) administers the program for the State Department.
“These awards are a reward for resilience and passion on the part of our faculty who have been given the opportunity to teach or pursue their research interests and making lifelong connections as they do so,” said Sylvester Osagie, the faculty Fulbright adviser in the Office of Global Programs.
The Fulbright program, established by U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright in 1946 to create mutual understanding among the peoples of the world, has several Nobel Laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, and other accomplished scholars from different academic disciplines as alumni. The 2015-16 recipients are as follows:
- Rhonda Belue, associate professor of health policy and administration (College of Health and Human Development). Project Title: Family-Based Culturally Grounded Narratives for Diabetes Management and Prevention. Grant Type: Research. Host Institution/Country: University of Theis, Theis, Senegal.
- John Dolis, professor of English and American studies (Penn State Worthington Scranton). Project Title: Transnationalism; Rome in American Literature. Grant Type: Lecturing/Research. Host Institution/Country: University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
- Dennis Jett, professor of international affairs (School of International Affairs). Project Title: Peacekeeping and the Prospects for Peace in the Middle East. Grant Type: Teaching/Research Host Institution/Country: University of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel.
- Jason Kaye, associate professor of soil biochemistry (College of Agricultural Sciences). Project Title: Using Cover Crops to Increase Agroecosystem Resilience to Climate Change. Grant Type: Research. Host Institution/Country: Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Madrid Spain.
- Joan Redwing, professor of material science and engineering (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences). Project Title: Semiconductor Nanowire Electronics - Nanoscale Materials Development for Future Generation Integrated Circuits. Grant Type: Lecturing Research. Host Institution/Country: University of Lund, Lund, Sweden.
- Chiara Sabina, associate professor of social sciences (Penn State Harrisburg). Project Title: Building the Capacity of Health Professionals to Address Domestic Violence. Grant Type: Lecturing/Research. Host Institution/Country: University of San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador.
- Shuang Shen, associate professor comparative literature and Chinese (College of the Liberal Arts). Project Title: From Hong Kong to the World: Cold War Literary Transnationalism in the Asia Pacific. Grant Type: Research. Host Institution/Country: Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong.
- Erica Smithwick, associate professor of geography (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences). Project Title: Measuring and Monitoring Forest Carbon Stocks and Biodiversity. Grant Type: Lecturing/Research. Host Institution/Country: Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.
The Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is now accepting applications for the 2017-18 academic year. The Core Program has more than 500 teaching, research, or a combination of teaching and research awards in more than 125 countries. Opportunities are available for all Penn State faculty and other professionals such as artists and journalists. Faculty members planning their sabbaticals may wish to apply for a Fulbright grant as well. If you wish to apply for a grant please contact Sylvester Osagie (soo1@psu.edu) or Kris Crassweller (kac400@psu.edu) for more information.