Category: Fulbrights

Fulbright Program

FulbrightsThe Fulbright International Exchange Program, under the auspices of the US State Department, offers grants to study, teach and conduct research for U.S. citizens to go abroad and non-U.S. citizens to come to the United States. Different programs are available for faculty members, graduate students, and undergraduates. Although most of the programs are for full years, the Fulbright Specialist Program offers stays of 2-6 weeks. Fulbrights are one of the easiest ways for US academics to connect internationally.

By 2014 Fulbright circulated the following information: “As of last year, lifetime limits on Fulbright Scholar Program grants have been lifted, as have waiting periods between grants. This means more flexibility and opportunity to partake in Fulbright experiences throughout your career; you can participate on a semester-long award and not jeopardize your ability to get back on the Roster or your other future participation.” So for those who have already had one Fulbright, consider requesting another!

A few examples of Communication scholars who have been awarded Fulbrights are listed below. If you have completed any of the varieties of Fulbright awards, and wish to have your description added, send an email with details, or post a comment below.

Mara Adelman – Ethiopia
David L. Altheide – Germany and Portugal
Richard Buttny – Malaysia and India
Kevin Barnhurst – Peru and Italy
Donal Carbaugh – Finland
Kristen Cvancara – Finland
Steven Darian – Uzbekistan
Don Ellis – Israel
Glenn Geiser-Getz (Russia & Ghana)
Phillip Glenn – Moldava
Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz – Portugal
Sheila McNamee – Colombia
Tema Milstein – New Zealand
Jon Nussbaum – Wales
Susan Opt – Czech Republic
Todd Sandel – Taiwan
James Schnell – Cambodia
Stacey K. Sowards – Indonesia
John Parrish-Sprowl – Macedonia and Belarus
Ayseli Usluata – USA (from Turkey)
Paul Voakes – Uganda
Joseph Zompetti – Sri Lanka and Brazil

Stories from many of these Fulbrighters (and others) are included in chapter The value of a Fulbright: Internationalizing education one person at a time, published in Internationalizing the communication curriculum in an age of globalization.

Donal Carbaugh-Fulbright

Donal Carbaugh
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Distinguished Fulbright Professor to Finland

The Fulbright Program is an outstanding resource for collaborating with others on studies of communication, dialogue, and intercultural relations. I have been extremely fortunate over the years to have the support of this program. This began in 1992-1993 when my family and I lived in Finland where I worked with colleagues at the Universities of Tampere and Jyvaskyla, and at the Turku School of Economics. Later, during the 2007-2008 academic year, I held the position of Distinguished Fulbright Professor and Bicentennial Chair of North American Studies at the University of Helsinki. These opportunities have led to longstanding collaborations with colleagues in Finland, to a deepening of studies in intercultural communication and dialogue, and to forging personal relationships that will last a lifetime.

On a related note, on May 11, I will present the closing address at the University of Helsinki’s 14th Biennial Maple Leaf and Eagle conference: “An American West and a Western World: From American Indians to Aristotle and back again.”

Mara Adelman-Fulbright

Mara Adelman
Seattle University

Fulbright Specialist to Ethiopia

Communication Professor Mara Adelman (Ph.D. U. of Washington), currently an associate professor of communication at Seattle University, recently received a Fulbright Specialist award. She will join the Department of Communication at the University of Mekelle in northern Ethiopia next October-December, 2012. The Fulbright Specialist Program links American academics with colleagues at host institutions overseas for short-term collaborative projects.  Adelman will work with faculty and students for six weeks and will present workshops and seminars, consult, and collaborate on community outreach activities. The university is home to 23,000 students.  Adelman received her Ph.D. from the University of Washington and then joined Northwestern University.  She came to Seattle University, Department of Communication in 1994.  She is author of Beyond Language: Cross-cultural communication for ESL (co-authored with Deena Levine; Prentice Hall, 1987, 1997), and an award-winning ethnographic study of the second largest home for persons with AIDS, The Fragile Community (co-authored with Lawrence R. Frey; Lawrence Erlbaum, 1997).  Her research and scholarship focus on cross-cultural communication and adaptation, restorative solitude, interpersonal and organizational social interaction.

Dr. Adelman encourages communication faculty to apply for the Fulbright Specialist position.  This procedure is quite simple (1-2 page application), efficient, and the award position lasts for 5 years.  You are encouraged to cultivate relationships with international universities that then invite you and/or you respond with short proposals from universities that review your Fulbright resume.  Dr. Adelman responded to the call for an appointment to Ethiopia with a brief paragraph and a list of courses, workshops, lectures, and public outreach.  She carefully read the proposal and tried to address the needs of the University of Mekelle.  Fulbright Specialist appointments run 2-6 weeks.  Her appointment is for 42 days, with coverage for airfare, housing, food, and a daily stipend.  In order to share and speak upon a broad range of topics, Dr. Adelman has solicited the help of people in the communication discipline to send information and powerpoints that could be used in public presentations; and she is seeking donations for small laptop notebooks that she can bring to faculty and students at the University of Mekelle.

**See Mara Adelman’s description of her Fulbright after it was completed.

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