Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz Fulbright

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz
University of Wisconsin-Parkside

Fulbright Senior Specialist to Portugal

One thing leads to another. This is the story of how I became a Fulbright Specialist in Portugal.

In May 2010 I retired from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. In fall 2010 I applied to the Fulbright Specialist Program, and was approved in spring 2011. This program funds 2 to 6 week visits in 2 countries during a period of 5 years, including airfare and a daily stipend (host institutions cover room and board and in-country travel if it is necessary). In September 2011, while at a conference in Paris, a colleague found out I would be traveling to Portugal for pleasure. He provided an email  introduction to a scholar there with overlapping interests, with the result that I was asked to give two talks at the Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra in November. There was a good fit between my project in France at that time (describing US higher education pedagogy) and the needs of a new teaching center at IPC, so I was asked to return for a longer visit. My host, Dr. Susana Gonçalves, is the director of the new center, Centro de Inovação e Estudo da Pedagogia no Ensino Superior (CINEP). She completed the necessary paperwork, and in spring 2012 the request was approved by both Portugal and the US State Department.

I spent 6 weeks at IPC across April and May 2012, working with the director and staff to determine what information is most relevant to their needs, presenting multiple workshops at the difference schools making up the university, and meeting individually and in small groups with faculty on a variety of pedagogical matters. Workshops included: “The transformation of higher education: Lessons from the US and implications for Portugal,” “Best practices in blended delivery,” “Active learning: Hands-on practice,” “The impact of student-centered learning for curricular design,” and “How to write exams so students need to come to class.”

Groups included one from the Engineering school interested in math pedagogy, and one from the Education school interested in reflective practice for preschool teachers. Individual consultations ranged even more widely, from very specific questions on a particular pedagogical technique, to more general questions about common academic concerns, including student motivation and integration of technology into courses. I was also invited to speak to students enrolled in a Master’s level course on marketing.

While in Coimbra, I was invited to present several talks on my research at the University of Coimbra and the University of Lisbon. I also met with the company members of Project Llull, which uses theatre to start intercultural dialogues.

In addition, I was able to connect some of the people I met through these various contexts with colleagues in the US or elsewhere having similar research, teaching, or administrative interests.

***Update: Publication resulting from this Fulbright

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.”

Central China Normal University

On March 28, 2012, I presented a talk entitled “From Generation to Generation: Maintaining Cultural Identity over Time” to the School of Foreign Languages, part of the Central China Normal University, in Wuhan, China.

My thanks to Zongping Xiang (Eudora), a faculty member in the Department of English, who invited me and made all of the arrangements, including dinner with several of the faculty afterwards. My thanks to Prof. Hua Xianfa, Chair of the Department of English, who was able to attend, and my apologies that we did not think to take the photograph until after he had left.

Profs Shu Baimei and Leeds-Hurwitz, Ms. Yu Bo and Zongping Xiang

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz, Director
Center for Intercultural Dialogue

Wuhan University 2012

On March 26, 2012, I presented a talk entitled “Interactional resources for the “problem” of intercultural communication” at Wuhan University, in Wuhan, China. Last year when I was in China, I was invited to return in order to visit Wuhan, which I was able to do this year, and I found it a delightful city and campus. I owe great thanks to my host, Prof. SHAN Bo, the Associate Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication, and also Director of the Research Center for Intercultural Communication, at Wuhan University, for the invitation, and for organizing all of the events. Dr. LIU Xue served as my contact for logistics, and was of great help, whatever was needed.

Prof Leeds-Hurwitz, Liu Xinya, Prof Shan, Liu Harrison, and Dr. Xin Jing, and Liu Xue (standing)

There were multiple lunches, dinners, and conversations with various combinations of faculty and graduate students over the week I was at Wuhan, as well as an entire afternoon spent sorting out areas of overlapping interests with Prof. Shan. Some of the other faculty members I met are shown below.

Li Jiali, Xiao Jun, Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz, Si Jingxin

I was lucky enough to be in Wuhan for sakura (the cherry blossoms). They are a major tourist attraction, and the campus was full of visitors during that week.

Profs. Shan and Leeds-Hurwitz

I was assigned two graduate student guide/translators, LIU Xinya (Cynthia) and Harrison LIU, pictured below at the Yellow Crane tower which we visited, among other sites. The Hubei provincial museum was also quite impressive.

I look forward to continued connections of several types with Wuhan in the future.

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz, Director
Center for Intercultural Dialogue

Beijing International Studies University 2012

From March 11-23, 2012, I took on the role of visiting professor at the School of English of the Beijing International Studies University, in China. (In China, intercultural communication is often viewed as an extension of foreign language training in order to ensure that students achieve intercultural communicative competence.

As part of my responsibilities there, I taught a graduate seminar on research methods, and also delivered several presentations.

On March 13 and 16, I presented on the topic of “The Social Construction of Identity.” On March 20, the topic was “The History of Intercultural Communication in the United States.

On March 21, I participated in a workshop on “Training for Intercultural Competence in the United States; Prof. JIANG Fei, Director of the Department of Communication, and also Director of the Center for World Media Studies, at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was the respondent. He and his wife, Dr. Viola Kuo HUANG, introduced my husband and me to a new form of Chinese buffet one evening.

My sincere thanks to Dr. HONG Liang, Associate Dean of the School of English and an intercultural communication scholar, for inviting me, organizing all of the events, including multiple meals with faculty and graduate students, and ensuring the success of the visit. Dr. GU Guoping (Gordon), from the American Studies department, helped with logistics ahead of time, and offered the official welcome when I arrived. Dr. David YU, Chair of the Department of Intercultural Communication, met with me over several days, and then provided the official farewell when I left. Dr. Ivory Juan ZHANG of the same department, participated in several events. Dr. Belinda Zou of the School of International Education not only attended most of the graduate seminar and the other lectures, but also volunteered to play tour guide and showed off parts of Beijing I had not yet visited.

Lu Qinsha (Emily), a master’s level student studying intercultural communication, was my guide and translator for the entire visit. To Emily and all of the other students, I hope you learned enough about research methods to have an easier time preparing your masters’ theses! To the faculty members, I look forward to continuing the connection in the future.

While in Beijing, although it was spring, there was one cold night, and it snowed. This was the view from the campus hotel (from the 18th floor) of the campus. The next morning students were having snowball fights!

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz, Director
Center for Intercultural Dialogue


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.

George Washington U postdoc

GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
School of Media and Public Affairs
Research Fellowship, Political Communication

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Political Communication at the School of Media and Public Affairs, The George Washington University, September 2012-August 2013.

GW is seeking a scholar to spend one year working closely with Robert Entman, Shapiro Professor of Media and Public Affairs (and in 2012-2013 with Kimberly Gross, Associate Professor).  For 2012-13 the focus will be on public opinion effects of framing in traditional news media, hybrid formats and online media with particular reference to healthcare policy.  

The person appointed will devote three-four days per week to collaborative work with Professors Entman and Gross and the rest of the time to personal research projects.  The position carries a $50,000 salary and is designed for a recent recipient of the Ph.D.  The Research Instructor position at GW comes with faculty benefits.

To be appointed, individuals must have a Ph.D. in communication, political science or a related discipline by August 1, 2012; and an excellent record of published research in political communication or, for recent degree recipients, a record suggesting great promise.
Preference will be given to applicants with experience in quantitative content analysis.  Background and training in experimental methods is highly desirable.
In order to be considered, send a C.V., writing samples, a 500-750 word proposal for personal research that might be carried out during the year at GW, and the names of three scholars who can be contacted for recommendations to:  Professor Robert Entman, School of Media and Public Affairs, Suite 400, 805 21st Street NW, Washington DC 20052.  Review of applications will begin on April 15, 2012.

Lifelong learning-collaborative opportunity

As Managing Director of CEFRO, LLC based in Nice, France, I am looking for partnership and support for a training project designed to build and expand the reach of Adult Education and Lifelong Learning Programs in an international context. The project could be a basis for an international collaborative research in that field.

Developed as Lifelong Learning Training Courses for adults (provider for the European Program called Grundtvig), the project aims to provide continuing education in social and technology integration, with an emphasis on creating healthy, balanced and enriching workplaces. Since 2008, CEFRO provided courses for that European Lifelong Learning Program, and created four original and unique courses: “Enriching and diversifying the training environment”, “Balanced and healthy workplaces”,”Learning strategies for the elderly”, “Developing Emotional Intelligence in the workplace”. Additionally, it organized ten course sessions with participants from Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany,Italy, Spain, and Romania.

The urgent purpose of my request for support is to maintain CEFRO’s current activity and status, in order to pursue projects on the field of science and society. CEFRO is looking for a potential international collaborator/an international research team, who is the beneficiary of a research grant and may be interested in to sharing their work with a partner/sub-contractor.

For basic information, please, find below the original document of CEFRO LLP Plan and my CV, and feel free to contact me for additional information.

Thank you for your consideration.
Kind regards,
Carmen Serghie Lopez, Ph.D
CEFRO-Conseil, échanges, formation
Nice 06000-FR
Tél./Fax: +33(0)4 93 79 80 20
Mobile +33(0)6 12 19 16 98
http://www.cefro.fr

Calouste Gulbenkian Prize

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation has opened nominations for the CALOUSTE GULBENKIAN PRIZE until next April 15th. The Prize, worth 250.000€, will be awarded to an individual or non profit organization, regardless of nationality, who has made a valuable impact and commitment to foster the universal values inherent to the human condition, respect for diversity and difference, a culture of tolerance and the conservation of the environment in man’s relationship with nature. Please refer to Prize website for the nomination form and Prize regulation 

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, based in Lisbon (Portugal) is a non-profit Portuguese foundation, both operating and grantmaking in the fields of arts, science, education and human development. I would kindly invite you the visit our website for more information about our activities, in Portugal and abroad.

We would be grateful if you could nominate any organization or individual you might consider to meet the Prize criteria. Please contact us should you have any further queries.

Best wishes,

Ana Barcelos Pereira
Office of the President
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

Avenida de Berna, 45-A
1067-001 Lisboa
[+ 351] 21 782 3540
apereira@gulbenkian.pt