If you are reading this, you believe in higher education and are committed to making your program and unit as dynamic as possible. This requires hard work every day: creating, maintaining, updating, and adapting. So it is especially important to look for opportunities to enrich, refresh, renew, connect, and diversify. That’s what Fulbright is about. So take a few minutes to read my capsule introduction and consider stepping out of your routine to apply for an opportunity through Fulbright. This is an investment in you, in the quality of the programming you offer, and in internationalization and diversity.
As a faculty member and administrator at Western Kentucky University, I created opportunities for my students, for my colleagues, and for myself through Fulbright. While still on the tenure track, I applied for a Junior Faculty Research Scholarship that enabled me to spend a year abroad focused on research. As an assistant professor, I mentored undergraduates who applied for Fulbright Research Awards and Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships. Their success stories are among the most treasured memories of my entire career. As department head, I applied to bring Fulbright Language Teaching Assistants to campus and hosted some 30 of them over the course of a little more than a decade, nearly doubling the number of languages our department offered. I collaborated with Fulbright alumni on my campus to bring Fulbright Scholars hosted by other US institutions to speak on our campus through the Fulbright Outreach Lecturing Fund. And more recently, I was named to the Fulbright Specialist Roster in February 2023, where I will be listed until February 2026 as available to provide short-term support for a project proposed by a host institution abroad. My areas of expertise are world languages and higher education administration. These are just some of the ways my students, my colleagues, and I participated in Fulbright programs.