When Fort Lewis College announced it had three professors accepted as Fulbright Scholars for the 2016-2017 school year, the administration knew it was a large number for a small school.
Now, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has announced that FLC tied with the U.S. Naval Academy for most Fulbright grants awarded to a four-year college this year.
“I’m very proud of our quality faculty, who could be teaching anywhere in the world, but who chose Fort Lewis College,” FLC President Dene Thomas said. “The Fulbrights are a recognition of the exceptional professors here.”
Founded in 1946, the Fulbright Program is administered by the U.S. State Department. It selects participants based on academic merit and leadership potential and provides them with an opportunity to exchange ideas, build relationships and contribute to solving problems of international concern.
“Fulbright Scholars are mini-diplomats,” said FLC professor of economics Robert “Tino” Sonora during an interview with KSJD-FM public radio in Cortez. A former Fulbright Scholar to Zagreb, Croatia, he supports the Fulbright Program at the college. “They have access to the native population that official diplomats don’t have, and they break down barriers.”
Becoming a Fulbright Scholar is not easy.
“We have such dedicated researchers who are willing to take the time and are excited about opportunities like this,” FLC Provost Barbara Morris said. “It’s quite a cumbersome process to apply, and it takes a lot of time. It’s a very competitive process.”
The three FLC Fulbright Scholars are:
Associate professor Justin McBrayer, who researched the origins and rationality of religious beliefs in Austria during the fall semester and is now writing about his findings.Associate professor of biology Ross McCauley, who is studying the evolution of plants in the Galápagos Islands.Associate professor of English Nancy Cardona, who is a roving scholar in American Studies in Norway.While FLC tied for the most Fulbrights this year, it was not the first year members of the college’s faculty have received the prestigious grants.
Other former Fulbright Scholars at Fort Lewis include assistant professor of anthropology Rebecca Austin, who conducted research on Palawan Island, Philippines; anthropology professor Kathleen Fine-Dare in Quito, Ecuador; history professor Michael Fry in Guatemala; accounting professor Paul Herz in Saratov, Russia; history professor Neil McHugh in Khartoum, Sudan and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; associate professor of history Ellen Paul in the Czech Republic; lecturer in scenic design and theater technical director Amy Gilley in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and business law professor Suzanne Wilhelm in Peru.
“Fort Lewis College tends to attract adventurous people,” Sonora said about the college’s deep history with the Fulbrights, “professors who have a sense of adventure and are willing to go outside their comfort zone. They bring back what they have learned not only into the classroom, but into the community as a whole.”
abutler@durangoherald.com
