UK's Barnes Receives Fulbright Grant to Develop New Curriculum in Zambia

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 31, 2016) — Beth Barnes, professor in the University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information, has been selected to receive a prestigious Fulbright Specialist Program grant. The grant will fund Barnes' work to develop an integrated marketing communications curriculum in Zambia.

The Fulbright Specialist Program sends U.S. faculty and professionals to serve as expert consultants on curriculum, faculty development, institutional planning and related subjects at academic institutions abroad for a period of two to six weeks.

"I’m very proud of the recognition from the Fulbright Foundation that this curriculum project is worthy of support," Barnes said. "I’m very much looking forward to being back in Zambia, and continuing my work with the Zambia Institute of Marketing. I always enjoy meeting members of the Zambia marketing communications community. They’re doing some great work, and are really eager to keep improving the quality of their strategic communications efforts."

Barnes will work primarily with the Zambia Institute of Marketing for three weeks this semester, helping to develop a new curriculum the institute can license to educational institutions across the country. The Zambia Institute of Marketing is authorized by law to oversee all marketing-related activity in the country and provides initial training for high school graduates and on-going professional development. It also offers a marketing certificate, professional advanced certificate, professional diploma and post-graduate diploma.

"There’s been a lot of economic growth and development in Zambia since the School of Journalism and Telecommunications (now School of Journalism and Media) started working there in 2008," Barnes said, referring to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief-funded partnership with ZAMCOM, a media training institute in the country.

"A number of the big multinational advertising agencies have offices there now, including DDB, Y&R, Saatchi & Saatchi, FCB and others. But, other than an occasional course, there’s no focused training for marketing communications."

After conducting multi-day seminars for the institute in March 2014 and March 2016, Barnes returned to Zambia in September of this year to meet with the institute's executive director and executives of ad agencies and media firms to talk about the idea of a new curriculum.

"Everyone we met with was very receptive and enthusiastic; there’s a strong feeling that the time is right in Zambia for something like this," she said.

Barnes will develop the syllabi, recommended readings, lecture outlines, assignments and test questions for more than a dozen new courses. During her three weeks in Zambia as part of the Fulbright Specialist Program, she will conduct additional interviews and gather course materials, "as a very important part of this is making sure the curriculum is relevant to the situation in Zambia."

She will also be speaking at the institute's annual conference in early December and will give several talks to students for the Public Affairs Office of the U.S. Embassy in Zambia with UK School of Journalism and Media faculty member Mel Coffee. He is in Zambia for 10 months as a Fulbright Scholar. Coffee will talk to interested students about storytelling for a podcasting initiative the embassy is developing and Barnes will talk about branding and promoting the podcast.