UK One of Leading Universities for Number of Fulbright Scholars

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 30, 2013) ― The University of Kentucky is one of the top producers in the country of the prestigious U.S. Fulbright Scholars.  In a recently released ranking in the Chronicle of Higher Education, UK is tied for fifth among research institutions for its number of professors earning the "Core" Fulbright grants for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Sponsored by the United States Department of State and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program, which provides funding for professionals, teachers, students and scholars to undertake graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools in countries other than their own. The program is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.

Fulbright U.S. (Core) Scholars from UK this year are:

• Srimati Basu, associate professor in the Department of Gender and Women's Studies, in the College of Arts and Sciences is conducting research in India this academic year.  Her project is titled "Indian Men Movements, Marriage and Domestic Violence."  She received the Fulbright-Nehru All Disciplines (Research) Award.

• Patricia Hyjer Dyk, associate professor in the Department of Community & Leadership Development, in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, will be teaching two courses, and co-ordinating activities in the Czech Republic in the area of civic engagement. "Sociological Perspectives of Community Interaction and Civic Engagement; Examining Families as Incubators for a Civil Society," is the title of her project. Dyk received the Fulbright-Masaryk University Distinguished Chair in Social Studies.

• Anita Lee-Post, associate professor in the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain in the Gatton College of Business and Economics is lecturing and conducting research in Mongolia.  Her project title is "The Pursuit of Sustainability in Mongolia."  She received the Humanities, Social Sciences, Science and Technology Award.

• Michael Samers is an associate professor in the Department of Geography in the College of Arts and Sciences.  He is conducting research in France.  His project is titled "Beyond the Banlieues: Making a Living with Alternative Economic Projects."  Samers received the Nord Pas de Calais Regional Council Award.

• Paul Vincelli, a professor in the Department of Plant Pathology in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, is conducting research and lecturing in Nicaragua.  "Collaborative Enhancement of Plant Diagnostics and Sustainable Food Production Systems In Nicaragua" is the title of his Fulbright project. He received an

  All Disciplines Award.

• Matthew Zook is an associate professor in the Department of Geography in the College of Arts and Sciences.  Zook is conducting research and lecturing in Estonia.  The title of his project is "Using Geoweb Big Data to Explore the Spatial Patterns of Economic and Social Behavior." He received an All Disciplines Award.

At least three other faculty members received other Fulbright designation awards this past year.  They include:

• Mel Coffee, an assistant professor of journalism and telecommunications, in the UK College of Communication and Information, conducted journalism workshop training for six weeks.in the Republic of Zambia, in southern Africa.

• Alan Fryar is an associate professor of earth and environmental sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. Fryar will do research in Fez, Morocco, examining how the flow of springs in the Middle Atlas mountains may respond to climate change.

• Doug Slaymaker is an associate professor of Japanese, in the College of Arts and Sciences, who will do research in Tokyo, Japan. Slaymaker will complete the research for his book project that follows Japanese artists who move from Tokyo to work in Paris in the early decades of the 20th century.

Among the top 10 research universities for number of U.S. Fulbright Scholars are Ohio State University, Texas Tech University, University of California at Berkeley, and University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.