Brock has achieved a prestigious North American academic designation that will see a succession of U.S. scholars spend an academic year at the St. Catharines campus.
The Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program — a bi-national organization representing the Washington-based Fulbright Foundation — has approved Brock to host an annual Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Transnational Studies.
The Fulbright program helps fund the cost of American scholars and experienced professionals to conduct research, develop collaborations, guest lecture and/or teach at select Canadian universities and research centres.
At Brock, it will create the Visiting Research Chair in Transnational Studies, an interdisciplinary posting in which visiting scholars cover such fields as Canada-U.S. relations; First Nations cultures and languages; the history of the cross-border region; and the image of Canada abroad.
The inaugural guest scholar for the new Brock position has not yet been confirmed, but Jane Koustas, professor of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures who led Brock’s application for the Fulbright visiting chair, said the first candidate should be named in time to arrive for the 2010-11 academic year.
“We are thrilled that Brock has been accepted to host a Fulbright Visiting Research Chair,” said Koustas. “This is an indication of the University’s growing profile and reputation on the national and international landscape of post-secondary education.”
The news was also welcomed by Ian Brindle, Brock’s Vice-President, Research. “We’re a perfect fit for this, given our proximity to border,” said Brindle. “This will lead to enhanced partnerships between Brock and neighbouring universities in New York state.”
The original international scholarship named for U.S. Sen. William Fulbright was created in 1946. Today it has more than 300,000 alumni in more than 150 countries.
The Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program was created 20 years ago to enhance understanding between the people of Canada and the United States by providing support to outstanding graduate students, faculty, professionals and independent researchers.
The Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program is supported by the governments of Canada and the United States, and by a large number of public and private sector partners.
