JSU Recognized as Top Producer of Fulbright Scholars

02/27/2017

The US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has named Jacksonville State University a top producing institution of Fulbright Scholars. One of the most prestigious awards in academia, the Fulbright Scholars program is the US government’s flagship international educational exchange program.

JSU received more Fulbright awards in 2016-2017 than any other university in Alabama and was among the top producers in the nation, with the following three recipients: 

Guillermo Francia – A computer science professor, Francia is a recipient of a Fulbright Cyber Security Award from the US-UK Fulbright Commission. He is in London, England, for the spring term, working with a group of prominent cyber security experts at Imperial College to perform research on critical infrastructure security. He is part of the first wave of American researchers traveling to the UK as part of the 2015 Obama-Cameron bilateral agreement to strengthen cyber security research collaboration between the US and UK.

Russel Lemmons – A distinguished professor of history, Lemmons will travel to the Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich in Germany over the next two springs to research the life of a Jesuit priest, Rupert Mayer, who opposed National Socialism. He plans to spend a great deal of time in the Jesuit archives and the Diocesan archives in Munich. The results of his research will be seen in a biography he is writing about Mayer.

Ellen Peck – An assistant professor of drama, Peck is both a theatre practitioner and a musical theatre historian specializing in the early 20th century. She is currently using her Fulbright award to teach classes in musical theatre and American theatre history at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Romania.

“JSU’s participation in the Fulbright Scholars program has enabled our faculty to experience international cultures, engage in scholarship with an expanded world view, teach in universities around the world, and bring those perspectives back to our campus,” said JSU Provost Rebecca Turner. “For a campus our size, located in a small town in rural Alabama, we are proud of our global citizenship emphasis and thank the Fulbright program for assisting us in fulfilling our mission.”

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 370,000 participants – chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential – with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Over 1,100 US college and university faculty and administrators, professionals, artists, journalists, scientists, lawyers and independent scholars are awarded Fulbright grants to teach and/or conduct research each year in over 125 countries throughout the world.