Are you preparing for an upcoming sabbatical and have an interest in teaching and/or conducting research abroad during your time away from Grand Valley? Are you seeking summer opportunities for international research or service? Are you curious about international prospects that will enhance your teaching and advance your research agenda? I can offer a sounding board for your Fulbright Scholar, Fulbright Specialist, and Peace Corps Response application essays, and can help you explore what else is available.
I’ve twice been a Fulbright Scholar (in Bulgaria, in 2010 and 2018), as well as a faculty instructor in the Fulbright International Summer Seminar (2012 and 2014), a member of the Fulbright Capacity Building Workshop in Hungary (2017) as well as a Fulbright-Hays Seminar participant (Brazil, 2000). I’ve taught in China and Bulgaria and have long been involved in faculty development support and mentoring, especially as these connect with international scholarly engagement and international service.
Email me! I’d be delighted to brainstorm with you about future opportunities and to strategize with you as you create your proposals.
Brenda Tooley, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Center for Undergraduate Scholar Engagement
[email protected]
Helpful Links
Contact Information
Dr. Brenda Tooley
[email protected]
(616) 331-8100
230 LIB
The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is the largest program of its kind in the United States, awarding more than 800 fellowships annually. Over 400 different types of opportunities are available to teach, research and conduct professional projects in more than 135 countries. Location and eligibility vary across all awards, and some awards may be restricted to certain career levels or types of scholars. Visit the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Catalog of Awards to explore awards.
The Fulbright Specialist Program offers year-round project opportunities of two to six weeks in length. The shorter duration of Specialist projects is beneficial for both the U.S. academic or professional who may not be available to leave their position for an extended period of time and the host institution which needs an experienced partner on a short-term basis.
The Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence (S-I-R) Program is a unique Fulbright Scholar Program initiative that is specifically driven by the goals of U.S. institutions of higher education to enhance internationalization efforts on their campuses. Through the S-I-R Program, institutions host a scholar from outside of the United States for a semester or full academic year to teach courses, assist in curriculum development, guest lecture, develop study abroad/exchange partnerships and engage with the campus and the local community.
The Outreach Lecturing Fund (OLF) provides funding for campuses to host Fulbright Visiting Scholars, already in the United States, for short-term speaking engagements. To see a list of current Visiting Scholars in the U.S. please visit our Scholar Directory. The OLF travel award is designed to enrich both institutions and Visiting Scholars through lectures that will promote academic disciplines and cultural understanding.
A good first step if you are interested in the Fulbright Scholar program is to browse the Awards Catalog, reviewing each country-specific program in which you are interested. One thing to keep in mind is that ‘the Fulbright Scholar Program’ isn’t really ‘one’ uniform thing. Each country-specific program has its own character and requirements, although of course there are commonalities across all of them. So, for example, some countries want Fulbright Scholars to engage in teaching (either grads or undergrads or both), and some want Fulbright Scholars to engage in research, and many offer opportunities for a mix of both forms of scholarly activity. Some programs require some degree of language ability; most do not. Many will require an invitation letter from your planned host – so a second good step is to reach out to international colleagues to see what kinds of projects and courses you might participate in at their university and to confirm that they would be willing to host you.
Department of Education – Office of Postsecondary Education
The Fulbright-Hays Program (Department of Education)
Fulbright-Hays programs provide overseas funding to current and prospective U.S. educators to participate in advanced overseas study and research.
Editing Assistance on Fellowship Applications
The Laura Bassi Scholarship was established in 2018 with the aim of providing editorial assistance to postgraduates and junior academics whose research focuses on neglected topics of study, broadly construed. The scholarships are open to every discipline.
All currently enrolled master’s and doctoral candidates are eligible to apply, as are academics in the first five years of full-time employment. Applicants are required to submit a completed application form along with their CV through the application portal by the relevant deadline. Further details, including previous winners, and the Application Portal can be found at: https://editing.press/bassi
Other Opportunities
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