Through the Fulbright Outreach Lecturing Fund (OLF), institutions have the option to host a Fulbright Visiting Scholar who is already in the United States at a different institution for engaging two- to five-day programs of lectures, community-based events, and informational sessions. Historically Black Colleges and Universities, along with other MSIs, women’s colleges, rural institutions, and campuses that have not previously participated in the Fulbright Scholar Program receive special consideration in the application process. In this way, the Outreach Lecturing Fund develops new connections to the Fulbright Program, and introduces faculty, staff, and students to ways they can become Fulbrighters themselves.
Three HBCUs in particular— Morgan State University, Virginia State University, and Xavier University of Louisiana—experienced the long-term benefits of these short visits. Each school found a Fulbright Visiting Scholar through Fulbright OLF whose expertise aligned with their institutional academic goals, and prepared an application to invite them on campus, resulting in lasting connections, knowledge and inspiration.
At Morgan State University, Fulbright Program Director and Associate Professor Dr. Megan DeVirgilis invited Dr. Ana Maria Miranda Mora, a Visiting Scholar from Mexico hosted by Yale University. During her visit to Morgan State, Dr. Mora shared her research on gender-based violence, which according to Dr. DeVirgilis benefited Morgan State’s “interdisciplinary programs, internationalization efforts, and more importantly, our HBCU students interested in social justice.”
Dr. Mora’s lecture attracted a diverse audience of Morgan State’s undergraduates and graduate students, community members, and people from neighboring institutions Johns Hopkins University and University of Maryland. Dr. Mora also met with groups of students from several departments, sharing insights on her career trajectory with students of color who plan to pursue careers in the humanities, law, and public policy. Reflecting on the visit, Dr. DeVirgilis said, “The lecture was phenomenal, and I could tell from both student and faculty questions that there were insightful connections being made across disciplines and demographics.”
Personally, Dr. DeVirgilis found connecting with Dr. Mora to be a “rich and eye-opening experience.” She shared the Fulbright OLF experience with other colleagues, which in turn led the history department to invite Egyptian scholar Dr. Manal Shalaby, who was a Scholar-in-Residence at DePauw University. Dr. Shalaby spoke about her research to students and faculty, including those interested in gender studies, English, history, and world languages. Dr. Sara Rahnama, the inaugural director of the department’s new program for the study of the Middle East and North Africa, noted that connecting with an Egyptian scholar was a great opportunity for the campus community to build connections with others in the MENA region.
The OLF award also helped Xavier University of Louisiana support its high-priority academic areas, particularly their new African American and Diaspora Studies department. Professor Camille Dantzler invited Dr. Imani Tafari-Ama, a filmmaker and Fulbright Visiting Scholar from Jamaica, for a productive three-day visit. The new department arranged a screening of Tafari-Ama’s films to inform a dialogue on women’s history with an emphasis on Black women’s experiences.
Another centerpiece of the visit was a campus-wide lecture on her curatorial project Rum, Sweat and Tears, about sale of the land and people of the Virgin Islands by Denmark to the United States of America. Students and faculty in the Departments of African American and Diaspora Studies, Performance Studies, Political Science, and Mass Communications at Xavier benefited from Dr. Tafari-Ama’s distinctive viewpoint on interdisciplinary scholarship in women and gender policy, documentary filmmaking, research, and the illumination of African Diasporic experiences.
Professor Dantzler said that Tafari-Ama exemplifies the kind of dynamic scholarship as a curator, artist, and researcher that the department seeks to promote. She noted that hosting this renowned scholar on campus provided an invaluable opportunity to build the new department’s tradition of promoting international scholarship.
For some institutions, hosting a Fulbright Visiting Scholar for a short-term OLF visit can turn into a long term sharing of research and expertise. When Professor Nicholas Romano, director of the Virginia Cooperative Extension at Virginia State University’s College of Agriculture, invited Dr. Shafaq Fatima to visit VSU’s extension facilities, he envisioned an exchange of best practices regarding the aquaculture industry in Virginia and in the scholar’s home country of Pakistan but did not anticipate the lasting collaboration it sparked.
Dr. Fatima’s expertise in sustainable aquaculture and food security perfectly complemented VSU’s investment in agricultural innovation. During her visit, which coincided with the Virginia state fair, she shared insights into women’s roles in sustainable farming in Pakistan with fairgoers. Dr. Fatima also engaged the public, along with students and faculty in discussions about Pakistan and its culture. Her work in educating women to contribute to sustainable aquaculture in Pakistan helped her to share a more accurate and nuanced view on the role of professional women in Pakistan.
Professor Romano and Dr. Fatima considered the experience to be deeply rewarding for both sides. Professor Romano credits Fatima’s meetings with department leaders for new collaborations between Fatima and VSU researchers on sustainable aquaculture and food security. Dr. Fatima was able to continue working with VSU’s researchers on developing In-Pond Raceways Technology (IPRS) to maximize the efficient use of water and agricultural land, advancing the goals of her Fulbright Visiting Scholar project.
Hosting Fulbright Visiting Scholars through the Outreach Lecturing Fund expands the reach of U.S. higher education, and the reach of an individual scholar to benefit multiple institutions and communities. These exchanges provide the springboard for research partnerships, new international networks, and lasting international alliances. For HBCUs, they also help raise international awareness of the unique history and current role of these important institutions.
Campuses that are interested in hosting a scholar for an (OLF) visit can access a list of hundreds of eligible scholars who are currently in the United States. They select the scholar they would like to host, and submit an application with a detailed proposal for meetings and events on campus and in the community. They can lead to longer relationships, and to future Fulbright interactions. To learn more about these opportunities, visit the Fulbright Outreach Lecturing Fund.