"The Fulbright experience deepened my networks and connections with French academics and transformed my knowledge of archives and libraries in the Paris region. I brought back this knowledge to JMU in a variety of ways. It informed my classes on art and World War I; the theme of colonialism in all my courses; and ongoing research with student assistants doing independent studies. It led to my co-curated exhibition in the Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Arts, Colonial Wounds/Postcolonial Repair (spring 2019), and the catalog published by the University of Virginia Press. Another result is a forthcoming article in African Arts, which analyzes a temporary mosque built for Muslim soldiers hospitalized near Paris. I also had the distinct honor of being invited to serve on a French dissertation committee for a student who researched the lives of Moroccan soldiers in the French Army during the era of colonization."

"My Fulbright experience at the Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University, Thailand facilitated an enriching exchange of ideas with students from around the world. A goal of my work in Thailand was to give a scientific perspective on climate change, a vital foundation from which to scaffold adaptation strategies. What struck me the most were the climate impact stories presented by students from Thailand, Tanzania, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh; locations already struggling to adapt their agriculture and infrastructure to a "new climate normal". I have since brought this new perspective back to JMU and further use it to motivate further exploration and research into climate science." 

"My Fulbright to Mexico during the 2012-2013 academic career has greatly impacted both my professional and personal life.  Professionally, I gained numerous international research collaborations while acquiring a better understanding of the impact of student-centered learning through my teaching experiences in a different cultural context.  Personally, in addition to seeing my three children become fluent in Spanish, my time working with a Christian orphanage in Mexico sparked an interest in caring for similar children in the US, which has led to fostering and adopting three children." 

"Being part of a vibrant intellectual community at the Malaviya Centre for Peace Research at Banaras Hindu University in India as a Fulbright Lecturing Scholar in Peace Studies (2009) was one of the highlights of my career thus far. Since then, I have drawn on the friendships, networks, and experiences to continue my own passion for peace education and education for/as sustainability.  The experience was deeply challenging, richly rewarding, and continues to fuel the Fulbright mission of "mutual understanding" through my own global awareness and collaboration with colleagues across borders."

"My Fulbright experience at University of Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2008 provided me with the opportunity to develop close friendships and collegial relationships with biologists who are interested in organisms, ecology, and evolution of aquatic organisms.  It was my first experience working in tropical systems and studying the weirdly shaped creatures in Brazil's ocean waters. We started a big project, leading me to return several times to continue our collaborative work, which I regarded as a big plus. This fall I will return to Sao Paulo to finish the project . . . and I hope we will dream up a new project so I 'have an excuse' to make it a priority to return again.”

"I was the Fulbright Lecturer in American Literature at Saints Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Macedonia, 1995-1996. I was also the Fulbright Lecturer in American Studies at Comenius University, in Bratislava, Slovakia, 2000-2002 (where I returned for a short-term stint as a Senior Specialist in 2009). These experiences were among the most rewarding of my life, and to this day I incorporate what I learned from living abroad into classes that I teach, most notably Intercultural Professional Communication.  I continue a personal and professional relationship with one of my colleagues from Slovakia, and am looking forward to the day when we can work together again, here in the U.S. or in Slovakia. I’ll conclude simply by saying that nothing can match experiencing another culture – not as a tourist but as someone who temporarily becomes a part of that culture, learning about its people, food, language, and customs, not from a book but through direct contact."