Summer 2005
Two-time Fulbright Scholar Gregory Sumner will teach in Japan
Professor of History Gregory Sumner has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholar grant for the 2005-2006 academic year. Sumner will serve as a visiting professor of American Studies at Tsuda College—an elite women's liberal arts institution outside of Tokyo, Japan—from April to July 2006. This is Sumner’s second Fulbright scholarship. In 2001, he taught history in Rome, Italy.
“As a Fulbright professor, I look forward also to being able to travel and give talks on various topics around Japan, as I was able to do in Italy,” says Sumner, who has taught American history and culture (with special emphasis on the twentieth century) at UDM since 1993. “The richness of the experience is life-changing, and I will certainly bring back new ideas and perspectives on America that will inform my teaching at UDM. In this age of ever-increasing globalization, these international perspectives are invaluable to our students.”
Sumner feels fortunate to have been honored with two Fulbright awards and the opportunities they have presented. “It is said that one needs to travel abroad to really know what it means to be an American, and that has been true for me, as a teacher of recent American history. My six months in Rome forced me to think about the complexities and symbols of our culture in ways I never had before, and I am sure that thinking process will only deepen with my lectureship in Japan next year,” Sumner adds.
Sumner joins six other UDM faculty members who have previously been awarded one or more Fulbright Scholarships. They include Claire Crabtree and Gail Presbey (2004-2005) from the College of Liberal Arts and Education, Yogendra S. Chadda from the College of Engineering and Science, Suk H. Kim and Daniel Shoemaker from the College of Business Administration and Carla Groh from the College of Health Professions.
Recipients of the Fulbright Scholar awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement and because they have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in their fields. The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Over its 58 years of existence, thousands of U. S. faculty and professionals, including Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, governors and senators, ambassadors and artists, prime ministers and heads of state, have studied, taught or done research abroad through the Fulbright Program.
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