Three University of Florida faculty awarded Fulbright Scholar grants

January 7, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Three University of Florida faculty have received Fulbright Scholar grants to teach or conduct research overseas this year.

Sheryl Tracy Kroen, associate professor of history, will lecture as the Vercelli Chair in Communications and European-American Relations, at the University of Western Piedmont, Vercelli, Italy.

Ido Oren, associate professor of political science, will lecture on U.S. foreign policy and American theories of international relations at China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing.

Paul Oldfield Robinson, assistant professor of architecture, will lecture and conduct research on strategies of emergence in interventional design at the University of Ljubljana in Ljubljana, Slovenia and northern Italy.

“The Fulbright program is tremendously important to the University of Florida,” UF Provost Joe Glover said. “It strengthens our mission to internationalize the campus and offers these faculty members the opportunity to advance their research interests and professional skills in new settings.”

Kroen, Oren and Robinson are among 1,250 U.S. faculty and professionals who received Fulbright Scholar or Fulbright Specialist grants to teach and conduct research abroad. Another 850 foreign scholars received awards to visit U.S. campuses for up to a year or longer, including six at UF. They are:

Hassan Yahya H. Alayied, deputy director, National Resources and Environment Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Mato Brautovic, head of graduate studies, department of mass communications, University of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Mario Santiago Di Bitetti, adjunct researcher, Ecological Research Laboratory of the Yungas, National University of Tucuman, Tucuman, Argentina.

Nicolas Pedrini, researcher, National Council of Scientific and Technical Research, La Plata, Argentina.

Chochong Vareichung Shimray, lecturer, department of education in science and mathematics, National Council of Educational Research and Training, New Delhi, India.

Abdulhamid M.A. Zeer, assistant professor, department of physiotherapy and rehabilitation, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, West Bank.