A Fulbright Fellowship or Senior Scholar position will not make you rich or change the oil in your car, but it can transform your professional career and propel your research agenda in new directions, augment your international recognition, and forge lifelong collaborations.
I should know. I have “maxed out” on Fulbright opportunities, having used my three chances to spend seven months in Greece (2005), a month in Israel (2006), and a month in Ecuador (2009). My Fulbright experiences were for research and writing. Yet I worked directly with student researchers in Greece and gave talks both on campus and off in Israel. Truth is, I could have devoted virtually all of my time to teaching activities had I wished. Fulbrights are extremely flexible and, as I interpreted them, intended solely to enhance your academic career and international relationships.
The relationships are key. In Greece, where I spent what I call my grown-up version of “junior year abroad” learning the language and culture and developing deep personal ties with the family who rented me an apartment, I have published work with two academic colleagues. My time in Israel led me to direct an international research consortium and to establish a related center at WSU. And in Ecuador, I worked for UNESCO. All different, and all transformative for a lifetime.
