MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University will host its third annual Fulbright Day on Tuesday, April 14, featuring dedicated virtual sessions for students at noon and for faculty at 1 p.m. 

The event is being coordinated by Mary Ellen Sloane, associate director of the Tennessee STEM Education Center, and Laura Clippard, undergraduate fellowships director and Honors College advisor. 

The virtual event will inform and support students and faculty interested in international exchange through the Fulbright program. 

The day will include two targeted Zoom sessions:

Student Session – Noon

Topics include:

• Research grants
• English teaching assistantships 
• Creative arts awards
• Covering eligibility
• Application components 
• Tips for developing strong proposals

Faculty Session – 1 p.m. 

• Mary Ellen Sloane and a Fulbright representative outline global teaching and research opportunities through the U.S. Scholar Program, highlighting award types such as Scholar Awards, Postdoctoral Awards, and Distinguished positions across 130-plus countries.

• Panelists Greg Reish, musicology professor, and Sylvester Lamin, social work associate professor, share their Fulbright experiences, offering guidance on the application process, securing host institutions, and the professional benefits of expanded teaching and research networks. 

• Chemistry professor Sing Chong closes with an overview of the Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence program, which brings international scholars to U.S. campuses to teach, lead workshops, and support internationalization efforts.

Additionally, one-on-one drop-in advising sessions will provide individualized guidance on project ideas, application strategy, and program fit. These sessions will take place between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on the same day.

Why Fulbright matters at MTSU

The Fulbright Program is one of the world’s leading international exchange initiatives, offering opportunities for both students and scholars to conduct research, teach and build global partnerships. Fulbright Day at MTSU underscores a truth the university sees year after year: when students are given the chance to step onto the world stage, they return transformed and ready to lead. 

Recent awardees show how these opportunities expand far beyond travel. Alumnus Josh Narrell, for example, turned years of studying German and exploring intercultural communication into a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Hamburg, Germany, where he is building bridges across cultures and bringing home new insight into global youth engagement. He is also one of the key speakers for the student session.

Other students demonstrate how Fulbright-linked programs open doors to cutting-edge research and global problem-solving. Computer science major Jake Salter earned a Fulbright Canada–Mitacs Globalink Research Internship, using decades of pollen data to study ecological change while gaining access to Canada’s top research institutions. His path from music major to data‑driven researcher shows how international fellowships help students discover new academic identities and contribute to urgent global conversations. 

Even first‑year students can step into the Fulbright pipeline. As a freshman,  political science graduate Victoria Grigsby earned a place in the Fulbright Summer Institute in Wales, where she studied identity, nationhood and migration while engaging directly with Welsh communities and policymakers. Her selection highlights how MTSU’s commitment to global learning begins early and empowers students to see themselves as ambassadors long before graduation. 

Recent faculty awards

• Sylvester Lamin (associate professor of social work) — Awarded a Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant to Sierra Leone at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. Lamin focused on teaching social work courses, advancing curriculum development, conducting research on social services, and engaging in community initiatives to strengthen educational and professional resources in his home country region.

• Gregory Pitts (professor of journalism) — Recipient of a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to Georgia (the country). His project emphasized journalism education, media studies, and professional development, fostering cross-cultural exchanges in media practices and democratic communication in the region.

• Guanping Zheng (director, Center for Asian Studies) — Selected for a Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant through the U.S.-Taiwan International Education Administrators Seminar in Taiwan. Zheng participated in professional development activities to enhance international education programming, build partnerships, and promote Asian studies initiatives at MTSU and beyond.

• Gregory Reish (professor of musicology and former director, Center for Popular Music) — A prior recent awardee (Fulbright-García Robles U.S. Studies Chair) to Mexico at the Universidad Veracruzana in Xalapa. He taught courses on U.S.-Mexico relations and popular music, conducted research, and contributed to North American Studies programs, demonstrating MTSU’s sustained Fulbright success, leading to more recent awards.

• Ngee Sing Chong (professor of chemistry and director of the Interdisciplinary Microanalysis and Imaging Center) — Hosted a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence. Chong hosted Yong Foo Wong at MTSU last year. During his residency, Wong co-taught an undergraduate chemistry laboratory course, delivered guest lectures in a graduate analytical chemistry course, and served as an adviser and co-mentor for undergraduate and postgraduate students’ research projects, with a primary focus on analytical chemistry. He conducted research on microextraction, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry to evaluate contaminants and additives in food matrices.

More information, how to register

The Zoom link will be sent to registrants prior to the workshop. Those interested can register at https://library.mtsu.edu/services/fulbright-program.

For more information, refer student questions to laura.clippard@mtsu.edu and faculty questions to maryellen.sloane@mtsu.edu.

— Robin E. Lee (Robin.E.Lee@mtsu.edu)