Social work professor secures Fulbright Specialist award

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—The U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board has announced that Dr. Jennifer Harrison, professor, School of Social Work, has received a Fulbright Specialist Program award. Harrison will complete a project at Kogneo in the Slovak Republic that aims to exchange knowledge and establish partnerships benefiting participants, institutions and communities both in the U.S. and overseas through a variety of educational and training activities within education. 

Harrison has shared her consistent expertise in motivational interviewing and other evidence-based behavioral health interventions with students in her courses and in her over $7.5 million in workforce development external funding, the majority of which is used to support WMU students in their education to become behavioral health professionals. This Fulbright Specialist project will enable her to bring those same skills to learners in Slovakia to support advancing employment for individuals with disabilities and neurodiversity. Western faculty are not only impacting our diverse students and future leaders, but leaders in inclusion and access around the globe.

Harrison is one of over 400 U.S. citizens who share expertise with host institutions abroad through the Fulbright Specialist Program each year. Recipients of Fulbright Specialist awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, demonstrated leadership in their field and their potential to foster long-term cooperation between institutions in the U.S. and abroad. 

About the Fulbright Specialist Award

The Fulbright Specialist Program, part of the larger Fulbright Program, was established in 2001 by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The program pairs highly qualified U.S. academics and professionals with host institutions abroad to share their expertise, strengthen institutional linkages, hone their skills, gain international experience and learn about other cultures while building capacity at their overseas host institutions. Specialists, who represent a wide range of professional and academic disciplines, are competitively selected to join the Fulbright Specialist Roster based on their knowledge, skill sets and ability to make a significant contribution to projects overseas. 

For more WMU news, arts and events, visit WMU News online.