Three GVSU faculty members earn Core Fulbright Scholar awards

Three Grand Valley faculty members earned Core Fulbright Scholar awards to teach or conduct research for a semester overseas.

They are Lisa Feurzeig, professor of music; Jitendra Mishra, professor of management; and Brian Phillips, professor of sociology. The Fulbright program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and considered the country's flagship international exchange program.

Feurzeig plans to observe operetta productions performed by companies in Austria, Germany and Hungary. She will research how 19th and 20th century operettas are produced for today's audiences, and whether the productions refer to current social and political events.

Feurzeig said the Fulbright grant will enhance how she teaches music courses, particularly the capstone course. "The capstone course emphasizes boundary-crossing," she said. "I can bring information about how works of music theater enter the political discourse. I hope to have audio-visual materials to share that will bring the operetta tradition alive for our students."

Mishra plans to teach graduate courses in international human resources management, international management and organizational behavior at the Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) in India, in addition to guiding faculty-student research projects and reviewing curriculum.

Mishra said BIMTECH is one of the top 10 private business schools in India, offering master's and doctoral programs in business and management. He said both BIMTECH and Grand Valley students will benefit from his real-world experiences with Indian educators and business leaders, and go beyond the bottom-line to become agents of global change.

Phillips plans to teach and conduct research at the Cracow University of Economics in Poland, continuing a partnership between Grand Valley's and Cracow's sociology departments that began in 2011.

Phillips said he and two colleagues are working with peers in Cracow on a research project that focuses on how sociology majors prepare themselves for the workforce. He will teach courses on social stratification in the U.S., American culture, and a faculty seminar on economic and social issues.

• Additionally, one faculty member earned a Fulbright specialist grant to travel for a short-term, collaborative project. Gregory Maytan, associate professor of music, worked at the Norwegian State Academy in Oslo.