FIU’s Fulbright Scholars and their work abroad

Three FIU professors have received prestigious Fulbright Scholar grants fostering international education exchange to teach and conduct research overseas this year.

David B. Bray, professor in environmental studies, is studying community forest management in Mexico, building upon his extensive research and publications on the region, including the book The Community Forests of Mexico (University of Texas Press, 2005).

According to Bray, Mexico’s forest and conservation plans have received considerable attention since the Conference of Parties’ (COP) 16 global climate change talks were held in Cancun, Mexico, in December.

“One of the few advances in those talks was agreements to establish a program for Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), a program of compensation for reduction of carbon emissions from forest loss (estimated at around 20 percent of all carbon emissions),” said Bray. “As it so happens, Mexican community forest management is considered a global model for how the devolution of rights to forests to local communities can both alleviate poverty and reduce deforestation.”

“The Fulbright research grant allows me to dedicate myself full time to this compelling research topic, including working on a book on Mexican community forestry, writing various articles for academic and semi-popular journals, developing a research proposal to the National Science Foundation, and developing a new research project on community conserved areas in Mexico,” said Bray. “It also allows me to spend several weeks in India where I am developing a proposal for the NSF with Indian colleagues on a comparative Mexico-India community forestry project.”

Elizabeth Price Foley, professor of law in the College of Law, who was named FIU Professor of the Year in 2009-2010 by the college, is serving as a Fulbright Scholar at the College of Law of the National University of Ireland, Galway. Price Foley is studying Ireland’s healthcare system by interacting directly with Irish healthcare providers and government officials on the topic of medical futility, which will be the topic of her third book.

“Having the opportunity to immerse yourself in the culture of another country is always invaluable, but particularly so as a scholar and teacher,” said Foley. “I’m here to study the way Ireland’s nationalized healthcare system deals with rationing, particularly situations in which providers determine that continuing life-sustaining care would be ‘futile.’  This will give me a more critical perspective on analogous decision-making mechanisms in the U.S., especially now that healthcare reform has been enacted. And since U.S. and Irish constitutional understandings are very similar, it will allow me to gauge future constitutional challenges to rationing decisions made under a nationalized U.S. healthcare regime.”

Emmanuel Roussakis, professor emeritus in the Department of Finance and Real Estate with the College of Business Administration, is an expert in international banking. For the Fall 2010 term, Roussakis traveled to Romania for his Fulbright research where he worked to develop a better understanding of the Romanian economy and its current European Union challenges within the context of the country’s contemporary society and culture.

“Beyond my formal academic assignment, I guest lectured with students and faculty at three different universities and represented FIU in all instances,” said Roussakis.  “I enjoyed the interaction with faculty of the host institution and at other universities, the uninhibited attitude of the students, and the warmth of the new friends and colleagues I met in Romania. By the same token, I believe that several students, and some colleagues, have changed their perspectives through their contact with me.”