Record Number Of Faculty Earn Fulbrights Five Old Dominion faculty were awarded Fulbright Fellowships to teach and conduct research abroad in 2002-03 – a campus record – and another three faculty and administrators received the prestigious grants this past academic year. During the latest recent national competition for the Fulbright grants, Old Dominion faculty and staff topped all other institutions in Virginia. Three of the latest awardees are from the Department of Early Childhood, Speech Language Pathology and Special Education: Eileen Abrahamsen (Slovakia), Allen Sandler (Vietnam) and Alice Wakefield (Qatar). The other grantees are Tim Havens (Hungary) from the Department of Communication and Theatre Arts and Berhanu Mengistu (Ethiopia) from the Department of Urban Studies and Public Administration. Last year’s grantees (2001-02) included Dana Heller (Belarus) from the Institute of Humanities, Jie Chen (China) from the Department of Political Science and Geography and Scott King (Japan) from the Office of International Programs. Over the past 20 years, 28 Old Dominion faculty and administrators were awarded Fulbright grants. The last five years were the most active, with a total of 10 grants awarded. “ODU has a long tradition of international engagement. This process has been led by our faculty all along,” said John Heyl, the university’s executive director of international programs. “The Fulbright Program, too, has created some new, shorter-term programs that make it easier for faculty to participate. “The record number of Fulbright awards this year reflects the rising interest in professional development opportunities abroad and the supportive environment for such efforts across the campus. ODU’s new policy to support full salary and benefits during a Fulbright semester or year will surely encourage even more applications in the future.” Heyl added, “An ambitious strategic process of internationalization is under way at Old Dominion University to realize its aspiration to become the premier international university in Virginia.”