On Wednesday, March 30, 2022, from noon-1 p.m. Central Daylight Time, the Spring 2022 International Seminar Series, ISU International Engagement, will feature Dr. Lea Cline, Dr. Erin Mikulec, and Mr. Jason Reblando presenting “Focus on Fulbright.” This Zoom webinar event is free and open to the public with advance registration.
The Fulbright Program is an academic and cultural exchange program that provides grants for recent college graduates, students enrolled in graduate programs requiring international research, and faculty members who have research projects that require significant time abroad. Since its establishment in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late United States Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has awarded more than 370,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. There are more than 30 Fulbrighters who teach and work at ISU, and more than 30 ISU alumni have received awards. This “Focus on Fulbright” webinar will highlight some of the Fulbright recipients affiliated with Illinois State, as well as give insights into how the application process works.
Dr. Lea Cline is an associate professor of art history and Ken Holder Endowed Professor of Art (2020–2022) in the Wonsook Kim School of Art. She holds a Ph.D. in art history from the University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on the material culture of Roman Italy. She is currently the co-director of the Northwest Lago di Bolsena Archaeological Project (Gradoli, Italy). She received a Fulbright research award while a doctoral candidate at the University of Texas at Austin. Since arriving at ISU, Cline has supported and mentored student Fulbright applicants as a Fulbright program advisor.
Dr. Erin Mikulec is a professor of secondary education and the associate director of the School of Teaching and Learning at Illinois State University. She holds a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in foreign language education and TESOL from Purdue University. In 2014, Mikulec was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Helsinki in Finland, where she studied education and taught English in K-12 schools. In 2017, she was a visiting professor of academic English at Akita International University in Japan and a visiting professor of TESOL at Quality Leadership University in Panama. Mikulec has traveled to Vietnam with Teachers Helping Teachers to deliver professional development for English language teachers. Mikulec is the Fulbright scholar liaison for Illinois State, serves on the Fulbright National Screening Committee, and is a Fulbright Peer Scholar Reviewer.
Mr. Jason Reblando received his M.F.A in photography from Columbia College Chicago and a B.A. in sociology from Boston College. He is the recipient of a U.S. Fulbright Fellowship to the Philippines, an Artist Fellowship Award from the Illinois Arts Council, and a Community Arts Assistance Program grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. His work has been published in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Financial Times, Politico, Camera Austria, Slate, Bloomberg Businessweek, Marketplace, Real Simple, Places Journal, Chicago Magazine, Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Reader. His photographs are collected in the Library of Congress, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Pennsylvania State University Special Collections, the Midwest Photographers Project of the Museum of Contemporary Photography, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He is an assistant professor of photography at the Wonsook Kim School of Art at Illinois State. He has supported and mentored student Fulbright applicants as a Fulbright program advisor.
The International Seminar Series is presented by the Office of International Studies and Programs and features a theme each semester. The Spring 2022 series, ISU International Engagement, is focusing on the wide variety of international activities which connect the ISU community to those around the world.
Anyone with questions or requiring accommodation to participate fully should contact InternationalSeminar@ilstu.edu or 309-438-1651.
