Four Fulbright Awards for UNC

Posted on June 26, 2023

Four UNC faculty members have received Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program awards for the 2023–2024 academic year.

The awards will allow professors Patrick Davison, Anthony Hackney ‘03, Carissa Hessick and Pamela Lothspeich to teach and conduct research abroad.

Fulbright scholars gain connections and insights through world-renowned research opportunities and return home to share their experiences with students and colleagues. The program often creates research collaborations abroad and establishes the framework for institutional partnerships. Scholars come from different institutions in the United States and worldwide.

“The Fulbright Scholars Program provides an invaluable opportunity for UNC faculty to expand their horizons and to present their scholarship on the global stage,” said Barbara Stephenson, vice provost for global affairs and chief global officer, in the University’s newsletter, The Well. “Our Fulbright faculty are contributing to the University’s global brand and bringing a more global mindset back to campus.”

The Fulbright Scholar Program is an international and cultural exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government that provides students and scholars the opportunity to conduct and teach research globally. The program awards more than 1,700 fellowships each year, allowing 800 U.S. scholars to travel abroad and 900 visiting scholars to come to the United States, according to its website.

Davison, a professor at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, will travel to Japan to produce a series of documentary videos examining the evolution of Japanese culture. Davison also won a Fulbright in the 2014–2015 cycle, when he produced films about Japan’s aging population.

Hackney, a professor of exercise physiology and nutrition in the department of exercise and sports science, will lead research for the next two years on the effect of exercise on reproductive physiology and endocrinology of children and adults at the University of Eastern Finland. Hackney has also been named the Fulbright-Saastamoinen Distinguished Chair in Health Sciences and is the faculty Fulbright liaison for the Center for Faculty Excellence. This is his fourth Fulbright award.

Hessick, an Anne Shea Ransdell and William Garland “Buck” Ransdell Jr. Distinguished Professor of law, was awarded the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the Australian National University. Hessick will study criminal sentencing alongside ANU professor of criminology Lorana Bartels at the Centre for Social Research and Methods at ANU. Hessick’s research is part of a project on criminal sentencing in common law countries.

Lothspeich, an associate professor in the department of Asian and Middle Eastern studies, was awarded a Fulbright-Nehru Senior Research Fellowship. She will travel to India to research a traditional form of theater called Raslila, which presents stories of the childhood and adolescence of Krishna, the reincarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. Lothspeich focuses on modern adaptations of the epics and plans to interview musicians and performers and attend Raslila performances. This is her second Fulbright-Nehru Senior Research Fellowship.