Morgan Professor Selected As Fulbright Specialist to Share Higher Ed Expertise with the University of Southern Queensland in Australia

Building upon its earned designation as a Fulbright Program ‘HBCU Institutional Leader,’ Morgan State University continues its preeminence as a top producer of student, staff and faculty Fulbright recipients. To-date, nearly 80 Morgan professors or administrators have received Fulbright-related grants to study in more than 40 countries around the world. Most recently, Krishna Bista Ed.D., professor of Higher Education in the School of Education and Urban Studies’ (SEUS) Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership and Policy at Morgan, completed a two-week visit to the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) in Australia as a Fulbright Specialist. 

For Morgan, Dr. Bista became the second non-student to have been awarded a Fulbright-related award this past academic year. Earlier this summer, Yacob Astatke, D.Eng., received a grant to participate in the Fulbright International Education Administrators Program in France.  

Each year, the Fulbright Program selects a little more than 400 U.S. citizens to share their professional knowledge with host institutions throughout world as Fulbright Specialists. Recipients of Fulbright Specialist awards are competitively selected based on academic and professional achievement, demonstrated leadership in their field, and their potential to foster long-term cooperation between institutions in the U.S. and abroad. Dr. Bista was chosen based on his exceptional expertise and significant contributions to the field of global student mobility and international education. 

As a Fulbright Specialist, Dr. Bista engaged in a collaborative project titled "Crossing the Divide: A Transnational Education Collaboration" with the University of Southern Queensland. During the visit to Australia, he participated in robust discussions, seminars, meetings, and collaborations that will likely foster enduring academic partnerships. While at UniSQ, Dr. Bista met with a host of university dignitaries, including Professor Glen Coleman, deputy vice-chancellor of academic affairs; Professor Ren Yi, pro-vice-chancellor (International); Professor Petrea Redmond, leader of digital pedagogies; and numerous other esteemed members from various departments. 

Furthermore, Dr. Bista leveraged the opportunity to explore ways in which Morgan and UniSQ could collaborate in future, particularly in the areas of institutional resources and shared research interest; joint supervision of theses and dissertations; participation in editorial roles for academic journals; collaborative publication projects with prestigious publishers; and organizing an international conference at UniSQ, co-hosted with Morgan State University. 

Since coming back from his educational experience abroad, Dr. Bista seeks to integrate the insights and collaborative strategies he garnered during his time at UniSQ, strengthening Morgan’s commitment to academic brilliance and global engagement. Dr. Bista’s dedication to advancing international education and research exemplifies the university's commitment to excellence and global engagement. 

Funded by way of annual appropriation authorized by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright Program serves as the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide. Since its establishment in 1946, the Fulbright Program has given more than 400,000 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. 

For more information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State, please visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright. For more information about Morgan’s Fulbright Scholarship Program, please visit https://www.morgan.edu/fulbright.