News        from ABAC

Michael D. Chason Director of Public Relations ABAC 30 -- 2802 Moore Highway Tifton, GA 31793-2601 Phone 229-391-5055 Fax 229-391-5051 mchason@abac.edu

IMMEDIATE May 26, 2009

FIVE ABAC FACULTY MEMBERS SELECTED FOR TRIP TO BRAZIL

TIFTON—Five faculty members from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will be part of a 15-member statewide education group which will study in Brazil on June 4-July 3 as a result of a Fulbright-Hays Grant in the amount of $76,425 awarded to ABAC by the U. S. Department of Education Office of International Education.

ABAC faculty members scheduled to go on the trip include Dr. Jeff Gibbs, Professor of Economics and Dean of the School of Business; Alan Kramer, Assistant Professor of Education; Lorie Felton, Associate Professor of Agriculture; Brian Ray, Assistant Professor of English; and Rajgopal Sashti, Director of the Seminar to Brazil and International Education Advisor to ABAC.

The USDE grant provides an opportunity for the faculty members from ABAC and other University System of Georgia institutions as well as area K-12 teachers to learn more about the people and cultures of Brazil based on four weeks of study and travel.

“The Fulbright Grant is one of the most prestigious scholarships that members of the academic community can receive in their lifetime, and we are delighted that ABAC has now received two Fulbright grants,” ABAC President David Bridges said. “This is an unprecedented event in the history of our college.”

ABAC was awarded a similar grant in 1999 which enabled 15 faculty members and teachers from ABAC and other schools to study in Japan for four weeks.

Other scheduled participants include Eugenia Bryan, Assistant Professor of English from Georgia Southwestern State University: Rebecca Carte, Assistant Professor of Spanish from Georgia College and State University; Tatyana Pashnyak, Assistant Professor of Business/Education from Bainbridge College; Ethel Kay Traille, Assistant Professor of History/Education from Kennesaw State University; and J. Celesete Walley-Jean, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Clayton State University.

High school teachers scheduled to make the trip include Kelly Bryan, an English teacher from George Walton Comprehensive High School; Jameka Fields, an American Government teacher from North Clayton High School; Rebecca Martin, a Gifted Teacher from the Colquitt County School System; Cleopatra Warren, an Honors History teacher from Frederick Douglass High School; and Darren West, a Spanish teacher from Oconee County High School.

Sashti, International Education Advisor and Director of the Nine University and College International Studies Consortium, said the primary purpose of the grant is to help faculty members overcome stereotypical images based on firsthand experiences, provide greater coverage to less well known world regions in various courses and to promote mutual understanding between the United States and other countries through educational and cultural exchange.

A recipient of three Fulbright scholarships to Germany, Japan and Brazil, Sashti has enabled ABAC and the Consortium to emerge as a leader in international education among universities and colleges which emphasize teaching and learning. In connection with his professional activities, he has traveled in more than 30 countries and over the years has served as an International Advisor to numerous public and private institutions in Georgia and across the country.

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