More Fulbrights

SU's great run of faculty earning Fulbrights has continued with three professors receiving awards for 2015-2016. The Fulbright Scholars program is the U.S. government's flagship international educational exchange program. SU's troika of scholars-Quan Le, Henry Louie and Greg Tuke-shared their thoughts on what the Fulbright means for them and their work. 

Quan Le , associate professor of economics will be going to Vietnam. 

On being awarded the Fulbright...

Le:  "With the Fulbright award I will be able to foster the relationship between the United and Vietnam as the two countries mark the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year. This is a very exciting time to be in Vietnam to work on important projects that will bring the two countries closer together." 

On what he will be doing as a Fulbright Scholar...

Le:  "I will work with the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program in Ho Chi Minh City to conduct a research project on trade capacity-building and export opportunities for women's microenterprise owners to capitalize on the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP). In addition, I will work with Vietnamese and American educators on curriculum development for the Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) project.   FUV is the first American-styled non-profit private university supported by U.S. Congress, the Government of Vietnam, and private donors." 

On the impact he hopes his efforts will make...

Le:  "TPP is the biggest free trade agreement of the 21st century involving the United States and Asia-Pacific nations including Vietnam.  I'm very fortunate to have the opportunity to involve directly with TPP to help microenterprises in Vietnam.  Education has been a bridge for me to connect with Vietnam.  I have been involved in a number of education projects connecting Seattle University with institutions in Vietnam in various capacities-Campus Ministry, Albers Study Tours, IDIP, The Boeing Company's Vietnam-USA University Networking Group, etc.  I believe that the FUV project is an important project to connect Seattle University with Vietnam as we expand our global engagement in Asia and the Middle East."    

Henry Louie , associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, will be going to India.    

On being awarded the Fulbright...

Louie: "It is an incredible opportunity! It is very validating and is happening at the right time in my career." 

On what he will be doing as a Fulbright Scholar...

Louie:  "I will spend 11 months at the Copperbelt University in Kitwe, Zambia. My Fulbright award is for both teaching and research. I'll be teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in electrical engineering. My research examines electrification in the context of less economically developed countries-exploring ways to provide access to people living in rural areas without access to the electricity grid. In addition, I recently received funding from Alstom and IEEE Smart Village to electrify two small villages in Zambia. It will be extremely convenient to manage these projects in Zambia, rather than from the U.S." 

On the impact he hopes his efforts will make...

Louie:  "Many universities in sub-Saharan Africa are challenged by 'brain drain.' Many of their citizens who obtain a terminal degree such as a Ph.D. end up working and living in Europe or North America. Only few remain in their native country to teach and research at universities. Most faculty at the universities only have a master's degree. So, in addition to my own research agenda, I hope to be able mentor the junior faculty. I also hope to take what I learn in Zambia and to teach a course on electrification back at SU." 

Anything else?   

Louie:  "I appreciate my wife's intrepidness in joining me in Zambia-it not exactly a glamour destination!" 

Greg Tuke , adjunct professor, social work, will be in India. 

On being awarded the Fulbright...

Tuke:  "I am very excited about this award, and honored to be part of such a long tradition of the U.S. involvement in this international program." 

On what he will be doing as a Fulbright Scholar...

Tuke:  "I will be extending my work in understanding how to effectively teach international course collaborations from a non-US perspective.  I will be involved in both teaching and training others at Central U. of Tibetan Studies (CUTS) in Varanasi, India, in the effective use of international collaborations by global student teams to solve social problems of mutual concern." 

On the impact he hopes his efforts will make...

Tuke:  "I hope that as a result, I will be able to not only expand the number of universities engaging faculty in international collaborations using virtual tools, but bring the lessons learned back to the U.S. and to other countries as I teach this methodology at Seattle U, UW and around the globe, particularly with other countries in the Middle East and Central Asia where I now have partnerships."