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Dr. Michael Thrasher, Troy University’s Dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts, has been selected to participate in the Fulbright International Education Administrators (IEA) Seminar in Germany in October.
Fulbright IEA Seminars are fully funded opportunities for U.S. higher education administrators and executives to participate in intensive, two-week seminars abroad to learn about other countries’ education systems.
Thrasher’s selection marks the first time a current TROY dean has been chosen for a Fulbright Award.
“Being the first current dean accepted into the Fulbright program is a testament to Dr. Michael Thrasher’s commitment to professional development to benefit himself and the students of Troy University,” said Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr. “Not only does this mark a historic milestone, it also sets a powerful example of leadership that will inspire our faculty to aim higher and achieve even greater success.”
Thrasher will travel to Germany from October 7-19 with a small group of 15-17 other administrators from across the country.
“Some of the oldest universities in the world are in Germany, and the American system is largely based on English, Scottish, and to a certain extent, German models. It’s somewhat like tracing your roots to explore the precursors of the American system,” he said. “It’s a totally different way of operating and thinking, and I’m curious to see the similarities, the differences and what we can learn from that.”
In addition to learning about the German education system, participants will be able to build their network, make connections and further international engagement at their own institutions.
“I hope one of the outcomes of this experience will be identifying a new partner or two for study abroad opportunities for our students,” Thrasher said. “We have partnerships throughout the United Kingdom, Italy, Asia and South America, but we don’t have many in central Europe and Germany, so I think this will be a great opportunity to make those connections.”
Over the course of the two weeks, the participants will visit a variety of colleges and universities, have briefings from faculty and administrators at public and private higher education institutions, educational experts and government officials and will observe organizational operations.
Over 800 individuals teach or conduct research abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program annually. In addition, over 2,000 Fulbright U.S. Student Program participants—recent college graduates, graduate students, and early career professionals—participate in study/research exchanges or as English teaching assistants in local schools abroad each year.
“This is a great thing for me personally, but it’s also a great thing for the University,” Thrasher said. “This now gives us two Fulbright awards this year, and two other faculty members were finalists. It’s a highly competitive program, so we’re very proud of this achievement.”
TROY has had six Fulbright scholars since 1987. These scholars have visited Ghana, Ukraine, Russia, Hong Kong, the Philippines and India, and their expertise spans a wide range of disciplines, including literature, history, mathematics, education, and physical science.
More recently, TROY has hosted two Fulbright Scholars-in-Residence from South Korea and Slovenia and a Fulbright Outreach Fellow from Egypt. In May, Dr. Michael Guo-Brennan was also selected as a Fulbright Scholar and will spend six months abroad in 2025 in Estonia to conduct research and offer lectures at Tallinn University in the School of Governance, Law and Society.
“This is a remarkable recognition for Dr. Thrasher and for TROY” said Dr. Priya Menon, professor of English at TROY and Fulbright Scholar Alumni Legacy Ambassador. “It confirms his commitment to learning from diverse education systems to enrich his understanding and broaden his perspectives to fuel innovation in his own administrative and academic practices. Significantly, it also bolsters TROY’s academic reputation in cultivating distinguished global leaders and educators that make substantial contributions to communities both abroad and at home, as well as in their chosen fields.”
Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government. 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.
In the United States, the Institute of International Education implements the Fulbright U.S. Student and U.S. Scholar Programs on behalf of the U.S. Department of State. For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit https://fulbrightprogram.org.
