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ULM professor appointed to Fulbright Specialist Roster

Published September 9, 2013

The Council for International Exchange of Scholars recently notified University of Louisiana at Monroe Associate Professor of political science Dr. John Sutherlin, that he has been approved for the Fulbright Specialist Roster.

As a  roster candidate, Sutherlin will be considered for project requests by overseas academic institutions that require expertise in his field.

Photo of Dr. John Sutherlin
Sutherlin

“This was the culmination of many years of work, training, and research,” said  Sutherlin.

“It is an indication that the political science program at ULM is  heading in the right direction. This was not just for me, but for our department.”

He  describes the Fulbright Specialist Program as one that “links like-minded  professors from 140 countries to conduct research on short- and long-term projects.  I see this as an opportunity to expand my research interests and abilities, and therefore expand the potential of my students.”

Sutherlin  will offer his expertise in the areas of environmental policy,energy, alternative energy, waste management, natural resource management, sustainable  development, and anything water policy related.

“I  would like to be involved in a project located in Central or Eastern Europe dealing with water resources,” said Sutherlin.

“South American oil and gas regulations would also be interesting. In either, I would like to involve students and other faculty to conduct research.”

To  achieve his place on the roster, “It took a little more than a year coupled  with lots of documentation, reports, forms, etc. And it was not just from me but those that I listed as references from across the U.S.,” said Sutherlin.

But  Sutherlin has earned his place in other ways, long before the application process. He describes a time period two years ago in which he was working on 12  different papers for publication simultaneously.

“Some of these were book reviews and some were original research,” said Sutherlin. “Ultimately, I was able to publish them all.”

The  Student Government Association also awarded him the Faculty Award for Excellence twice.

“Being appreciated by my students is the most rewarding thing  about being a professor,” he said.

For those looking to mirror his success, he advises, “Develop a technical skill beyond politics. Sometimes, this may be a foreign language or economics, but  you must have some technical skills. For me, it was environmental engineering.  To be a political scientist, you had better be an expert in some area. Generalists are never in demand.”

Sutherlin earned his Ph.D. from the University of New Orleans and grew up in El Dorado, Ark.

He has taught at ULM since 2005 and holds the Mayme and Tom Scott  Professorship in Teaching Excellence.


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