Fulbright Taps IR Professor Twice
Wise, an associate professor in the USC School of International Relations, will be able to test her thesis that 10-year-old NAFTA is responsible for deteriorating social programs in Canada and the increasing poverty gap in Mexico.
“I’m grateful to USC for giving me the year off,” she said. “I’m fortunate to have a full year to complete my research.”
Wise, the fourth Fulbright scholar in the USC School of International Relations, plans to publish her research results in a book the following year.
“It’s the first time the question of social policy has been taken up for all three countries comparatively,” Wise said. “The idea is to look for specific ways that the NAFTA community can tackle the social deficit [created by the agreement].”
During the spring 2005 semester, Wise will hold the Fulbright Chair of North American Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. USC awarded her the Fulbright-Hays Senior Faculty Award so she could complete her research during the fall 2005 semester at the University de los Americas in Puebla, Mexico.
“Her scholarship is first-rate and the quality of her research is bringing a great deal of attention to USC and the School of IR,” said Steven Lamy, director of the USC School of International Relations.
Lamy said the scholarship will allow Wise, in her third year at USC after eight years at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, to conduct needed research.
“Professor Wise’s awards are particularly important because they will allow her to focus her research on very important North American issues and not just NAFTA,” Lamy said. “Under [Nobel Peace Prize nominee] Lloyd Axworthy, Canada led an effort to expand the role of North American foreign ministers to address common issues.
“The Bush Administration abandoned these efforts,” he added.
While Wise is away, the university will welcome six foreign scholars from Lebanon, Japan, Slovenia, France, Hungary and Turkey. Their stays range from three months to a year.
Congress created the Fulbright Program in 1946. Sen. J. William Fulbright said he hoped the program would promote “mutual understanding between people of the United States and the people of the other countries of the world.”
Each year, 800 American academics specializing in subjects ranging from journalism to philosophy and music travel abroad as Fulbright scholars. In return, 800 foreign scholars come to the United States.
An annual appropriation made by Congress to the Department of State is the primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program.
Go to www.cies.org for more information on the Fulbright Scholarships.