ASU professor receives Fulbright U.S. Scholar award

The U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board have announced that Professor Nancy Jurik of Arizona State University’s School of Social Transformation has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to the Czech Republic.

Jurik will engage in a collaborative research study with scholars at the Czech Academy of Science Institute of Sociology and Gender and Sociology Department. The project, titled "Support for Czech and U.S. Women Business Owners: Owner & Practitioner Perspectives,” is a comparative study of the needs of women small business owners and the services provided to them by business assistance programs in the Czech Republic and United States.

"I am excited to have the opportunity of a Fulbright Research award to work with the outstanding feminist scholars at the Czech Academy of Sciences Institute of Sociology’s Gender and Sociology Department," said Jurik. "Comparing the experiences of women business owners and support programs for them in the U.S. and Czech Republic will provide important insights for policy in both countries."

Jurik is one of over 800 U.S. citizens who will teach, conduct research, and/or provide expertise abroad for the 2019-20 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as record of service and demonstrated leadership in their respective fields. The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. 

The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. 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. Since its establishment in 1946, under legislation introduced by the late U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has given more than 390,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals of all backgrounds and fields the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Fulbrighters address critical global challenges in all disciplines, while building relationships, knowledge and leadership in support of the long-term interests of the United States.

Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many fields, including 59 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 84 who have received Pulitzer Prizes and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.