Journalism's Brian J. Bowe selected for Fulbright Specialist Roster

WWU Journalism professor and chair Brian J. Bowe has been chosen to be on the Fulbright Specialist Roster, which will allow him to collaborate with international institutions on short-term Fulbright projects.  

While a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award usually spans a semester or year, these projects will typically last from two to six weeks.  

“The ethos behind Fulbright is this notion of person-to-person diplomacy,” Bowe said. “It's this idea that when people from one place connect with people from another place, this can contribute to mutual understanding and, hopefully, peace.” 

Bowe has previously received two Fulbright awards, one in 2019 to teach American studies in Jordan and one in 2023 to Palestine, working with the Communication & Digital Media Department at An-Najah National University in Nablus, until it was cut short and he was evacuated. 

After some negotiation, he was allowed to complete the second half of his grant in Jordan, at Yarmouk University. Yarmouk is in Irbid, which has one of the largest refugee populations in the world. In addition to working with the Faculty of Mass Communication, Bowe began working with the Refugees, Displaced Persons and Forced Migration Studies Center and discovered his interest in working to better serve refugee communities going forward.  

“It left a profound impact on me,” Bowe said. “Every time I've had one of these experiences, it's been completely life changing.” 

Being added to the Fulbright Specialist Roster follows an application that goes through a peer review process. It’s not a guarantee for projects; it establishes a network of people who are able to apply when institutions put out a call for specialists. The roster lasts three years and gives people the opportunity to do two projects.  

“I'm excited by the possibility. I don't know if this means I'll go someplace where I have experience, or if I'll get to learn about a new part of the world,” Bowe said. 

Bowe is involved with Fulbright in other ways as well. He has reviewed applications for the Jordanian and Egyptian Fulbright Commissions, American scholars on a national level and he is on the committee that reviews student applications.  

“And aside from all of that, I'm always happy to work with faculty colleagues on their Fulbright applications, which I’ve done quite a few times. It's such a beneficial program, both for the scholar and the greater good, that I just like encouraging people to take advantage of it,” Bowe said.  

Faculty and staff interested in learning more about becoming a Fulbright Scholar can attend an information session on March 6. The session is at noon in Miller Hall 223C and via Zoom, hosted by the Office of Global Engagement and featuring Director of Western’s Multilingual Education Program Jennifer Green, who was recently in Jordan as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar recipient.