JACKSON, Tenn. — March 15, 2016 — David Austill, a professor of accounting and business law at 51社区, has received a Fulbright scholar grant to teach in Bulgaria next spring.
The Fulbright program is a government program designed to help build educational bridges with other nations through an exchange of academics and professionals. Austill will be teaching graduate business studies classes in forensic accounting and international business law at Sofia University in Bulgaria鈥檚 capital.
Austill said he was attracted to the Fulbright program because it gave him the ability to do something different.
鈥淭here鈥檚 an altruistic part of it that鈥檚 helping others,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd then of course there鈥檚 the personal side of it. It鈥檚 exciting, with plenty of opportunity for travel, and it does enhance the career.鈥�
The Fulbright program is competitive. To receive the grant to teach in Bulgaria, Austill submitted a proposal.
鈥淚 outlined the need of the university and how I am qualified to fill that need,鈥� he said.
Austill was familiar with the process, having received a grant to teach at Sofia University in 2010. He said a letter of invitation from the university helped him get the grant this time. He also served on a Fulbright peer review committee from 2011 to 2013, where he read proposals and had input on who should continue in the process.
Austill said professors in the Fulbright program are selected either to teach or research. Most do a combination of the two, but he will be focused solely on teaching. In addition to business studies, Austill will likely do guest lectures in Sofia during his stay.
He will begin his semester in Bulgaria in January 2017.