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Parkison earns Fulbright to teach in Eastern Europe
April 28, 2005 | |||||
KOKOMO, Ind.—Associate Professor of Economics Kathy Parkison, Ph.D., has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to serve as a guest lecturer during fall semester at Tbilisi State University, the national university for the Eastern European country of Georgia. Granted sabbatical leave from IU Kokomo, Parkison will spend August through December at Tbilisi State. She expects to address many classes there as a “consulting expert” on U.S. economic and business practices and other international issues.
Parkison is one of only 800 U.S. faculty members and professionals chosen to travel abroad for the Fulbright Scholar Program during the 2005–2006 academic year, noted School of Business Dean Niranjan Pati, Ph.D. “We are proud of Dr. Parkison for securing this prestigious Fulbright Scholar grant,” Pati said. “Her involvement in the program will not only help her professional growth but will also enrich our students' experience in her classes when she returns to teach in spring 2006.” The only other IU Kokomo faculty member to ever receive a Fulbright grant is Professor Emeritus of English Reja-e Busailah, Ph.D. The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs sponsors Fulbright Scholars to study, teach, or do research abroad, while building mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries. According to a Department of State release, “recipients of Fulbright Scholar awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement and because they have demonstrated extraordinary leadership potential in their fields.” Parkison has participated in four previous National Council for Economic Education (NCEE) programs in Eastern Europe, part of the U.S. Department of State's “nation-building” efforts. At workshops in such former Soviet-controlled regions as Armenia and Ukraine, Parkison shared ideas about teaching free enterprise economics with educators and government officials. The Fulbright project will mark Parkison's first trip to Armenia's neighbor Georgia, and the latter country's fourth year to have a Fulbright Scholar appointed. Parkison said several NCEE officials encouraged her to apply for Fulbright work in Georgia because, ever since joining the program, Georgian officials have specifically requested appointment of a U.S. economist. “I'm the first [economist assigned to Georgia],” Parkison said. Georgia is a predominantly Christian, secular democratic republic, bordered to the north by Russia and to the south by Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Black Sea lies on Georgia's western edge, and the rugged Caucus Mountains ring the country's central valley, where most of Georgia's 5 million people live. With abundant natural resources, Georgia was formerly one of the richest Soviet republics. Today, it has some production in wine and rug making, as well as wood- and metal-working, Parkison said. Overall, she added, “the country is struggling to feed its people.” Georgia gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, but continued to struggle under bureaucrats long accustomed to bribes and kickbacks. In the peaceful 2003 Rose Revolution, Georgians elected Mikheil Saakashvili, a reform candidate educated at Harvard School of Law, as their president. “Unfortunately, when they threw out the old guard, they also threw out anybody who knw how to make the country work,” Parkison said. The Web site for Georgia's U.S. Embassy notes why relations with Georgia hold U.S. interests: “About the size of Maine, Georgia has an oil pipeline [that will] eventually deliver 1 million barrels of crude oil daily to Western markets. That can help the U.S. diversify its oil supply. . . . Russia insists on maintaining military bases in Georgia, which along with its electricity and natural gas supplies to the country give it too much of a stranglehold. The United States has provided more than $1 billion in foreign aid to Georgia since 1991 and is spending many millions more to train border guards.” Parkison has read about Georgia's strong K–11 education system. “Georgian children start learning English in first or second grade. They're very good at rote education in math and the sciences,” but somewhat lacking in developing the conceptual thinking that often sparks new businesses, she said. During her stay in Georgia, Parkison will gather data that she and Professor of Education Margo Sorgman, Ed.D., can use in their joint research on the teaching of economics in Eastern Europe. The pair received NCEE grant funding in 2004 to analyze survey data on that topic from the council's database. Together, they coordinate local teacher education through the campus' Center for Economic Education. Parkison has served as director of the IU Kokomo Master of Business Administration program since 2001. Along with Joan Hoch, she is a Sam Walton Fellow, providing faculty guidance to IU Kokomo's award-winning Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) team. In April, the local SIFE team won a fifth consecutive regional title for outstanding programming. Its representatives will compete at the SIFE USA National Exposition on May 22–24 in Kansas City, Mo.
For more information on programs and classes of the IU Kokomo School of Business, visit www.iuk.edu/business or call (765) 455-9275.
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