News Archive

Two Muma College of Business Professors Receive Fulbright Core Awards

By Keith Morelli

TAMPA (March 1, 2018) -- Two Muma College of Business professors recently were awarded Fulbright core scholarships, bringing the number of USF business faculty recognized by the auspicious program over the past three years to seven.

USF is among the top producers of Fulbright U.S. scholars, according to the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. USF is the only research institute in Florida on the State Department's ranking with eight scholars named in the 2017-18 year.

And that was before Tim Heath, professor in the Marketing Department, and Anol Bhattacherjee, professor in the Information Systems and Decision Sciences Department, who received the awards last month, were placed on that list, which was published in The Chronicle of Higher Education just days after their awards were announced.

"As a globally engaged university, USF is proud of the faculty committed to teaching and research around the world through the prestigious and highly competitive Fulbright Awards," said Roger Brindley, USF System Vice President for USF World.

"I received the Fulbright-Nehru Distinguished Chair award for 2018-19," Bhattacherjee said. "My host institution will be the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, Industrial & Management Engineering (IME) Department for the spring semester of 2019."

Bhattacherjee will work with faculty members at that institution on program development and curriculum design. He also will travel to higher education institutions around India to deliver guest lectures and take part in symposia and conferences in addition to teaching and advising students at IIT.

Bhattacherjee will remain in India for four months.

"The Distinguished Chair award," the Fulbright website says, "is designed for eminent scholars with substantial experience and publications in their respective fields."

ITT Kanpur is considered one of the top five engineering colleges in India, Bhattacherjee said, and is involved in cutting-edge research and teaching across a wide variety of engineering and science disciplines.

Heath, whose research focuses on issues in branding, persuasion and innovation, also received a core scholarship. He will take a visiting professorship at Vienna University of Economics and Business in Vienna, Austria, from March 1 through June 30 of next year.

"I am honored and humbled by this award," Heath said, "and excited about working with a world-class faculty and university to cross-fertilize European and U.S. approaches to creativity and innovation."

Heath serves as area editor for the Journal of Marketing in addition to teaching courses on marketing management and consumer behavior theory.

Bhattacherjee and Heath join five other colleagues from the Muma College of Business who have received Fulbright recognition over the past three years:

• Dan Bradley, professor of finance, received a core scholarship last year to the Instituto Superior de Ciências do Trabalho e da Empresa (ISCTE) Business School in the University Institute of Lisbon in Portugal.
• Jerry Koehler, a management professor, was named a Fulbright scholar in 2016, and lectured last year about management in an MBA program for professionals at Belarusian State Economic University in Minsk, Belarus.
• Grandon Gill, as a Fulbright scholar, has traveled to the University of Cape Town in Rondebosch, South Africa, beginning in 2015, to teach faculty from various universities how to write case studies and use cases in their classes. Gill is an information systems professor and director of the Muma College of Business Doctor of Business Administration program.
• James Stock, marketing professor, was the recipient of a Fulbright Distinguished Professor award last year and went to the Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki, Finland, lecturing and doing research on supply-chain sustainability.
• Rob Hooker, a marketing professor, received a Fulbright specialist grant and traveled to Stockholm, Sweden, to lecture about supply-chain management.

"We here at the Muma College of Business already know we have a world-class faculty that is focused on student success and conducting research with impact," said Dean Moez Limayem. "I could not be prouder of Dr. Heath and Dr. Bhattacherjee and all our educators whose dedication and remarkable talents are benefitting not only our students, but students around the world. I am honored to call them colleagues.

"The recognition our professors have received over the past few years through the Fulbright program shines a spotlight on our mission here at the Muma College of Business," he said, "which is to have a first-rate faculty conducting important research and imparting their insights to students so they can be successful global citizens when they graduate."