USCB Vice Chancellor for Advancement and External Relations, Dr. Lynn McGee, has been selected for a 2016-17 US Scholar grant to participate in a Fulbright International Education Administrators seminar. Dr. McGee’s selection makes her the first Fulbright recipient to receive the prestigious award while an employee of USCB.
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The International Education Administrators seminars help U.S. senior higher education officials create empowering connections with the societal, cultural and higher education systems of other countries. These learning opportunities and connections foster the ability to strengthen a study abroad program at USCB and to build international faculty and student collaborations for the Hospitality Management degree program on the new Hilton Head Island Campus, which will open in the Fall of 2018.
Grantees have the opportunity to learn about the host country’s education system as well as establish networks of U.S. and international colleagues over the course of an intensive two-week grant duration. Grantees return with enhanced ability to serve and encourage international students and prospective study-abroad students
“USCB faculty have pioneered international exchange initiatives and built internationalism into the curriculum. Their vision is for USCB students to be prepared ‘to contribute locally and across the globe.’ This award is a step forward to support faculty leadership and to create future international opportunities for USCB faculty and students,” said Dr. McGee
By participating in the Germany IEA in October 2016, Dr. McGee will gain a deeper understanding of the opportunities and process of building international exchange relationships with universities throughout the European Union. Her focus on Germany is based on the strong connections between German manufacturers and South Carolina as well as the EU firms’ relationships with the growing aerospace corridor in coastal Georgia and South Carolina.
USCB Chancellor Al Panu recommended McGee for the Fulbright Award. “The Fulbright IEA Award represents an important step in the developing relationship between the Fulbright Commission and the University of South Carolina Beaufort. A Fulbright Europe-Eurasia officer met with USCB faculty to discuss potential research proposals in late April 2016. USCB’s faculty include several individuals who received Fulbright Awards prior to joining the University,” said Chancellor Panu.
Dr. McGee has served USCB for 10 years, leading marketing, communications, development, government relations and university events. She earned her Ph.D. in Business at Indiana University and has taught Marketing at several universities, including USCB. Prior to earning her Ph.D., McGee held corporate sales and marketing roles at Cummins Inc., a global manufacturer of diesel engines, and with the multi-national firm International Trucks.
Her interest in international higher education collaborations emerged from her experience as the daughter of an international consultant, as a Rotary exchange student, as an expatriate family working for a global corporation, and through her travel and support of her own sons’ extensive college international engagement.
Dr. McGee’s Fulbright IEA award was granted by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, the presidentially appointed 12-member Board responsible for supervising the Fulbright Program worldwide and approving the selection of all Fulbright recipients. The grant is made possible through funds appropriated annually by the US Congress and contributions from partner countries and the private sector. The Fulbright Program aims to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. It is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. Since its beginnings 70 years ago, more than 360,000 individuals have participated in the Program.
