WSU-2008-Borsari-CurrentsWinona State University Associate Professor of Biology Bruno Borsari has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to teach and complete research in Panama from August 2014 to May 2015.

Borsari will teach courses in agroecology, soil biology and poultry science at the Universidad Santa Maria La Antigua (USMA) in Chitré, Panama. He will also complete research on water conservation, agroforestry and sustainable agriculture through the development of an “ad hoc” curriculum and field demonstrations for the benefit of the farmers (campesinos) of the Azuero peninsula, the main agricultural region of Panama. Borsari plans also to develop an academic exchange between USMA and WSU and design a travel study to Panama for WSU students interested in sustainable food production and environmental science/studies.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Participants are chosen for the academic merit of their project proposal and leadership potential. If selected, they are provided with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international challenges. The core Fulbright Scholar Program attracts some 800 U.S. faculty and professionals each year to 140 countries to lecture, teach and conduct research. Grantees lecture and conduct research in a wide variety of academic and professional fields.

For more information, contact the WSU Communications Office at 507-457-5024.

About Winona State University

Founded in 1858, Winona State University is a regional public university with nearly 8,800 students. The oldest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, WSU offers more than 80 undergraduate, pre-professional, licensure, graduate and doctorate programs on its campuses in Winona and Rochester. Winona State ranks as the second public institution in Minnesota in the 2014 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges,” has been named among the “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review for a decade, and has been featured as one of America’s 100 Best College Buys for quality and value for 18 straight years. The university’s mission is to enhance the intellectual, social, cultural and economic vitality of the people and communities we serve: a community of learners improving our world. For more information, visit: www.winona.edu.

About the Fulbright Scholar Program

The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by then-Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The Fulbright Program awards approximately 8,000 grants annually. Roughly 1,600 U.S. students, 4,000 foreign students, 1,200 U.S. scholars, and 900 visiting scholars receive awards, in addition to several hundred teachers and professionals. Approximately 310,000 “Fulbrighters” have participated in the Program since its inception in 1946.

Currently, the Fulbright Program operates in over 155 countries worldwide.