Dr. Jackie Grant Awarded Renowned Fulbright Fellowship

Southern Utah University is pleased to announce that Dr. Jacqualine Grant, associate professor of geosciences, museum curator, and published scientific illustrator, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to conduct conservation biology teaching and research in New Zealand. Dr. Grant is among very few that have received the Fulbright Scholar award and is the first female recipient from SUU.

Dr. Grant will perform research and lead seminars at Massey University in Palmerston North as part of a project to understand native plant diversity and its cultural significance. She will also spend five months at the New Zealand Indigenous Flora Seed Bank working with colleagues to identify the components of the Maori seed-banking protocol that can be applied to a Paiute seed-banking program.

“Being awarded a Fulbright in 2019 was both very exciting and stressful because of the timing,” said Dr. Grant. “I received news of the award just months before everything shut down due to COVID-19. The project’s original date was set to begin in 2021, but my host country, New Zealand, closed its borders to most travelers until the summer of 2022. It's a huge and humbling honor to be awarded a Fulbright, and the award comes with a big responsibility because you are expected to represent the people of the United States.”

Led by the United States government in partnership with more than 160 countries worldwide, the Fulbright Program offers international educational and cultural exchange programs for passionate and accomplished students, scholars, artists, teachers, and professionals of all backgrounds to study, teach, or pursue important research and professional projects.