WKU News

Dr. S. Kay Gandy, Professor Emeritus at Western Kentucky University and the School of Teacher Education, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award in Education to Vietnam for the 2026-2027 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Dr. Gandy will teach at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education during the Fall semester. This is the fourth Fulbright grant that Dr. Gandy has received, including a Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program to Senegal in 2016: Religion and Diversity in West Africa; a Fulbright Group Projects Abroad grant to South Africa (with Darrell Kruger, Illinois State University) in 2007: Understanding South Africa through Segregation, Reconciliation, and Creolization, and a Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program to South Africa in 2003: Heritage and Humanity: Exploring the Origins of Art, Culture and Human Behavior in Africa. While in Vietnam, Dr. Gandy will work with pre-service teachers and local educators to exchange information on successful teaching practices.  

Fulbright U.S. Scholars are accomplished faculty, researchers, administrators, and established professionals who teach or conduct research in partnership with institutions around the world. Through these affiliations, they expand their professional networks and often seed future research, innovation, and institutional partnerships. When they return home to their campuses, labs, and classrooms, Fulbright Scholars share their experiences and insights, becoming champions of international collaboration. Many go on to host visiting scholars, and inspire colleagues and students to pursue transformative opportunities abroad.

Fulbright provides opportunities for exceptional Americans and participants from 160 countries and locations to study, teach, and conduct research abroad. For eight decades, Fulbrighters have been leaders at the forefront of discovery and innovation, conducting cutting edge research, advancing critical industries, and preparing future generations with new skills and perspectives. Fulbrighters have included 46 heads of state or government, 63 Nobel Laureates, 93 Pulitzer Prize winners, 83 MacArthur Fellows, and countless leaders in all sectors and industries across the United States and around the world. 

Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program. 

In the United States, the Institute of International Education implements the Fulbright U.S. Student and U.S. Scholar Programs on behalf of the U.S. Department of State. For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit https://fulbrightprogram.org.  

The deadline to apply for 2027-2028 Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards is September 15, 2026.  Learn more about Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards and eligibility.