Colby-Sawyer College Professor John H. Callewaert Receives Fulbright Scholar Grant for Vietnam
NEW LONDON, N.H., July 20, 2007 – John H. Callewaert, associate professor and director of the Institute for Community and Environment at Colby-Sawyer College, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant that will send him to Vietnam National University in Hanoi for six months in 2008.
Professor Callewaert will work with faculty and students of the Hanoi College of Natural Sciences, Hanoi National University in understanding the importance of involving local communities in environmental decision making. Professor Callewaert's activities will primarily involve teaching, curriculum development and conducting faculty workshops.
“Environmental decision makers must understand the communities in which they work and communities must have a voice in the decision making for successful outcomes. I selected Vietnam when I applied for this grant because there have been some very interesting efforts there to balance environmental protection and rapid economic development,” says Professor Callewaert.
His work will focus on the connections between environmental and community issues, with the goals of environmental studies program development; identifying and examining the social dimensions of environmental decision making; grant writing for program support and research initiatives; and identifying resources for his host institution.
“This is an opportunity to compare my understanding of community and environmental issues in another cultural context,” Professor Callewaert adds. “By enriching my awareness of environmental issues in Vietnam I can help to expand international perspectives in courses and programs at Colby-Sawyer College.”
“Not only does this Fulbright award provide a wonderful opportunity for Professor Callewaert and for his host institution, but it will increase awareness of Colby-Sawyer College and the Community and Environmental Studies Program in an international forum,” adds Academic Vice President and Dean of Faculty Deborah A. Taylor.
Professor Callewaert's Fulbright award is the most recent example of the way in which his work has been recognized in the broader scholarly community as well as at Colby-Sawyer, says Vice President Taylor. An expert in community-based research, environmental policy and environmental justice, Professor Callewaert played a key role in developing Colby-Sawyer College's undergraduate Community and Environmental Studies (CES) Program and has been the director of that program for the last seven years.
Community-based research is the focus of the CES program and gives students the opportunity to collaborate with individuals and groups on real-world problems, according to Professor Callewaert. “Colby-Sawyer students gain unique professional experience with environmental decision making, including working with community partners, conducting environmental impact assessments, and preparing oral and written project reports for the partner organizations,” he explains.
Professor Callewaert's view of community has long been a global one; as a Peace Corps volunteer in the 1980s, he spent four years working on sustainable agriculture projects in Nepal. Professor Callewaert is currently active in the World Conservation Union, the world's largest and most important conservation network. He is a member of the Union's Commission on Education and Communication and an international steering committee charged with drafting a code of ethics for biodiversity conservation. Upon his return, Professor Callewaert hopes to identify ways to expand the international dimensions of existing courses at Colby-Sawyer and work with faculty colleagues to consider new courses that could help students develop a more global perspective on environmental issues.
Approximately 800 U.S. faculty and professionals travel abroad through the Fulbright Scholar Program each year. Established in 1946 and sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the program's purpose is to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the rest of the world.
To learn more about Colby-Sawyer College's Environmental Studies program, go to www.colby-sawyer.edu/academic/environmental.
For further information about the Fulbright Program, visit http://exchanges.state.gov.
Colby-Sawyer, founded in 1837, is a comprehensive liberal arts college located in the scenic Lake Sunapee Region of central New Hampshire. Our students learn in small classes through a select array of programs that integrate the liberal arts and sciences with pre-professional experience.
Colby-Sawyer College, 541 Main Street, New London, N.H. 03257 (603) 526-3000
