COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (April 28, 2004) – Carol Ventura, associate professor of art at Tennessee Tech University, will be able to add another country — China — to her growing list of foreign travel destinations after this summer.

She will be among a group of American social science and humanities educators visiting the country in June and July for a Fulbright-Hays Seminar administered by the Department of Education.

“China is at the top of my list of countries I want to visit, so I’m very excited about this opportunity,” Ventura said. “I think one of the reasons I’ve always wanted to go there is because so many different crafts originated there.”

With special interests in pottery and weaving but a general knowledge of all crafts, Ventura also received a Fulbright Scholar Award a few years ago to lecture for a semester at the University of Guanajuato in Mexico.

The short-term study and travel abroad Fulbright-Hays Seminars differ from the more long-term Fulbright Scholar Awards because they are meant to introduce educators of all course levels to people and cultures of other countries, helping them to implement that understanding and knowledge in the classroom setting.

Seminars to about 10 different destinations, all outside Western Europe, are held each year. Each lasts between four and six weeks and includes about 15 participants.

Ventura’s other foreign travels include her work for the Peace Corps in Guatemala in the 1970s.

--Tracey LeFevre
This information posted 5 May 2004