EHA Alum Receives Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to Canada as Research Chair in Aboriginal Studies

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Oklahoma State University alumna Virginia Drywater-Whitekiller has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to Canada in Aboriginal Studies. She will conduct research at Vancouver Island University, BC, as part of a project designed to explore indigenous cultural resilience student supports in higher education pathways. Drywater-Whitekiller is one of over 800 U.S. citizens who will teach, conduct research and/or provide expertise abroad for the 2018-2019 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.

Drywater-Whitekiller was selected for this award based on her academic and professional achievements as well as her record of service and demonstrated leadership in her field. In 2004, she earned an Ed.D. in Higher Education from the OSU College of Education, Health and Aviation and is now a professor in the department of social work at Northeastern State University. Her research interests include cultural resilience theory, Native American issues and social work with children and the aged. 

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide.

Since its establishment in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has given more than 380,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Fulbrighters address critical global in all disciplines, while building relationships, knowledge and leadership in support of the long-term interests of the United States. Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many fields, including 59 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 82 who have received Pulitzer Prizes and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.