Atlanta Universities Host a Visiting Scholar through the Outreach Lecturing Fund

Keith Hollingsworth, Chair and Associate Professor of Business Administration, Morehouse College
Lee Pasackow, Business Librarian, Emory University
Outreach Lecturing Fund Hosts for Guoxin Li, 2015-2016 Fulbright Visiting Scholar from China

Social media is prevalent in many aspects of our lives so when Dr. Keith Hollingsworth, Chair and Professor of Management in the Department of Business Administration at Morehouse College, asked to invite Dr. Guoxin Li from the Fulbright Visiting Scholar roster to lecture in Atlanta, the members of the joint Emory/Morehouse committee were excited. During the initial conference call with Dr. Li in January, who was from the Harbin Institute of Technology and a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Washington, she expressed her enthusiasm to visit Atlanta and share her current research.

Our two schools got to work to plan a full schedule of events for April 11-12. The Goizueta Business School, with the support of Dean Erika James, took the lead on planning the activities at Emory. The visit kicked off with a lecture in a Digital Media and Culture Class. The undergraduates were thrilled to learn about WeChat, the most pervasive social media platform in China and Southeast Asia. Dr. Li shared her research on crowd-funding platforms during a faculty lunch at the Goizueta Business School. In the afternoon, Dr. Li gave a public lecture on Mobile and Social Commerce in China, followed by a reception sponsored by the Fulbright Association – Georgia Chapter.

On April 12, Dr. Li was on the Morehouse campus where she spoke to a Marketing class and International Business class. After a presentation to the faculty on her research on crowdfunding, she had lunch with faculty and students from across the campus. In the afternoon, she spent time with the students in Chinese Studies.  Dr. Li was particularly impressed with the language proficiency of her host Morehouse student Willie Thompson and complimented him on his skill and accent.

Dr. Li’s visit afforded Morehouse and Emory the opportunity to highlight the benefits of the Fulbright Program to faculty, students, and staff. Thanks to the Outreach Lecture Fund, Dr. Li was able to establish new relationships with faculty at Emory and Morehouse who could help her advance her research. The success of visit was thanks to the cooperation of many organizations including: Emory Global Strategies and Initiatives, Halle Institute for Global Learning at Emory University, Confucius Institute at Emory, Goizueta Business School, China Research Center, Fulbright Association – GA Chapter, the Morehouse College Division of Business Administration and Economics, and the Morehouse Chinese Studies Program.

To other colleges and universities planning visits by Fulbright Visiting Scholars: do not not fret about the date. The academic calendar fills up quickly, so there is never a perfect time to plan an event. The students, faculty, staff, and public who attend a Visiting Scholar’s lectures will benefit, and you never know what seeds you plant for those considering applying for a Fulbright grant. By allowing the visiting scholar to speak on the same topics at more than one institution, they can also spend more time making contacts and less time stressing over the different presentations.  Reach out to as many organizations as you can on campus and in the community who may be interested in the scholar’s topic to ensure broad participation and sharing of expenses.  Partner with one of OLF’s Priority Institutions – make it happen – your institution will benefit.