Virginia Cooperative Extension has recently hosted two Fulbright faculty. Fulbright Fellow, Mohammad Golam Farouque, was a guest of VCE, CALS Global, and the Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education Department on July 27. Dr. Farouque is a professor at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) and has served as BAU’s director of Extension; he is currently participating in the Fulbright Scholar Program. Dr. Joseph Donaldson, North Carolina State University, is Dr. Faroque’s Fulbright host. Dr. Farouque and Dr. Donaldson visited Blacksburg to discuss and explore potential collaboration related to community education and engagement, adult and youth education, natural resources management, and Extension programming in Bangladesh. Dr. Farouque kept a full schedule, meeting with faculty and graduate students in ALCE and Animal and Poultry Science as well as VCE administration at Virginia Tech. He provided a seminar to VCE entitled “Paradigm Shift of Agricultural Extension Services in Bangladesh.” The presentation provided a history of extension programming in Bangladesh and insight into current opportunities for improvement.

VCE is also partnering with the Virginia Tech Department of Entomology, Department of Population Health Sciences, and Hollins University to host Fulbright Scholar in Residence Dr. Isabell Kingori. Dr. Kingori is an expert in public health and is teaching at both Hollins and Virginia Tech as a part of her experience. She is interested in learning more about VCE programming, including local Extension programs, curriculum development, and community engagement. Dr. Kingori has already connected with a number of VCE faculty and plans to join us for Winter Conference.