Maria Luisa Spicer-Escalante
By Vanessa Richards, CHaSS Technical Communications Assistant
Maria Luisa Spicer-Escalante, a professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Utah State University, is a recipient of a Fulbright Specialist Program Award for 2024-2027. This award will see Spicer-Escalante complete a project in Brazil at the Universidade Catolica de Brasilia, where she will share her expertise in teaching preparation.
Spicer-Escalante is among approximately 400 recipients of a Fulbright Specialist award this year. According to Fulbright, “Recipients of the awards are selected based on academic and professional achievement, demonstrated leadership in their field, and their potential to foster long-term cooperation between institutions in the U.S. and abroad.”
As a Fulbright Specialist, Spicer-Escalante will deliver a series of workshops at the Universidade Catolica. Her presentation will focus on self and collaborative teaching assessments and will be offered to numerous instructors teaching at the elementary, secondary, and university levels. She will also be working with graduate students at the Programa de Mestrado de Doutorado em Educação.
“This appointment … is a notable recognition of both my teaching and research endeavors in the field of teacher preparation, an area to which I have dedicated my academic and professional career as an applied linguist,” Spicer Escalante said.
This dedication to her craft is evident in the fact that this is the fifth time Spicer-Escalante has been selected by the Fulbright Program. She was first a recipient in 2012, then again in 2016, 2017, and 2023. Of the various awards Professor Spicer-Escalante has received, the Fulbright Specialist Award marks the first time she has been given to opportunity to participate in a multi-year program.
“For a period of three years, I will be part of a pool of scholars who can either apply to be part of an open project around the world where … specialization is required, or [specialists] can be selected by a particular institution that has applied for … a specific area of expertise,” Spicer-Escalante said.
Her participation will not only help students and educators abroad, but USU students as well.
“This appointment at the Universidade Catolica de Brasilia will provide me with the occasion not only to broaden my knowledge and understanding of other people and other cultures but also to continue learning and strengthening my research and teaching efforts,” Dr. Spicer-Escalante said.
“I will bring my enhanced understanding back to my home institution where it will lend new dimensions to the way I train language teachers … [and] will benefit future students at USU, with whom I will be able to share more examples and ideas from a culture very different from their own.”
USU students and faculty interested in learning more about the Fulbright Program should visit the following link: https://www.usu.edu/global-engagement/fulbright/index
Maria Luisa Spicer-Escalante, a professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Utah State University, is a recipient of a Fulbright Specialist Program Award for 2024-2027.
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