POCATELLO – Alan Johnson, professor of English at Idaho State University, first went to Mumbai, India, six years ago on a Fulbright Scholar grant to lecture and research literature and globalization for six months.

Johnson has recently been awarded his second Fulbright Scholar grant to Chennai, in southern India, and will be there for nine months to research images of the environment and forest in Indian literature.

He will complete the Fulbright award from August to May 2017.

Being born and raised in India, Johnson has a strong connection to the country, and the majority of his research is focused on India. Johnson also speaks Hindi, which is one of the country’s most used languages.

After graduating high school, he left India to attend Southern Illinois University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in English. After teaching a year in Egypt, Johnson continued his education in English, receiving his master’s degree from the University of Virginia and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside.

“My personal reasons for this Fulbright are interwoven with the institutional need,” Johnson said. “These international exchanges are so important this day and age. Universities are all about exchanging ideas and the diversity of ideas, so a Fulbright is a perfect opportunity to make those connections with other scholars across the world and bring them back to ISU.”

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support.

The Program operates in over 155 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 approximately 300,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, scientists and other professionals the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in government, science, the arts, business, philanthropy, education, and many other fields.

For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, please visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright or contact Josue Barrera, telephone 202-632-6454 or e-mail ECA-Press@state.gov.