UIS professor receives Fulbright grant to study legal and political system in Canada

Dr. Jason Pierceson, associate professor of Political Science and Legal Studies and chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Illinois Springfield, has received a Fulbright grant to study the legal and political system in Canada.

He will spend the 2011 fall semester, from September through December, at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, AB Canada, serving as the Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in United States Policy Studies. Pierceson will research the role of courts as policy-makers in Canada, comparing their role to courts in the United States.

“I am looking forward to immersing myself in the Canadian legal and political systems,” said Pierceson. “It is difficult to fully understand a country's political system without spending time in that country, and this affords me that opportunity.”

Each year, the Council for International Exchange of Scholars awards 800 traditional Fulbright Scholar grants to college or university faculty and professionals to lecture and conduct research abroad. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.

Awards recognize the recipient's globally important teaching, research and service; in addition, they provide an opportunity for faculty to further their areas of expertise or pursue new directions in research.

The Fulbright Scholar Program is sponsored by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is managed by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars.

For more information, contact Derek Schnapp, director of Public Relations at 217-206-6716 or email dschn3@uis.edu.