Published September 9, 2013
The Council for International Exchange of Scholars recently notified University of Louisiana
at Monroe Associate Professor of political science Dr. John Sutherlin, that he has
been approved for the Fulbright Specialist Roster.
As a roster candidate, Sutherlin will be considered for project requests by overseas academic
institutions that require expertise in his field.
“This was the culmination of many years of work, training, and research,” said Sutherlin.
“It is an indication that the political science program at ULM is heading in the
right direction. This was not just for me, but for our department.”
He describes the Fulbright Specialist Program as one that “links like-minded professors
from 140 countries to conduct research on short- and long-term projects. I see this
as an opportunity to expand my research interests and abilities, and therefore expand
the potential of my students.”
Sutherlin will offer his expertise in the areas of environmental policy,energy, alternative
energy, waste management, natural resource management, sustainable development, and
anything water policy related.
“I would like to be involved in a project located in Central or Eastern Europe dealing
with water resources,” said Sutherlin.
“South American oil and gas regulations would also be interesting. In either, I would
like to involve students and other faculty to conduct research.”
To achieve his place on the roster, “It took a little more than a year coupled with
lots of documentation, reports, forms, etc. And it was not just from me but those
that I listed as references from across the U.S.,” said Sutherlin.
But Sutherlin has earned his place in other ways, long before the application process.
He describes a time period two years ago in which he was working on 12 different
papers for publication simultaneously.
“Some of these were book reviews and some were original research,” said Sutherlin.
“Ultimately, I was able to publish them all.”
The Student Government Association also awarded him the Faculty Award for Excellence
twice.
“Being appreciated by my students is the most rewarding thing about being a professor,”
he said.
For those looking to mirror his success, he advises, “Develop a technical skill beyond
politics. Sometimes, this may be a foreign language or economics, but you must have
some technical skills. For me, it was environmental engineering. To be a political
scientist, you had better be an expert in some area. Generalists are never in demand.”
Sutherlin earned his Ph.D. from the University of New Orleans and grew up in El Dorado, Ark.
He has taught at ULM since 2005 and holds the Mayme and Tom Scott Professorship in
Teaching Excellence.
