Professor of Linguistics Receives Fulbright Senior Scholarship
Cornerstone University’s Michael Pasquale, professor of linguistics and chair of the Humanities Division, was recently awarded a Fulbright Senior Scholarship to Peru.
Pasquale, who earned his Ph.D. in linguistics from Michigan State University, is the first faculty member from CU to receive a grant from the Fulbright program.
“The Fulbright Scholar program is the preeminent faculty scholarship program that allows faculty to engage in international exchanges in order to pursue research and scholarship,” Pasquale said. “It is an honor to receive the award.”
Like former participants of the program, such as Aaron Copland, Sylvia Plath and Thomas R. Pickering, Pasquale will utilize his skills and knowledge of language during a period of international educational exchange, taking place in May 2017.
“I will be working at the Centro de Idiomas de la Universidad Nacional Santiago Antunez de Mayolo in Lima, Peru,” Pasquale said. “I will be lecturing, conducting workshops and assessing their English language program. Research for my doctoral dissertation on Spanish and Quechua language contact was conducted in Peru. I am excited to be able to do some follow-up research and present on my research while in Peru.”
Again, Pasquale emphasized his gratefulness at being awarded this unique opportunity.
“It is an honor to be associated with such a prestigious program,” Pasquale said.
Dr. Shawn Newhouse, vice president for undergraduate academics, who received her doctorate of business administration from Anderson University, conveyed the depth of pride and appreciation that CU feels in connection to Pasquale and his work.
“He’s a leader in his discipline, nationally, and [this] really speaks volumes,” Newhouse said. “I’m excited for him; it’s a fantastic opportunity. I think it’s a great way to reinforce all of his hard work and what he’s done in his discipline.”
Newhouse then noted how his dedication relates to the educational experiences of CU students.
“The more we learn and grow as faculty members, our students are only going to benefit,” Newhouse said. “It adds value to their teaching. It adds value to them as a professor.”
Pasquale also highlighted his appreciation for how CU has cultivated scholarship in his career.
“I am excited to be able to teach at an institution like Cornerstone,” Pasquale said. “I am able to teach in an academic community that allows me to mentor students in areas like linguistics and TESOL while also being encouraged to pursue research and scholarship.”
Newhouse went on to explain how staff and faculty’s pursuit of learning can be used to positively affect the education of the students around them.
“We want to continue to develop our scholarship, but we also want to continue to develop how we then translate that to the undergrad experience,” Newhouse said. “It’s not just so that you can have a lot of head knowledge and do a lot of great research, but ultimately at a place like Cornerstone, we want that to translate to our continued investment in undergrad students so they can benefit from those experiences as well.”
Pasquale plans to continue his pursuit of knowledge and scholarship once he has completed his time with the Fulbright program.
“I am interested in continuing to study language contact in Peru,” Pasquale said. “I am also interested in further international study and research if the opportunity was available.”
