VCU associate professor receives Fulbright Scholarship

By A. Nikki Ahmadi-Nabi
University News Services

A Virginia Commonwealth University geography professor has been awarded a 2005 distinguished Fulbright Scholarship.

Helen Ruth Aspaas, Ph.D., an associate professor in VCU’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, was given the award in April.

Fulbright scholarships are made to U.S. citizens and nationals of other countries for a variety of educational activities, primarily university lecturing, advanced research, graduate study and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. Since the program’s inception, more than 250,000 participants — chosen for their leadership potential — have had the opportunity to observe each other’s political, economic and cultural institutions.

“I feel validated as a scholar,” Aspaas said. “Often we put in such long hours teaching and fulfilling our service responsibilities, our scholarship can sometimes be pushed to the back burner.”

“This Fulbright scholarship is a research award and it means I can take the whole semester and focus on research,” she said. Aspaas plans to spend the spring semester of 2006 investigating the business methods of rural women and in two districts in the Republic of Kenya.

Aspaas' research focuses on rural economic development in domestic and African contexts. She is especially interested in women's participation in micro-entrepreneurship and how practices and strategies vary across regions and among various ethnic groups. She is the author of 10 peer review articles.

Aspaas is a state representative to the steering committee of the southeast division of the Association of American Geographers and serves on the editorial board of its peer review journal, "The Southeastern Geographer." She has received several teaching and advising awards that recognize her interest in students.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs sponsors the Fulbright Program. Under a cooperative agreement with the bureau, the Council for International Exchange of Scholars assists in the administration of the Fulbright Scholar Program for faculty and professionals.