UM’s Mansfield Center Executive Director Receives Fulbright Award to Taiwan

Deena Mansour, shown here at the Taj Mahal in India, will return to Asia this year using a Fulbright award to Taiwan. Mansour directs UM’s Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center.

MISSOULA – Deena Mansour, executive director of the University of Montana’s Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center, has received a Fulbright U.S. International Education Administrator (IEA) award to Taiwan.

Mansour will use this prestigious award to create connections between Taiwan and UM and their societal, cultural and higher education systems. Although geographically separated by more than 6,000 miles, Taiwan and Montana share a surprising number of commonalities that could be explored as a result of this exchange, Mansour said.

“At a critical time in relations with Taiwan and China, my Fulbright award allows me to increase the treatment of Taiwan and East Asia more broadly at UM and throughout the state,” she said. “Participation in IEA will create multiple opportunities for our students to explore shared interests, including natural parks, ecotourism, mountains, Indigenous issues and environmental issues, in addition to critical issues of Cross-strait studies and culture.”

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to forge lasting connections between the people of the United States and other countries, counter misunderstandings and help people and nations work together toward common goals. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.

Mansour, who has worked in the field of international exchange since 1990 and at the Mansfield Center since 2009, was originally going to travel to Taiwan this spring, but because of the pandemic she will travel for two weeks in March 2022.

“This program is a cohort model where the group is hosted by a number of academic institutions in order to create empowering connections for the UM community,” Mansour said. “The experience will allow me to foster public diplomacy efforts with Indigenous communities, university-community connections and support efforts toward diversity and inclusion.”

The Mansfield Center is an academic unit at UM dedicated to enhancing mutual understanding between the United States and Asia and to fostering ethical public policy and leadership. The center supports this mission by fostering university and community links with Asia and dialogue on issues facing the United States, Asia and the world on matters of the economy, the environment, global development and international relations.

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Contact: Deena Mansour, executive director, UM Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center, 406-243-2713, deena.mansour@umontana.edu.