WMU faculty head to South Africa, Thailand this summer on Fulbright Specialist Awards

KALAMAZOO – Two Western Michigan University faculty members received Fulbright Specialist Awards to support overseas consulting and advocacy work this summer. Greg Jasperse, associate professor of applied jazz voice at the Irving S. Gilmore School of Music, traveled to South Africa in May. Dr. Shannon McMorrow, associate professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Health, will travel to Thailand in June. 

The Fulbright Specialist Program, funded by the U.S. Department of State, promotes knowledge exchange and partnerships between U.S. institutions and international communities. Jasperse and McMorrow are among some 400 U.S. citizens selected annually to participate in the program.  Past recipients at WMU are listed here.

Jazz in South Africa

Jasperse returned this month from a three week trip to Johannesburg where he partnered with the University of the Witwatersrand, commonly known as Wits. There, he taught jazz, led vocal improvisation classes and coached the university’s first jazz ensemble. One of the pieces the group worked on was his own arrangement of “They Say It’s Spring.”

He also participated in educator workshops on jazz voice philosophy, vocal pedagogy and vocal jazz arranging.

“I got to see how another jazz and music department operates and how Wits tries to serve their students,” Jasperse says. “This allowed me to see WMU in a new light as well, appreciating what a gift it is.”

In South Africa, there is almost no music education in their public schools, Jasperse explains. Most students studying music at a university-level are coming from a church background where they sing or play by ear. "This leaves a great deal of ground to cover in terms of music literacy," he says.

“In America, with the current focus on STEM and the sense that music programs are on the decline, we are still so fortunate to have as much music in primary and secondary educational systems as we do.”

Jasperse, a globally renowned musician, who directs WMU’s award-winning vocal jazz ensemble, Gold Company, performed with local artists and university students while in Johannesburg. The connections he made were meaningful. Jasperse expects to see some of the South African students at WMU’s New York Voices Vocal Jazz Camp this summer. Others are exploring ways to collaborate with him in Kalamazoo.

“I remain in touch with all of these folks, open to wherever these relationships may lead,” he says. “The connection between WMU and Wits feels like the beginning of something unique and special. Just like in jazz, we must show up for the conversation and connection, bring our authentic selves to the table, welcome others as they are, and do all of this without expecting a particular outcome.”

Public health in Thailand

McMorrow will depart for Thailand on June 29 for a three-week visit. She will serve as a consultant and advocate on several projects with the public health faculty at Naresuan University. Her work will include helping Thai researchers and academics integrate planetary health into their curriculum, providing specialized training and visiting local communities to promote public health.

“Planetary health makes sure we recognize that human health and environmental health are linked together,” McMorrow says. "This concept has been recognized by Indigenous cultures for thousands of years and has become an academic and professional focus in public health in the past 10 years or so.”

McMorrow will also train health professionals and community members in Photovoice, a participatory research method in which people record, discuss and publicly share photos and stories that reflect their lived experiences.

This is McMorrow’s second Fulbright award. In 2022, she was a U.S. Fulbright Scholar and spent 10 months in Uganda with her family, conducting research and teaching at the Makerere University School of Public Health.

“The scholar award enabled me to advance my global health research agenda abroad and to build long-term relationships with colleagues and friends in Uganda,” she says. “The specialist award is an opportunity for a short-term experience to consult with and learn from another school of public health in a global setting and, hopefully, plant roots for more sustained collaboration.”

“Fulbright offers invaluable cultural exchange programs that build mutual understanding and peaceful relationships around the world,” adds McMorrow, who serves on the board of the Fulbright Association of West and Mid-Michigan. “I am so grateful for these opportunities to learn global lessons about public health in both Uganda and Thailand and bring them home to our WMU students.”

The Fulbright Program provides WMU faculty and students short- and long-term opportunities to engage globally, said Dr. Michelle Metro-Roland, associate director of external scholarships and faculty development at WMU’s Haenicke Institute for Global Education. The Specialist Program in particular allows faculty to share their expertise while enriching their teaching and research through short-term travel and international collaboration.

The Fulbright Specialist Program has six application deadlines a year, including July 11, Sept. 12 and Nov. 7 for the summer and fall cycles. Interested faculty should contact Metro-Roland at @email. They can also visit wmich.edu/fulbright to learn more.