BC Professor Recognized as Fulbright Scholar
Dr. Jeff Teo, professor of cybersecurity at Bluefield College, was recently recognized as a Fulbright Scholar.
The Fulbright Scholarship is a prestigious award presented by the U.S. Department of State that allows professors all over the United States to teach classes abroad by providing educators with the funds to do so.
“A Fulbright Scholar is chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential, where the scholar is given the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns,” Dr. Teo said. “As the inaugural cybersecurity scholar for the Fulbright program, I am particularly honored by this distinction and will strive to do my very best to serve its mission and principles.”
As a Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Teo will have the opportunity of a lifetime to work with highly recognized individuals. He will perform tasks with 37 Heads of State, 60 Nobel Prize Laureates, 75 MacArthur Foundation Fellows, 86 Pulitzer Prize recipients, and 16 U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients.
Dr. Teo and his wife will spend five months at Lithuania Christian College International University (LCC), a Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) affiliate partner, during the spring semester of 2020.
“My scholarship will involve teaching, curriculum development, and research in cybersecurity,” Dr. Teo explained. “At the Pre-Departure Orientation sponsored by Fulbright this past July at the University of Kansas, I was approached by a U.S State Department official and asked to consider additional speaking engagements to other European countries as there will be additional funding for my travels to network countries in Europe. This is very exciting as it will allow me to reach a wider audience in addition to Lithuania.”
Dr. Teo said he will benefit tremendously from his experiences in multiple nations. He added that it has been an extremely exciting time for him and his family, and that he is thankful that his wife of 30 years will be able to join him during his time teaching and researching in Lithuania.
“I was elated!” he said about receiving the Fulbright Scholarship. “My wife and children were so happy and proud of me for receiving this prestigious award. I felt a deep sense of gratitude to God and to those who came alongside and supported my work these past 15 years.”
Dr. Teo said his wife has been his biggest supporter of growth and innovation in his field. They will celebrate their wedding anniversary on December 30 with their children in Charleston, South Carolina, before heading to Klaipeda, Lithuania, to begin the Fulbright program.
“I am also very appreciative of my colleagues who supported and recommended my application,” Dr. Teo said. “Dr. Flowers (BC’s vice president for academic affairs), my mentor, has played a crucial role in encouraging me to develop innovative educational approaches to cybersecurity.”
Faculty and staff can submit applications to Fulbright at any time. U.S. Faculty Scholars are required to submit a problem statement along with their applications. A problem statement gives applicants the opportunity to introduce a problem in a specified location of interest that they hope to overcome while teaching there. However, Dr. Teo warns that the application process is long and requires great dedication.
“The application process was extremely rigorous,” he exclaimed.
Applicants are expected to answer all application questions thoroughly and to provide supportive references and links from peer-reviewed articles in support of their problem statement.
“You must articulate what the problem is, why it is worth addressing, and how you will solve this problem,” he added. “Competition for U.S. Faculty Scholar is ultra-competitive, and the ‘reject’ rate is high. I am particularly grateful as this was my first application, and it was successful. All glory to God.”
Dr. Teo mentioned that not only are faculty and staff eligible for awards from Fulbright, but Bluefield College students are also permitted to apply for Fulbright’s distinguished student exchange program. Interested students can find more information about the U.S. Student Scholars Program at us.fulbrightonline.org/.