With Scottish ties throughout Appalachia, ETSU is focusing on Scotland in the new Global Year Program.

Situated in the beautiful Appalachian Highlands, East Tennessee State University officials have worked to achieve both a greater international influence and provide students and faculty with opportunities to learn and engage with other countries. 

A key goal: Prepare students for an interconnected world, one where cross-cultural competencies are needed to become better professionals and citizens.  

ETSU’s Global Year Program, rooted in those commitments, has selected Scotland for the 2024-25 academic year.   

“Scotland was an easy choice for us, in part because of the deep and lasting ties between Appalachia and Scotland,” said Karla Leybold, assistant dean of the Honors College and director of the Center for Global Engagement. “There’s the migration of Scottish and Scots-Irish settlers to the Appalachian region in the 1700s and 1800s, as well as profound connections between Appalachia and Scotland to culture, linguistics and music.”  

An important component of the Global Year Program is the faculty seminar, directed by Dr. Megan Quinn of the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology.  

It features ETSU professors, tabbed through a competitive process, who travel to the selected country and then develop related academic projects. From addiction treatment to a better understanding of the natural environment, this scholarship could generate sweeping positive change in both the Appalachian Highlands and Scotland.  

This year’s cohort includes: 

  • Dr. Andrea Clements, a professor in the Department of Psychology. She aims to leverage ETSU’s resources for battling addiction rates in Scotland. 

  • Dr. Scott Contreras-Koterbay, a professor in the Department of Art and Design. This study explores the interaction between the UK government and local arts activities. 

  • Dr. Jason Davis, an associate professor in the Sport, Exercise, Recreation and Kinesiology Department. This project aims to delve into the cultural heritage of the Scots-Irish and their connection to the natural environment. 

  • Dr. Julie Fox-Horton, an associate professor in the Division of Cross-Disciplinary Studies. She will investigate how memorials and museums serve as memory sites for victims of the Scottish witch hunts. 

  • Dr. Amanda Frasier, an assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. She will begin the process of comparing policy analysis in education. 

  • Dr. Steph Frye-Clark, an associate professor in the Department of Music. They will explore the brass band tradition in Scotland.  

  • Dr. Isabel Gómez Sobrino, an associate professor in the Department of Literature and Language. She hopes to create collaboration with the University of Edinburgh.  

  • Dr. Quian Huang, a research assistant professor at the Center for Rural Health Research. She will lead a student team to develop a GIS health care dashboard.  

  • Dr. Brittany Stahnke Joy, an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work. She aims to establish permanent relationships with international contacts to improve student experience.  

Engage with the Global Year Program on their site.  

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