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FSU News FSU Human Sciences professor wins Fulbright Scholarship by Libby Fairhurst Florida State University human sciences professor Elizabeth Goldsmith has won a Fulbright Scholarship to Trinidad and Tobago next year. It is the third Fulbright awarded in recent years to a faculty member in FSU's internationally recognized College of Human Sciences. The Fulbright Scholar Program debuted in 1946 through legislation introduced by then-US. Sen. J. William Fulbright. It is now connected with the U.S. Department of State, promoting leadership, learning and understanding between cultures through competitive awards to American academics, professionals and independent scholars. Fulbright's U.S. Scholar Program sends nearly 1,000 Americans to 150 countries each year. Goldsmith's Fulbright will enable her to spend three months at the University of West Indies at Trinidad and Tobago in 2006, helping to develop programs in human ecology—particularly in the areas of consumer economics and family resource management—while teaching related courses. She also will conduct family-focused research in both rural and urban areas of the island nation, located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean off the northeast coast of Venezuela. "We are delighted that Dr. Goldsmith has been honored with a Fulbright, in keeping with her international prominence," said College of Human Sciences Dean Penny Ralston. "This will help to foster our continuing relationship with the University of West Indies at Trinidad and Tobago." Goldsmith has served as an external examiner for UWI courses and theses in the department of agricultural economics and extension since 1998. "The Fulbright is a lifelong commitment. I'm excited to be selected to represent the United States and to win this award for FSU and the college," said Goldsmith, who is the first faculty member in the department of textiles and consumer sciences to do so. "The emphasis of my Fulbright scholarship will be on increasing communication and employment opportunities in Trinidad and Tobago that may generate benefits throughout the Caribbean." Goldsmith's instructional duties will feature a team teaching role in two courses, including "Family Resource Management," for which she will develop problem-based case studies and help create Web-supported and specialist lectures, and "Farm Business Management," which will focus on farm inheritances and introduce her to rural life and associated family issues in a tropical developing country. "My research projects will involve developing strategies for care-giving for the rural elderly of Trinidad and Tobago," said Goldsmith, who also plans to measure the impact of dual incomes on family well-being, parental leave and childcare. She intends to co-author research-related articles and presentations with UWI faculty. "In my Fulbright application I said I wanted to see as much of Trinidad and Tobago and meet as many of its people as possible, and I look forward to doing just that." Goldsmith received a bachelor's degree from FSU in 1971. After earning a master's and a doctorate in human ecology from Michigan State University and teaching at New Mexico University and the University of Alabama, she joined the FSU faculty in 1981. Her research interests have included work and family, women and money, the functioning of the American home and environmental issues. She is a nationally recognized expert on life in the White House, where she has been a guest, researcher and economic education policy advisor. A two-time recipient of FSU's University Teaching Award, Goldsmith has published eight books, including "Consumer Economics: Issues and Behavior" and "Resource Management for Individuals and Families." She serves on national and international journal editorial boards and has given speeches around the world. FSU's College of Human Sciences encompasses three academic departments: textiles and consumer sciences; family and child sciences; and nutrition, food and exercise sciences. It ranks as one of the nation's top 15 human sciences programs in terms of undergraduate and graduate enrollment, degrees granted, contracts and grants, and total endowment. |