Dr. Dean Roughton, Dean, Arts and Sciences and Secondary Education at College of The Albemarle, is off to a great 2018. The year will be one to remember as he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to travel to Russia and study international education along with receiving a doctorate in Community College Leadership from Old Dominion University.

Committed to expanding educational and cultural opportunities in northeast North Carolina, Roughton was initially introduced to study abroad programs as a student while taking his first doctoral course. The course exposed him to the concept of internationalization and emerging models within the higher education context. As a part of that course, he participated in a ten-day study abroad trip to Portugal and Spain. The course and trip afforded opportunities to meet with administrators from public and private universities as well as polytechnic institutions.

“The experiences I had made me determined to bring a global perspective to my own campus and to do whatever I could to facilitate international opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and community members,” wrote Roughton.

Compelled by his experience, Roughton returned to College of The Albemarle ready to start a study abroad program for students.

In December 2017, ten students and three chaperones, including Roughton, traveled to Nicaragua for the college’s first study abroad trip. “This was truly an inspirational experience. I went wanting to change lives and ended up changing my own,” stated Lauren Bolton, one of the college’s study abroad students.

The Fulbright Scholarship is a scholar distinction award. During his trip to Russia, Roughton will be able to participate in an International Education Administrators (IEA) seminar to learn about the host country’s educational system. He also plans to explore potential partnerships for information sharing, web conferencing, study abroad, and possibly even faculty and student exchanges.

“He is professionally in a position to utilize the experiences to impact our students, our college and our community. Our college serves many international students – a number who hail from Eastern Europe, Russia, and countries just west of Russia. Through this seminar, our college has an opportunity to develop a strong network of partnerships that could assist our current students and create new international opportunities for our native students,” wrote Dr. Evonne Carter, Vice President of Learning at College of The Albemarle.

The Fulbright Scholar Program establishes a network of U.S. and international colleagues, and this seminar provides new insights and connections to Russian higher education communities to increase global collaborations.

“I commend Dr. Roughton as he further strengthens and expands COA’s global distinction, giving students the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of intercultural worlds through their experiences in participating in a Global Distinction Partnership,” stated COA’s President, Dr. Robert Wynegar.

COA’s study abroad program is now planning next year’s trip to Nicaragua. For further information, contact the program coordinator, Brian Edwards, at 252-335-0821, ext. 2206 or via email at brian_edwards@albemarle.edu.