U.S. Department of State and Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board select UDC professor to share her expertise in Namibia

Professor Olive Vassell (center) with News Reporting & Writing students at NUST.

Olive Vassell, associate professor and Digital Media Program coordinator, was selected for a Fulbright U.S. Specialist Award at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Windhoek. Vassell is assisting with the journalism program’s curriculum review, establishing a student-run wire service and teaching two courses, Journalistic Writing I and News Reporting & Writing. She will also engage students around her scholarship on Black Europe and the African Diaspora.

According to the Fulbright Program, Vassell is one of over 400 U.S. citizens who share expertise with host institutions abroad through the Fulbright Specialist Program every year. Recipients are selected based on academic and professional achievement, demonstrated leadership in their field and potential to foster long-term cooperation between institutions in the United States and abroad. She will engage in cutting-edge research and expand professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for future partnerships between institutions.

“I’m thrilled to be here at NUST. My colleagues in the journalism department have welcomed me with open arms, including UDC alumna (’11) and NUST lecturer Jordaania Andima, as well as the university community.”

This is a full-circle moment for Andima, who was once one of Vassell’s students.

“The Department of Journalism and Media Technology at the NUST is extremely excited to host Professor Vassell,” she said. “We look forward to working on matters of mutual interest, especially establishing a long-term relationship for student and staff exchange through an MoU and other exciting projects.” Vassell said she is thrilled about her work around journalism education, which includes designing programs that produce the best student learning outcomes and best practices in the field.

“I’ve also had the opportunity to engage with students in the classroom, which has been delightful,” she said. I look forward to assisting the program and learning from my colleagues.”

Vassell will also be a guest lecturer for two seminars. On September 2, she presented to Master of Journalism and Media Technology students on her forthcoming book, “Mapping Black Europe: Monuments, Markers, Memories,” and discussed the African Diaspora in Europe. On September 15, she will present data and its use in journalism to the Master of Data Science graduate students.

Professor Olive Vassell capturing the wildlife on safari.

The professor said she is enjoying her experience and will pursue some personal interests while in Africa.

“On the top of my bucket list is a safari. I traveled to the north of the country to Etosha National
Park, one of the largest national parks in Africa,” she said. “It was thrilling, and I defied the odds by seeing several kinds of famously elusive cats: a pride of lions, two cheetahs and the African wildcat (usually spotted just once a year).”

For more information about the Fulbright Scholar Program, please click here.