University of New England

Education Professor Michael Beaudoin receives Fulbright Scholar Award to consult in Ghana

Michael Beaudoin, Ed.D. of Portland, professor of education at the University of New England, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to serve as an educational consultant at the University College of Education in Winneba (Ghana, Africa).

Prof. Beaudoin, an internationally recognized scholar, author and consultant in distance education, will be responsible mainly for teacher education through workshops, seminars and consulting.

Winneba is Ghana’s premier college of education, and according to Prof. Beaudoin the president of the institution is committed to developing distance education programs for his country’s citizens. Prof. Beaudoin also hopes to help develop new distance-learning graduate programs during his 15-week tenure (February - May, 2007). He also expects to work with government and other organizations, while based at the university.

At UNE, Prof. Beaudoin teaches in the popular Master of Science in Education Program (M.S.Ed.) in the College of Arts and Sciences, which is offered in a distance-learning format for graduate students all over the country and the world. He also teaches in the Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Educational Leadership Program, another UNE distance-learning program.

“This is an opportunity to do work in my field in an area that is receptive,” noted Prof. Beaudoin. “Distance education can provide better access to learning opportunities for prospective teachers. It can potentially impact the entire country [Ghana].”

Living in Africa will be a new experience for Prof. Beaudoin, who has only visited Africa as a tourist. But he is an experienced world traveler, starting as a Peace Corps volunteer and later living and teaching in Europe and Asia.

In spring 2005, Beaudoin received the Charles A. Wedemeyer Award, presented by the Distance Learning Community of Practice (UCEA) at the University Continuing Education Association conference held in Boston for his book on distance educaation.

The book, Reflections on Research, Faculty and Leadership in Distance Education, offers both a retrospective and future perspective on distance education issues by including selected previously published work by the author, complemented by more recent writing, which addresses the same issues 5-10 years later, in light of recent developments in the field.

The Fulbright Scholar Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The program’s purpose is to build mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and other countries.

Recipients of Fulbright Scholar awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement and because they have demonstrated extraordinary leadership potential in their field. 

(Press release issued April 11, 2006)