Robin Rhodes

CANTON -- Robin Rhodes, Director of ESOL and Multilingual Student Academic Support in World Languages, Cultures, & Media at St. Lawrence University, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award in sociolinguistics and academic English education to Rwanda for the 2025-2026 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Rhodes, in conjunction with colleagues at the University of Rwanda will be researching the decolonization of English teaching and teacher professional development, complete a sociolinguistic study of the Rwandan language and educational landscape, study the relationship between Rwandan culture and literacy instruction, and develop a teaching model for Rwanda and across East Africa.

Fulbright U.S. Scholars are faculty, researchers, administrators, and established professionals teaching or conducting research in affiliation with institutes abroad. Fulbright Scholars engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs, and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad.

Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided over 400,000 talented and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds with the opportunity to study, teach, and conduct research abroad. Fulbrighters exchange ideas, build people-to-people connections, and work to address complex global challenges. Notable Fulbrighters include 62 Nobel Laureates, 90 Pulitzer Prize winners, 82 MacArthur Fellows, 41 heads of state or government, and thousands of leaders across the private, public, and non-profit sectors.

Over 800 individuals teach or conduct research abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program annually. In addition, over 2,000 Fulbright U.S. Student Program participants-recent college graduates, graduate students, and early career professionals-participate in study/research exchanges or as English teaching assistants in local schools abroad each year.

Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide.

In the United States, the Institute of International Education implements the Fulbright U.S. Student and U.S. Scholar Programs on behalf of the U.S. Department of State. For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit https://fulbrightprogram.org.