Johnson’s Fulbright Award Renewed for 2010-11

Cindy Johnson, professor of biology and environmental studies at Gustavus Adolphus College, recently received notice that her Fulbright Scholar grant has been renewed for a second year. The grant has allowed Johnson to teach and conduct research in Tanzania during the 2009-10 academic year.

Johnson intends to utilize the second year of the grant to finish her book Conservation Biology of Tanzania. She intends the book to serve as a textbook for short-term travel courses, as an introduction for longer courses, and as a helpful handbook for tourists and guides in the ecotourism and safari industry.

“This book is important to me personally and an additional year will enable completion before resuming my duties at Gustavus,” Johnson said.

You can read about Johnson’s experiences in Tanaznia on her blog at tanzania2009-2010.blogspot.com.

Tanzania is the 27th largest country in the world at just under 365,000 square miles. The population of Tanzania is around 40 million people. The geography and environment of northern Tanzania provides an ideal ecosystem for a conservation biologist like Johnson.

Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, is situated in the northeast part of the country. Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, sits on the northwest border of Tanzania. The Serengeti Plains, also located in northern Tanzania, hosts approximately 70 large mammals and some 500 avifauna species, as well as the largest and longest overland migration of wildebeests in the world.

Johnson has taken seven different Gustavus classes to Tanzania during the College’s January Interim Experience term. She was the recipient of the 2003 Edgar M. Carlson Award for Distinguished Teaching — the highest teaching award presented by the College. She is also a past recipient of the Swenson-Bunn Award for Teaching, chosen annually by Gustavus students.

The Fulbright Program, America’s flagship international educational exchange program, is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Since its establishment in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided approximately 286,500 people with the opportunity to observe each others’ political, economic, educational, and cultural institutions, to exchange ideas and to embark on joint ventures of importance to the general welfare of the world’s inhabitants. The Program operates in over 155 countries worldwide.