image: Farrar-Myers is one of only 17 Americans to be recognized as a Fulbright Scholar to Australia in 2013-2014. view more
Credit: The University of Texas at Arlington
ARLINGTON, Texas -- UT Arlington Political Science Professor Victoria Farrar-Myers has been named the 2013-2014 Fulbright Distinguished Chair in American Political Science at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. She will be in residence during spring 2014.
Farrar-Myers, an expert on the American presidency, will conduct research on executive foreign policy-making with a particular emphasis on the Pacific Rim, take part in graduate and undergraduate seminars and deliver public lectures on a speaking tour throughout Australia.
"I am honored and humbled to have such a tremendous opportunity to help increase mutual understanding," said Farrar-Myers, a Distinguished Teaching Professor in the UT Arlington College of Liberal Arts. "We can learn much from each other about how past commitments, institutional structures and current political contexts affect foreign policies and relationships between countries."
She added: "Perhaps most importantly, and an aspect about which I am most excited, this research will enable me to explore these issues within the context of U.S. and Australian policy with and involving China, thus, allowing me to take advantage of and contribute to Flinders University's recently created Centre for United States and Asia Policy Studies."
UT Arlington President Vistasp Karbhari said the Fulbright Distinguished Chair honor places Farrar-Myers and the UT Arlington faculty in the most prestigious circles for research and academic excellence.
"Dr. Farrar-Myers represents the very best among UT Arlington faculty," Karbhari said. "She is most deserving of the Fulbright Distinguished Chair, and her research will be of enormous benefit to our international and American colleagues and students as UT Arlington gains prominence around the globe."
Farrar-Myers is one of only 17 Americans to be recognized as a Fulbright Scholar to Australia in 2013. The Fulbright Distinguished Chair is intended to increase the awareness of the study of American politics and government in Australia and promote comparative and collaborative research in political science between Australia and the United States.
The program is viewed as among the most prestigious appointments in the Fulbright Scholars Program, which is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. State Department. More than 800 Fulbright scholars are selected every year, but only 39 are named distinguished chairs.
Farrar-Myers joined UT Arlington in 1998. She was a 2012 recipient of The University of Texas System Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award. She was an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow and has been a national finalist for The Congressional Medal of Honor Society's Citizen Service Before Self Honors.
Ronald L. Elsenbaumer, provost and vice president for academic affairs, said of Farrar-Myers: "Her impact on her students and colleagues has been immeasurable. Her potential is limitless, and we are fortunate to count her as our colleague."
Farrar-Myers earned her bachelor's degree in political science from Russell Sage College in Troy, New York. She holds a master of political science degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a doctoral degree in political science from the State University of New York at Albany.
The University of Texas at Arlington is a comprehensive research institution of nearly 33,800 students and more than 2,200 faculty members in the heart of North Texas and the second largest member of The University of Texas System. Visit http://www.uta.edu to learn more.