Dr. Donley T. Studlar, Eberly Distinguished Professor of Political Science in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant by the European Union Affairs Research Program. The grant will allow him to pursue his research on tobacco control at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, during the 2006-2007 academic year.

The awarding of a Fulbright grant to support Professor Studlar’s research in Denmark is further recognition of his national and international stature in the area of comparative politics and policy,said Dr. Joe Hagan, chairman of the Department of Political Science.

Dr. Studlar does research in comparative politics of advanced industrial democracies, specifically on tobacco control policy.

During his Fulbright, Studlar plans to study the role of the European Union in the policy development of its member states. Specifically, he will study the convergence or divergence of tobacco policies across the member states and what factors are responsible for the uniformity or variation.

This is the second Fulbright for Studlar, who studied the development of tobacco control policies in the U.S. and Canada at the University of Toronto in 1999-2000.

From his research there, he wrote a bookTobacco Control: Comparative Politics in the United States and Canada.

Receiving a Fulbright is certainly an honor, but the receipt of a second Fulbright is recognition that this research area is important, and it enhances the standing of the department, college and university at the national level,Studlar said.

Studlar is one of approximately 800 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad to some 150 countries for the 2006-2007 academic year through the Fulbright Scholar Program. Established in 1946, the program’s purpose is to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries. The Fulbright Program, America’s flagship international educational exchange activity, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. 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 fields.

Studlar was also the recipient of the 1998 Eberly College Outstanding Researcher Award.

He received his Ph.D. in political science from Indiana University in 1975 and came to WVU in 1993.

For more information, contact Studlar at dstudlar@wvu.edu .