The Journal

Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: News

Joseph Stimpfl

Don Morris

Joseph Stimpfl traveled to Southeast Asia in 2006 to gather information on Malaysian cultural practices in northern Malaysia and Thailand. Stimpfl recently received his third Fulbright scholarship, a research grant, which will allow him to return to Malaysia to research Malaysian spirituality.


The Fulbright Scholar Program is an academic exchange program created by the U.S. government. It is administered by different organizations that all have the Fulbright name. There are many different types of Fulbright scholarships awarded each year.


Stimpfl, who currently teaches World Religions and Native American Religions, will leave December 2007 for Malaysia and return to the United States in August 2008. During his stay in Malaysia, Stimpfl will be affiliated with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.


"There's a lot of interest in Southeast Asia so the research funding support is very good currently," Stimpfl said.
Stimpfl, chairman and professor in the religious studies department, received his first Fulbright scholarship as a graduate student in the 1980s. He traveled to Singapore to study Malaysian individuals, specifically how being Malaysian affects students in Singapore public schools. In the late 1990s, Stimpfl received his second Fulbright, an administrative scholarship that allowed him to travel to Korea to observe education.


Stimpfl said during his upcoming trip to Malaysia he will be under less stress than the daily life at a university since his demands as an administrator will be absent.


"You have a much more structured life here," Stimpfl said. "(There) you don't have to do anything. You do what's necessary."


Stimpfl said his trip won't affect his family life since he's single and lives alone. But he said he has social connections in Malaysia established with Ibrahim Naringraksakat, assistant professor and director of the center for Islamic Studies at Prince of Songkla University in Patani.


Stimpfl said upon his return, the Fulbright association that awarded him the scholarship does not expect him to give lectures or talks on his experience in Malaysia. The scholarship merely provides funds for him to do research. However, he has plans to share his experiences from his trip.


"I hope a book comes out of this," Stimpfl said. "That's what's I'd like to see."


Fulbright to Slovakia

Donald Morse recently was awarded his first Fulbright scholarship. The scholarship will allow him to travel to the Slovak Republic to teach American philosophy at Matej Bel University in the town of Banská Bystrica. While abroad, Morse also plans to use the opportunity to learn more about his family history.


Morse, assistant professor of philosophy, will travel to the Slovak Republic in September 2007 and return to the United States in February 2008.


"Partly, I'm trying to go back and explore my roots," Morse said.


Morse said his grandparents moved to the United States from the Slovak Republic in the 1920s. He said he discovered a letter from a relative in his family archives. The relative mentioned the town Velky Folkmar, in eastern Slovakia, which he researched and visited in fall 2003.


Morse said while he was teaching at Webster's Vienna campus, he traveled to Presov University in Eastern Slovakia to give a talk and stopped in Velky Folkmar to learn more about his history. There, he found a grave with his family name, Mraz, on it.


Morse also has traveled to the Slovak Republic with the Central European Pragmatist Forum, of which he has been a member for four years. Morse said the forum discusses American philosophy and is interested in how philosophy can apply to Eastern Europe. Morse said the trip sparked his interest in teaching in the country.


"Eastern Europe has a lot of new, different things I hope to learn about," Morse said.


In his upcoming trip, Morse said he hopes to learn what life is like after communism and its affects on the Slovakian people. He also wants to learn more about their view on the emergence of democracy.


Morse said Slovakians and professors at the university are interested in democracy and, therefore, bring scholars in to talk about it. Morse said democracy is related to the field of philosophy.


Morse said he plans to incorporate defining democracy, as well discussing the requirements to construct a democratic society in his teaching.


Morse, who has taught at Webster for six years, said he is using his sabbatical to travel to the Slovak Republic.
Upon his return to the United States, Morse said he plans to give discussions about his experiences in the Brown Bag Lunch Series.

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