Sultana Receives Fulbright Scholar Award

Dr. Qaisar Sultana, Professor Emeritus in Eastern Kentucky University’s Department of Special Education, has received the prestigious Fulbright Scholar Award.

Sultana will travel to Bangladesh this fall to teach and participate in research in the Institute of Education and Research at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh.

“Bangladesh was my first choice,” said Sultana. “I want to serve in countries that have limited or no resources.”

Recipients of the Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement and because they have demonstrated extraordinary leadership potential in their respective fields. Sultana is one of approximately 750 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad to more than 150 countries in 2007-2008 as part of the Fulbright Scholar Program.

Sultana has served as a consultant to the World Health Organization and the United Nations Development Program. She is a past recipient of the Harry Bowman Award and the Mary May Wyman Award. She also served on the Executive Board of Directors of Mid-South Educational Research Association.

Last year, Sultana delivered a keynote address at an international conference on teacher education in her native Pakistan. She also presented an invited paper at the International Education in Islamic Countries Congress organized by the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies and The Foundation for Research in Islamic Sciences held in Istanbul, Turkey.

Sultana joined EKU as Chair of the Department of Special Education from 1980 through 1986. Since her retirement in 2006, Sultana has continued to teach part time.

She earned her master’s degree from the American University of Beirut in 1962, and her doctoral degree from the University of Georgia in 1974.

The Fulbright Program, established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, strives to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries.

America’s flagship international educational exchange activity is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Through its 56-year history, thousands of U.S. faculty and professionals have studied, taught, or done research abroad, and thousands of their counterparts from other countries have engaged in similar activities in the U.S.

Professor Appointed Executive Director for Deaf Education Council

Dr. Karen Dilka, professor in the Department of Special Education, has been appointed as executive director for the Board of the Council on Education of the Deaf, a national coalition-based organization that provides teacher certification and evaluation of university professional preparation programs.

Dilka, who teaches in the deaf and hard of hearing program, joined the EKU faculty in 1989.

Prior to becoming executive director, she was president of the board for three years and a board member for four years. She has also served as president for the Association of the College Educators of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Dilka co-directed the proposal for a $2.3 million grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to nationally improve technological instruction and delivery of instruction to deaf and hard of hearing children.

The board establishes and monitors teacher education standards and certifies teachers who meet its standards. It has certified approximately 30,000 teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students. The board also accredits teacher preparation programs. It has accredited more than 40 higher education programs.