Toorjo Ghose Receives Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to India

The U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board are pleased to announce that Dr. Toorjo Ghose of the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to India. Dr. Ghose will be hosted by Presidency University in Kolkata as part of a project to document and teach about the strategies deployed by sex workers to negotiate the COVID-19 pandemic.

The project will examine the manner in which lessons learnt in the HIV era are shaping community responses to the current pandemic. During his time in Kolkata, India, Dr. Ghose will connect his work to the classroom by exploring pedagogical strategies to bring together community members with students from Presidency University and the University of Pennsylvania.

As a Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Ghose will share knowledge and foster meaningful connections across communities in the United States and India. Fulbrighters engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs, and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad. As Fulbright Scholar alumni, their careers are enriched by joining a network of thousands of esteemed scholars, many of whom are leaders in their fields. Fulbright alumni include 60 Nobel Prize laureates, 86 Pulitzer Prize recipients, and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to forge lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries, counter misunderstandings, and help people and nations work together toward common goals. Since its establishment in 1946, the Fulbright Program has enabled more than 390,000 dedicated and accomplished students, scholars, artists, teachers, and professionals of all backgrounds to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and find solutions to shared international concerns. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.

For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State, please visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright or contact the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Press Office by telephone 202-632-6452 or e-mail ECA-Press@state.gov.