FAMU Professor Selected as 2009 Fulbright Scholar

Ralph Wills Flowers, Ph.D., professor and research scientist in the Florida A&M University (FMU) College of Engineering Sciences, Technology and Agriculture, has been selected as a Fulbright Scholar grantee to Ecuador by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB). As a Fulbright grantee, Flowers will join the ranks of approximately 300,000 distinguished participants in this program, which is made possible through annual funding from the U.S. Congress, partnering countries and the private sector.

This is the second time that Flowers has been selected as a Fulbright Scholar. The first honor was received in 2002-2003, when Flowers spent time teaching and conducting research in Costa Rica.

“This is a great honor,” said Flowers, whose faculty research is international in scope.

His employment with the FAMU College of Engineering Sciences, Technology and Agriculture began in 1975 as a member of the faculty in the entomology program.

“I came on board on the Ephemeroptera research team working with the late Dr. William L. Peters, former program leader of FAMU’s entomology program,” said Flowers.

Currently, Flowers is an accomplished research scientist in the FAMU Center for Biological Control. Since 1999, Flowers has worked in western Ecuador through a partnership between FAMU and Virginia Tech in the IPM-CRSP and SANREM-CRSP programs.

“Dr. Flowers has made a valuable contribution to international agricultural research, and I was pleased to support his Fulbright application,” said Harriett Paul, director, Office of International Agriculture Programs (FAMU-CESTA).

As a Fulbright Scholar, Flowers will be working in western Ecuador on the faculty at the Universidad Técnica Estatal de Quevedo, a small agricultural university. He will teach two classes on the advanced undergraduate level: Water Quality Bio-monitoring and Insect Biosystematics.

Throughout his 33-year tenure at FAMU, Flowers has made numerous accomplishments and is widely recognized for outstanding service in his area of expertise.

Makola Abdullah, Ph.D., dean and director, Land-Grant Programs, said, “Being selected twice for the very prestigious Fulbright scholarship firmly attests to Dr. Flowers’ record of excellence in international studies and research. The College is proud of the accomplishments he has made in higher education through his work in South America.”

For more information, contact Ralph Flowers, FAMU Center for Biological Control at (850) 561-2215 or by email at rflowers7@earthlink.net.