Delayed but not deterred, Professor Tingting Yan is heading to the University of Groningen in Netherlands this summer as a Fulbright Specialist, one of the most prestigious awards for faculty to research and teach abroad.

Yan, professor of global supply chain management, Charles H. Gershenson Distinguished Faculty Fellow and co-editor-in-chief of “Journal of Supply Chain Management,” is working with her Groningen hosts to finalize her itinerary. Among her responsibilities will be providing workshops and seminars, playing a negotiation game, conducting research and plenty of meetings.

“Because I am co-editor-in-chief of a journal, I will talk about the publication process and how to overcome the hurdles and get through the review process, which should be helpful to the junior faculty and PhD students,” she says. “I will have several meetings with their faculty and students and with companies. I conduct supply network and innovation research, so I want to see what the companies there are doing and how they are engaging with their suppliers for innovations.”

Fulbright is the U.S. Department of State’s flagship program of international education and cultural exchange. The State Department provides airfare, lodging and a daily stipend, while Yan’s host institution provides food and local transportation.

Yan was encouraged to apply for the Fulbright Specialist Award by her colleague Tim Butler, an associate professor of supply chain management in the Mike Ilitch School of Business. Butler, a two-time Fulbright awardee, recommended the short-term specialist program.

“I applied before COVID, which disrupted everything,” Yan says. “It was a huge loss for Fulbright to have been on hold, but this program was extended to awardees. This is my first time to the Netherlands, but my host is a co-author and we work on research projects together, so I knew her and I asked if she could host my Fulbright visit.

“Although the program is only two weeks and relatively short, I’m already thinking about applying for Australia next time because I have a few colleagues there who are also working on supply network and innovation.”

While her trip is focused on research and teaching and will include a visit to Tilburg University, there also will be time for Yan’s family to join her to tour a few cities, Bayes Business School - City, University of London and – at her daughter’s request – the Harry Potter studio in London.

“I’m a great fan of visiting different countries and learning from different people,” says Yan, who has offered in-person and virtual study abroad classes with students from the Ilitch School and Wuhan University in China.

“I hope to have the ability to do some in-person interviews with company representatives while I’m in the Netherlands. Summer is primarily my research time, so this visit will help me push one of my projects forward.”

Fulbright awards range in length from two weeks to a full year. Faculty, academic staff and administrators who want to apply for the Fulbright Scholar Program can learn more online or contact the Office of International Programs at oip@wayne.edu for assistance.

The Office of International Programs leads Wayne State’s global engagement by creating opportunities that foster international education and research, facilitate the exchange of individuals and ideas that promote global competencies and citizenship, and provide resources that support the expansion of the university’s global agenda. Follow us @WayneOIP.