Visiting Fulbright Scholars at Governors State University
The Honors College at Governors State University (GovState) has recently welcomed one Fulbright Scholar to campus with another to come in spring 2025.
From Brazil and Slovakia, the scholars are bringing their unique academic expertise and cultural experience to GovState. This past fall semester, Dr. Marconi Freitas Da Costa taught an International Business course in the College of Business (COB), bringing experience as a professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco in Brazil.
With a Ph.D. in Management, De Costa serves as a coordinator of the Graduate Program in Management, Innovation, and Consumption at the Federal University of Pernambuco. His main areas of interest are consumer well-being, emphasizing decision-making for sustainable consumption, health and food consumption, and personal finances among others.
Honors College Dean David Rhea said the college is providing administrative support for Da Costa with the intent to cultivate a scholar for the newly established Honors College.
“My hope is that Visiting Fulbrighters will be champions for Honors student considering an application for Student Fulbright awards in future years,” he said. “We also hope that in future years, as more Honors courses get developed, that Fulbright scholars will be able to teach some of those sections of courses and work more closely with Honors students.”
During the spring 2025 semester, GovState will welcome Mária Svidroňová as a visiting Fulbright Scholar researcher. She will not teach classes, rather she will conduct research in the area of Public Administration, working alongside GovState’s College of Arts and Sciences (CAS).
Svidroňová is a scientific researcher working at the Matej Bel University in Slovakia. She focuses on the economics and management of the nonprofit sector, including public and private nonprofit organizations.