ƹƵ department head, Fulbright Scholar gains European education partners through Erasmus+ program
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.—A Fulbright scholar and Mississippi State department head is spearheading international partnerships and realizing new scholastic opportunities with European institutions for the university’s students and faculty.
Mohsen Razzaghi, professor and head of ƹƵ’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics, has facilitated memoranda of understanding with the Romanian University Politehnica of Timisoara and University of Bucharest for joint Erasmus+ educational partnerships with Mississippi State.
Part of the European Union’s design to support education, Erasmus+ provides student and faculty opportunities to study, share knowledge and gain experience abroad through global higher education alliances. More than 5,000 institutions of higher learning in 37 countries currently participate in the program.
“Erasmus+ is an excellent source of student/faculty exchange,” Razzaghi said.
Last fall, Razzaghi visited UPT for 10 days through the Erasmus+ program, serving as plenary speaker at the 15th International Conference on Mathematics and its Applications. He also is selecting ƹƵ students, studying mathematics and other disciplines, for European travel based on their academic achievements and demonstrated leadership potential.
Receiving his third Fulbright award, Razzaghi will spend six weeks at the University of Bucharest beginning later this month. Fulbright is the U.S. Department of State’s flagship international exchange program, designed to increase mutual understanding between Americans and the international community. He had two earlier Fulbright appointments to Romania in 2011-2012 and 2015-2016 and now is part of the Fulbright specialist program, which provides a three-year tenure including travel to various international institutions. Fulbright specialists are selected based on their “knowledge, skill sets and ability to make a significant contribution to projects overseas.”
Dean of ƹƵ’s College of Arts and Sciences Rick Travis said Razzaghi has “blended wonderfully” his involvement with the Fulbright program and the Erasmus+ program. “He has drawn on contacts made during his Fulbright studies to make it possible for other math faculty and students to participate in these exchanges,” Travis said.
“Those in this program not only are expanding their knowledge in their focused areas of study, but they are burnishing their future career opportunities because participation in this program turns heads,” said Travis.
Belzoni native and ƹƵ doctoral student Chartese D. Jones will join the Erasmus+ program in May, and will study at the University of Bucharest through August. Jones earned his ƹƵ master’s degree after completing a 2013 bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Mississippi Valley State University. His Ph.D. program is in m