Georgia Southern University Professor Larry Stalcup, Ph.D. Named Fulbright Scholar

July 11, 2012

Georgia Southern University Associate Professor of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Larry Stalcup, Ph.D. has been named a Fulbright Scholar and will be assisting Payap University’s International Hospitality Management program in Thailand this month.

The Fulbright Specialists Program provides short-term academic opportunities (two to six weeks) for U.S.-based University faculty and professionals.  To be selected, a candidate must first apply and are then selected after a comprehensive peer review of the application and qualifications.

The goal of the Fulbright Specialists program is to increase the participation of U.S. scholars and professionals through academic exchanges.  Each of the selected specialists will not only participate in traditional lecture and research activities, but will also promote increased connections between U.S. and non-U.S. post-secondary academic institutions.

“So far my visit at Payap University has been a wonderful experience. The University has about 6,000 students in liberal arts, music, business, nursing and pharmacology that are all taught in Thai,” said Stalcup.  He is working through the University’s English-based International College that houses about 400 students studying hospitality management and international business to name a few.

“I am teaching two courses, guest lecturing in several others and giving one of the keynote speeches at small regional conference,” he said.    “There is a new president and dean who are repositioning the college to take advantage of Myanmar or Burma opening up and the 2015 creation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) common market.  The college has been getting me involved in a great deal of the early planning which is exciting.  The best part of the experience is working with the students.  The relationship is much more formal than in the U.S., but there are a lot of similarities to college students in our country.

Stalcup has a wealth of industry and academic expertise in the area of hospitality and hotel/tourism. He has worked at Georgia Southern since 1997.  During his 15-year career in Statesboro, he has taught a variety of courses including: Hotel Operations, Hospitality Sales and Marketing, Hospitality Human Resources, Hospitality Issues and Perspectives, Dining Room Management and Introduction to Hospitality Management.

This is not the first time he has taught overseas.  He has previously served as a visiting associate professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, Hong Kong, China in 2008. While in Hong Kong, he taught Managing Human Resources in the Hotel and Tourism Industry.  In addition to his teaching experience, his professional experience includes roles at Williams Hospitality Management Corporation in San Juan, Puerto Rico and various major hotels in Dallas, TX and New York, NY.

Stalcup earned a Master of Professional Studies degree from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and later attended Purdue University where he received his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Hotel Management and Human Resources.

Georgia Southern University, a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University founded in 1906, offers more than 120 degree programs serving more than 20,000 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. The University is one of the Top 10 most popular universities in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report, and is a top choice of Georgia’s HOPE scholars. Georgia Southern is recognized for its student-centered approach to education. Visit: www.georgiasouthern.edu.