The Vinson Institute is currently hosting three of the four Fulbright Visiting Scholars in residence at the University of Georgia. Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Sentator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the program has as its goal to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries.

The Institute's International Center for Democratic Governance (ICDG) is hosting two of the scholars. Dmitry Goncharov, chair and professor at the Orenburg Institute of the Moscow State Law Academy, is conducting research in the area of democratic institutional development in post-Communist politics. Volodymyr Salamatov is a researcher at the President's Academy of Public Administration in Kiev, Ukraine. He is undertaking research on managerial effectiveness in local governments.

Valentyna Pidlisnyuk, chair and professor in the agroecological department of the National Agricultural University in Kiev, Ukraine, is being hosted by the Research and Policy Analysis Division as she studies governmental policies and practices for environmental management. Both Prof. Pidlisnyuk and Prof. Goncharov have at the Institute previously - Prof. Pidlisnyuk as an IREX Contemporary Issues Scholar and Prof. Goncharov through a Junior Faculty Development Scholarship. This is the first visit for Prof. Salamatov.

"Our visiting Fulbright Scholars earned their fellowships through excellent research on public administration and public policy topics in their home countries," notes ICDG program director Dan Durning. "We believe that they are a great resource for the UGA community, especially those of us interested in learning about the latest local government and environmental policy developments in the former Soviet Union."

Visiting Fulbright Scholars (L-R): Vladimir Salamatov, Valentina Pidlisnyuk, and Dmitri Goncharov