1. Welcome to
Romanian Alumni
Community
Romanian Alumni Community
Monthly Newsletter
Bucharest, February 29, 2012
Volume II, Issue 2
Alumni News
From Alumni
Table of Contents
Alumni News  Testimonial from Romanian Fulbright
Grantee Rucsandra Pop
 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF)
 News from Romanian Fulbright Grantee
 NOW OPEN: Fulbright Student (Junior) Award Catalina Ulrich
2013-2014
► U.S. Alumni and Grantees
 U.S. Fulbrighter Kelli Wilbert Interviews
From Alumni Director of The Joseph Foundation in Iasi
to Learn about Local NGO Scene
► Romanian Alumni and Grantees
 Romanian Fulbright Alumnus Cătălin Baba Ap-  Review of Martin Woodside's Anthology of
pointed Minister of Education Romanian Poetry
 Successful Senior Fulbrighter in Washington DC  Research by Fulbright Alumnus Jonathan
Stillo Published on IREX Website
 News from Romanian Fulbright Grantee Olimpia
Mosteanu
Alumni Information
 Fulbright Alumnus Viorel Popescu Awarded with a
Alumni Links
Prestigious Conservation Research Fellowship
http://www.facebook.com/
Romanian.US.Fulbright.Commission
https://alumni.state.gov/romania www.fulbright.ro 1

2. Bucharest, February 29, 2012
Volume II, Issue 2
Alumni News
Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF)
The State Department’s Alumni Affairs Division launched the second an-
nual Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) project competition.
AEIF offers the more than one million alumni of United States govern-
ment-funded exchange programs the opportunity to partner with other
alumni and U.S. missions abroad to propose solutions to tackle global
issues from civic engagement to economic growth. Alumni teams are
eligible to win up to $25,000 in support of their projects. Log on to State
Alumni now to learn more and get involved!
For Europe, you can submit a proposal on one of the themes below.
1. Community Action for the Environment.
2. Entrepreneurship, Economic Growth and Development.
3. Political Participation by Women and Youth.
4. Advocacy, Civil Society, Volunteerism and Community Service.
The project must be sustained by a team of 10 or more alumni (or current participants) of U.S. gov-
ernment-funded exchange programs.
Click here for more details.
There is already one project from Romania included in the “Community Action for the Environment”
section. The project is entitled “WOLF: Wildlife, Our Life Foundation” and was initiated by IVLP
alumnus Dan Marin. If you are a USG alumnus and have professional training in the environmental
field, you can contact Dan Marin, though the State Alumni website and make yourself a part of the
team. To read the project, make suggestions or get involved, please visit:
https://alumni.state.gov/aeif2012/alumni-innovation-fund-2012/march_2_2012/wolf:-wildlife-our-life-
foundation
NOW OPEN: Fulbright Student (Junior) Award 2013-2014
The new grant competition, for the academic year 2013-2014,
has opened for the Romanian graduates, MA and PhD students
from both public and private universities. BA students are invited
to apply as well, if they are in their final year of study. The Ful-
bright Student (Junior) Award is a generous one-year program
for masters’ study or research in the United States, in any field
except clinical medicine. The Romanian applicants are invited to
submit applications no later than May 14, 2012.
Click here for details.
http://www.facebook.com/
Romanian.US.Fulbright.Commission
https://alumni.state.gov/romania www.fulbright.ro
2

3. Bucharest, February 29, 2012
Volume II, Issue 2
From Alumni
► Romanian Alumni and Grantees
Romanian Fulbright Alumnus Cătălin Baba Appointed Minister of
Education
Cătălin Baba was a Fulbright Scholar in 2007-2008 at University of
Delaware, in the field of Public Policy. Recently he was appointed as the
Minister of Education, Research, Youth and Sport. Mr. Baba also served
as a Head of Prime Minister Chancellery, Secretary of State in the Minis-
try of Education and Dean at the Faculty of Political, Administrative and
Communication Sciences, Babeş-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca.
Successful Senior Fulbrighter in Washington DC
Dr. Laura Sitaru, Romanian Fulbright Senior 2011-2012, affiliated with Prince
Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU), George-
town University, has finished her Fulbright research program this month. She
considers her grant period in Washington DC a very intense and benefic experi-
ence. As short term goals, Dr. Sitaru will finalize her project on Islam stereo-
types, media and western common perceptions and also try to develop the recent
academic relationships she has initiated during her stay in the U.S. A synopsis of
her ongoing project has already been posted on ACMCU website http://
cmcu.georgetown.edu/. Dr. Sitaru promised to get back to us with further news
about publication of her work. Dr. Sitaru also informed us that she succeeded to
establish cooperation between Romano-Arabica, the journal of the Center of Arab
Studies in Bucharest, and Dr. John O. Voll, Professor of Islamic history and Asso-
ciate Director of ACMCU, who kindly accepted to be a member of the advisory
board of the Romanian publication.
News from Romanian Fulbright Grantee Olimpia Mosteanu
Olimpia Mosteanu, a Fulbright Student grantee at the New School for Social Re-
search in New York (academic year 2011-2012) presented, at the end of January,
the poster “Explicit and implicit measures of interpersonal trust” at the Thirteenth
Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology in San Diego
(California). The research study presented dealt with the drawbacks of the stan-
dard survey-based interpersonal trust questions. The poster itself, but also the dis-
cussion that followed the poster presentation focused on the limited social rele-
vance of the standard interpersonal trust questions employed in widely used sur-
veys such as the European Social Survey or the World Values Survey. For more
information about the conference and the poster presentations and symposiums
see the conference website: http://www.spspmeeting.org/?Page=opening_session
Fulbright Alumnus Viorel Popescu Awarded with a Prestigious Conservation Research Fellow-
ship
Dr. Viorel Popescu is one of the outstanding early career scientists awarded with the 2012 David H.
Smith Conservation Research Fellowship. He will complete a project entitled “Understanding White Nose
Syndrome dynamics to mitigate the precipitous decline of North American bats.” The two-year David H.
Smith Conservation Research Fellowship provides an annual salary of $50,000 plus $40,000 in research
and travel funds to scientists conducting research on critical conservation issues. The scientists aim to
bridge the gap between conservation theory and application and will conduct their research in partner-
ship with a major academic institution and an “on the ground” conservation organization. Congratula-
tions to Dr. Popescu!
https://alumni.state.gov/romania www.fulbright.ro 3

4. Bucharest, February 29, 2012
Volume II, Issue 2
From Alumni
Testimonial from Romanian Fulbright Grantee Rucsandra Pop
Ich bin ein Fulbrighter
February 23rd. Sacramento airport. I’m waiting for the shuttle to
take me to the Sheraton hotel where I’m going to meet another
140 Fulbrighters from around the world. On the bus stop there is
another girl waiting. It takes us less than 10 seconds to recog-
nize each other.
-Fulbright enrichment seminar? I ask.
-Of course, she answers. She is Anastasia from Russia. We start
talking as if we have known each other for ages. In the bus, we
easily spot other tree Fulbrighters. We say our names and the
countries where we come from. As we arrive at the hotel, we
meet more people. The equation starts to become more and
more complicated with every new comer. After spending twenty
minutes in the lobby I feel already overloaded with faces, names,
countries, fields of studies and names of universities from all over US. I go out to take some fresh air
and the first thing I see just across the street is a huge sign reading: Munteanu’s – Romanian, Hungar-
ian and Greek food. I cross the street, enter the small restaurant, greet the owners in Romanian. They
are happy to see me. They offer me to taste the food. It tastes like home. Five minutes later I am back
in the lobby with a serious diplomatic task – to invite as many fellows Fulbrighters to have lunch in the
Romanian restaurant. I cannot think of a better way to introduce them to my culture than through the
delicious Romanian dishes. As everybody is hungry and the dinner is scheduled a few hours later my
success rate is pretty high. Over 15 people join me for lunch. I start attaching stories to the faces
around me. The hours pass by and I have more and more the feeling that I am at a family gathering. A
worldwide family. Read the entire testimonial here.
News from Romanian Fulbright Grantee Catalina Ulrich
Catalina Ulrich - Fulbright Senior Scholar 2011-2012, University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - was invited as a visiting professor to
the University of West Alabama, Livingston. Catalina’s research fo-
cuses on education for diversity in U.S. secondary schools and
teacher education programs. She is particularly interested in pro-
ject-based learning, as a catalyst in building learning communities
based on diversity and social justice in schools.
UWA is a regional state university located in the heart of Alabama’s
Black Belt. Catalina had a lecture on The Culture and Community of
Romania (on January 18) for more than 200 students, faculty and
community members. The following days she had presentations re-
lated to her research, visited many College of Education’ classes
and had meeting with university’ faculty. “This visit gave me one more opportunity to reflect on the
statement that equity is not only right in principle, it is right in practice. Southern Alabama is different
than Midwest Illinois. Schools are different, contexts are different, however many cross-cutting issues
are common.” Talks concentrated on questions like “How does the school incorporate a social justice
agenda to enhance its educational provision for students (valuing developmental, gender, ethnic back-
ground, skills differences)?” and “Which are key elements of in-site teacher professional development
program focusing on creating socially and culturally responsive environments? “
“I visited different public and private schools: Holy Spirit School and The Capitol International School in
Tuscaloosa, Campus School and Junior High public school in Livingston. During our stay my son (8 years
old) went to school in Livingston. He very much enjoyed meeting new people, having new friends and
experiencing different school activities. `They already started division in Alabama, we still do multiplica-
tion in Illinois’ … he told me after first day at Sumter Academy. The welcoming attitude of our hosts,
beautiful landscape, new insights on educational matters and Birmingham’s heritage on human rights
added value to our enrichment experience in U.S.”
https://alumni.state.gov/romania www.fulbright.ro 4

5. Bucharest, February 29, 2012
Volume II, Issue 2
From Alumni
► U.S. Alumni and Grantees
U.S. Fulbrighter Kelli Wilbert Interviews Director of The Joseph Foundation in Iasi to Learn
about Local NGO Scene
“Before I arrived to Iasi I knew I wanted to volunteer at an
NGO and learn more about the role of charitable organiza-
tions and civil society in Romania. I currently volunteer at
The Joseph Foundation (Fundatia Iosif) which helps disad-
vantaged children in deprived neighborhoods in Iasi, and
aims to prevent school abandonment while providing an
after-school program, enriching cultural activities, and a
summer camp for the children. The Foundation was
founded in 1993 shortly after the 1989 Revolution in hopes
to provide assistance for many of Iasi’s abandoned youth. I
sat down with The Foundation’s Executive Director, Mr.
Sebastian Ghica, to learn more about the non-profit sector in Iasi and in Romanian society, in compari-
son to the US.” - Kelli Wilbert, U.S. Fulbright grantee at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi
The interview is available here.
Review of Martin Woodside's Anthology of Romanian Poetry
Martin Woodside was an American Fulbright grantee in Romania in 2009-2010. After his
scholarship in Romania he published a book entitled Of Gentle Wolves: An Anthology of
Romanian Poetry. Martin’s translations of Romanian poetry, borne largely out of his Ful-
bright time in Romania, includes authors such as Marin Sorescu, Gellu Naum, Constantin
Acosmei, Radu Vancu, Angela Marinescu, Dan Coman, Ioan Moldovan, O. Nimigean,
Robert Şerban, Leonid Dimov, Gabriel Decuble, Ana Blandiana, Chris Tanasescu (a Ro-
manian Fulbrighter), Nicolae Coande etc. The book aimed to bring the very best of the
country’s contemporary poets together in a single volume.
Please read a review of his anthology at: http://www.californiapoetics.org/
reviews/2651/escorting-romanian-poetry-to-the-english-speaking-world-of-gentle-wolves-an-anthology-
of-romanian-poetry-edited-by-martin-woodside
Research by Fulbright Alumnus Jonathan Stillo Published on IREX Website
Since he first came to Romania in 2011, U.S. Fulbright alumnus and medical an-
thropologist Jonathan Stillo constantly returned to continue his research on TB and
to raise awareness through conferences, media interviews and various presenta-
tions. His research examines the relationship between socio-economic conditions
and TB in Romania. He focus on the most difficult to cure cases, people who have
serious problems such as homelessness, severe poverty, mental illness, alcoholism
or a lack of spousal or family support.
A brief part of his work was published on IREX website and is available online at:
http://www.irex.org/resource/all-my-problems-started-TB-ethnographic-analysis-
treatment-failure-romania-research-brief#.TzrqdijQEEw.facebook
https://alumni.state.gov/romania www.fulbright.ro 5

6. Bucharest, February 29, 2012
Volume II, Issue 2
Alumni Information
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