Ana Lazar, an associate professor of social work at the University of Southern Maine, has received a Fulbright Scholar grant to lecture and consult at the Universidad Pedagógica in San Salvador, El Salvador, during the 2008-09 academic year.

Lazar, who lives in Yarmouth, will teach social work courses, provide guidance on curriculum development and help design and implement social and educational projects in the community, university officials announced today. 

Lazar is one of 1,100 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad in the coming year through the Fulbright Scholar Program. Established by legislation in 1946, the purpose of the Fulbright program is to build mutual understanding between people of the United States and the rest of the world. The program operates in over 150 countries worldwide.

Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. Lazar has published numerous articles on media violence and children, and has been a leader in the development of social work education in southern Maine since 1975.

Lazar is the second USM faculty member to receive a Fulbright Scholar grant this year. Susan Picinich, a theater professor, has received a grant to lecture at the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Chris Brinegar, a faculty member at the University of Maine at Farmington, has received a Fulbright Scholar grant to lecture and do research at Kathmandu University in Nepal.

A plant molecular biologist and geneticist, Brinegar will teach molecular biology, pursue research on the genetic identification of potato cultivars, and advise Kathmandu University faculty on the development of biotechnology curricula.

Brinegar, who lives in New Portland, teaches environmental science at UMF.
He is a retired professor and former director of the Biotechnology Education and Research Institute at San Jose State University in California.