CWU faculty member awarded Fulbright post-doctoral scholarship

A Central Washington University communication and film lecturer has joined an esteemed list of Fulbright U.S. Scholars from CWU after receiving a post-doctoral scholarship to conduct research in Spain this year.

Dr. Jennifer Green, who teaches in both the Department of Communication and the Department of Theatre and Film, learned last spring that her project proposal, “The Spanish Audiovisual Industry’s Changing Position in the Global Market,” was approved by the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.

Green returned to the familiar surroundings of Madrid in January and will be there through July as she seeks to learn more about the growth and prosperity of the Spanish film industry.

“I’ve been covering the Spanish film industry since the 1990s, and it’s been exciting to see the phenomenal growth in recent years especially,” said Green, who worked as an entertainment reporter in the country for 11 years before returning to live there in 2018-19. “Thanks to government and private investment and enviable tax incentives, the film industry has become a hub for filmmakers around the world.”

Green said she is eager to resume the research she conducted for her doctoral dissertation through the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in 2022.

“I will be here for seven months, so I will have an opportunity to watch more films, talk with people directly and gain more behind-the-scenes access,” she said, explaining that she will be working closely with colleagues at her Fulbright host institution, the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

“I also look forward to using my journalism background to learn more about the people who are driving the industry’s success,” she added.

Green is the latest CWU faculty member to receive a Fulbright Scholarship, adding to the university’s reputation as a Fulbright Top Producing Institution. CWU received that recognition in 2023 when Drs. Susan Kaspari, Elvin Delgado, and Michelle DenBeste were each awarded scholarships.

Retired Geography Professor Bob Hickey earned a Fulbright Specialist Scholarship in 2024 and spent two months in Romania. Three other CWU faculty members also have been recognized in recent years: Geography Professor John Bowen (Scholar, 2019-20), Sport and Movement Studies Professor Stefan Ward (Scholar, 2020-21), and Associate Professor of Student Engagement and Community Outreach Maureen Rust (Specialist, 2021-25).

Green admitted that she hadn’t given much thought to applying for a Fulbright Scholarship until she learned about her colleagues’ experiences. But once she found out more about the program, she realized the potential a scholarship would give her for continuing her already-extensive research into the Spanish film industry.

“I wasn’t aware of all of the opportunities that were available until I read about the projects people from CWU were doing across a range of fields,” she said. “Hearing about their experiences inspired me to look into it further.”

Over the next few months, one area of research Green looks forward to is an opportunity to conduct case studies of a wide variety of Spanish films. By immersing herself in the Spanish culture she fell in love with earlier in her career, she hopes to capitalize on the momentum she built while writing her 450-page dissertation titled “Familiarity Breeds Accessibility: ‘Foreign-language’ Films in the United States — A Case Study of Spanish Cinema (1992-2019).”

“When I finished my dissertation, I kept asking myself, ‘what’s next?’” Green said. “I’m always looking for ways to become a better teacher, and I think this opportunity is going to provide a lot of overlap with the classes I teach at Central. I feel like the work I will be doing has a lot of relevance, and I’m excited to see how all of these different areas intersect.”

Green explained that she has been humbled by the level of support she has received from across the university as this career-altering opportunity has unfolded over the past year.

“CWU has been very supportive, and I really appreciate having the flexibility to pursue this opportunity while continuing to do what I love,” she said.