In 2014-2015, I received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to travel to Malta, a three-island archipelago in the south Mediterranean Sea. While in Malta, I taught two classes in human resources management, one on the Malta island and one on the sister island of Gozo.
In addition, I conducted research with my Maltese host Dr. Frank Bezzina, head of the Department of Management and Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Management, and Accountancy (FEMA) at the University of Malta. Our research efforts produced three papers that were published following my return to the United States. However, my Fulbright experience also yielded very different results through two embedded classes.
In March of 2017, I returned to Malta with six business students from Penn State Abington to study international comparisons regarding business ethics. Gina D’Amato-Kaufman, Abington Director of Student Affairs, traveled with us. The eight of us spent our spring break traveling throughout the islands, listening to lectures by prominent Maltese scholars, and generally immersing ourselves in the Maltese culture.
In March of 2019, I returned to Malta again, this time with twelve business students. Lisa Morris, Associate Teaching Professor of Criminal Justice, accompanied us this time. We again traveled to all the islands and heard lectures about Maltese ethics and culture.
Dr. Bezzina played an important role in facilitating these trips. He aided with planning the itinerary, found world-class speakers, and assisted with some logistics. However, perhaps his most important contribution was that he helped me develop a love for, and fascination with, Malta during my five months there as a Fulbright Scholar. That, more than anything else, provided an incentive for me to plan and execute these embedded classes.
Steve McMillan – Fulbright to Malta 2019
