Baldwin Wallace University political science professor and Lakewood resident Thomas Sutton has been selected to receive a Fulbright Scholar award that will fund a semester of scholarly work in Ghana.
As a Fulbright grantee, Sutton will spend the January – May 2014 semester teaching three political history courses at Ghana’s University of the Cape Coast. He will also conduct research into the parallels between recent presidential elections in the West African nation and the United States.
“I’ve been told the people in Ghana closely followed the two election cycles here involving President Obama and that they were influenced by his campaign themes, particularly in 2008,” said Suttonm, who also serves as a WEWS-TV political analyst.
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Studying High Tech Voter Fraud Reduction
In his research, Sutton also plans to examine how Ghana deployed a high tech “biometric verification system” to match voter fingerprints at polling stations in the December 2012 national election.
“They really leapfrogged over us in the use of technology,” Sutton said.
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In spite of the cutting edge system, aimed at reducing fraud, the election results have been embroiled in a Ghana Supreme Court challenge claiming the polls were rigged in favor of the narrow winner.
Blending Academic and Family Goals
The core Fulbright Scholar Program sends 800 U.S. faculty and professionals abroad each year to lecture and conduct research in a wide variety of academic and professional fields. It is designed to “increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.”
"I'm honored and deeply grateful to the Fulbright Program for making this exchange possible," Sutton said.
Sutton, his wife and two teenaged children will relocate to Ghana for the semester and his children will attend school there. "I have both scholarly and personal interest in Africa. Our children are African-American and biracial," he said. "We want to explore this part of our family's history and culture by living in and learning about Ghana and West Africa."
About Fulbright Scholar Program
The Fulbright Program was proposed to the U.S. Congress in 1945 by then freshman Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. In the aftermath of World War II, Senator Fulbright viewed the proposed program as a much-needed vehicle for promoting "mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries of the world." Congress approved his vision and President Truman signed the program into law in 1946. The United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs administers the program. For more information, visit http://www.cies.org/.
About University of Cape Coast
The University of Cape Coast is one of the rare sea front universities in the world. It was established in October 1962 as a University College and placed in a special relationship with the University of Ghana, Legon. In 1971, the College attained the status of a full and independent University, with the authority to confer its own degrees, diplomas and certificates by an Act of Parliament. From an initial student enrolment of 155 in 1963, the University now has a total student population of over 35,922. Visit http://ucc.edu.gh/ for additional information.
About Baldwin Wallace University
Baldwin Wallace University, founded in 1845, was one of the first colleges to admit students without regard to race or gender. An independent, coeducational university of 4,500 students, BW offers coursework in the liberal arts tradition in more than 60 academic areas. Located in Berea, 12 miles from downtown Cleveland, BW offers students the cultural, educational and business advantages of a major metropolitan area. For more information, visit www.bw.edu