Professor Brings Expertise to Mongolia as Fulbright Scholar

Former Marriott School of Management
Professor Gloria E. Wheeler.PROVO, Utah – Sep 22, 2008 – Former Marriott School of Management Professor Gloria E. Wheeler will teach as a Fulbright Scholar at the Institute of Finance and Economics in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Wheeler's aim is to help develop Mongolia's economy during her 10-month Fulbright Scholarship. Wheeler is one of approximately 1,100 scholars and professionals sponsored each year by the Fulbright program to lecture at institutions worldwide.

 "It's so important for people to break out of their shells and see how other people look at the world," Wheeler says. "I hope to learn from my students' experiences and help them learn from mine."

To foster this cross-culture teaching, Wheeler will draw on 30 years of experience as a Marriott School professor as well as the associate director of the Romney Institute of Public Management. She began teaching Mongolian students on Sept. 8, only two months after retiring as a full-time faculty member at the Marriott School.

 "I'm not ready to just sit around in Provo," Wheeler says. "I want to use my professional training to teach students how to use their education as a tool for their future careers."

Wheeler plans to teach courses related to her expertise in statistics, research methods and human resource management. Her specialization in public management will also be utilized to help develop a public administration program for the Institute of Finance and Economics.

Although teaching students in a different culture will be challenging, Wheeler will rely on the lessons she learned during her first Fulbright Scholarship to Pakistan in 1990.

"I found that connecting with people who shared my values helped me adjust to my new surroundings," Wheeler says. "This time I've already met with people in Ulaanbaatar and started to develop friendships."

The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems and entrepreneurship. The school's mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School's graduate and undergraduate programs.