Three decades after being the first woman at UCCS to receive a Fulbright award, Communication Professor Constance Staley, Ph.D., has once again been chosen as a Fulbright Scholar.
This time, Staley is headed to the University of Salzburg in Salzburg, Austria, to join its Communication Studies Department, known as a high‑visibility, high‑activity, research-intensive, outward-facing academic department with strong ties to public and organizational communication, journalism and global media.
Staley’s project, “Advancing Curriculum and Cross-Cultural Collaboration in the University of Salzburg’s New MA in Communication,” aims to enrich curriculum, mentor students, introduce new disciplinary content and foster cross-cultural exchange between Austria and the U.S.
“Salzburg was where I first fell in love with learning,” shared Staley. “As a bilingual child navigating Austrian and American worlds, I began school in a city rich with history, culture, and resilience. That early immersion sparked my academic journey. Now, decades later, the opportunity to return as a Fulbright Scholar allows me to come full-circle: a chance to give back to the place that shaped my beginnings. Throughout my academic career at UCCS, I have been a builder—of programs, curricula, and communities. Now I will have an opportunity to help build a new program internationally.”
The University of Salzburg is the largest educational institution in Salzburg, Austria, with around 18,000 students, six faculties and 34 departments. It was originally founded in 1622 and re‑established in 1962, and today offers roughly 90 degree programs across social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, law, economics and theology.
“This Fulbright award will not only enrich the University of Salzburg’s program and student learning, but it will cultivate enduring partnerships between Austrian and UCCS scholars and elevate the discipline of communication across borders,” Staley said.
Staley’s previous experience as a Fulbright Scholar was from 1995-1996 and saw her teaching in the republic of Kyrgyzstan in the former Soviet Union. Staley has won the University of Colorado Outstanding Teacher Award and was nominated for a CASE U.S. Professor of the Year Award. Beyond teaching full time, Staley conducts organizational training, has published more than twenty books and editions, presents at conferences, seminars, webinars and other events and has acted as keynote speaker for many national organizations.
About the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program
The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers more than 380 awards in more than 120 countries for U.S. citizens to teach, conduct research, and carry out professional projects around the world. College and university faculty, research and development professionals, as well as artists and professional practitioners from a wide range of fields can join nearly 450,000 Fulbrighters who have come away with enhanced skills, new connections, and greater mutual understanding.