NSU Business School Professor Named Fulbright Scholar

Pinkowski to consult Irish capital city on economic development and diversity

FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. – Jack Pinkowski, Ph.D., an associate professor of public administration at the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University (NSU), has been named a Fulbright scholar for 2008-2009 by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) in concert with the Fulbright Commission of Ireland.

The Fulbright program is sponsored by the U. S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and was established by Congress in 1946. Its purpose is to “increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries by means of educational and cultural exchange.”

Beginning in September, Pinkowski will be consulting the city of Dublin, Ireland, on economic development issues and enhancements for a global competitive city. In the nine-month assignment approved as a Fulbright scholar, he will be mentoring the Dublin City Council members and staff to reach consensus on a plan that will facilitate economic development and attract immigrant entrepreneurs to Dublin. At the same time, city staff will be coached regarding issues and approaches to accepting increased diversity in their community. Pinkowski will be on sabbatical from his position at NSU to complete the assignment.

“The lessons learned in Ireland over the past several decades concerning terrorism, homeland security, and disaster management combined with the Irish success story in economic development is a subject of intense interest,” Pinkowski said. “Their gross domestic product per-capita has increased six-fold between 1994 and 2004 and it’s anticipated the country will continue to be one of the fastest growing economies through 2020. This is the kind of mutual knowledge exchange that makes the Fulbright award so gratifying. I expect to learn from them, and hopefully they will learn from my experiences. Then I can bring their lessons-learned home to help our communities.”

Pinkowski has extensive experience consulting local governments on economic development in Florida and in the Southeastern U.S. In 2004, he was the lead researcher and principle report writer of the VisionBROWARD initiative, a coordination of more than 1,000 individuals and community groups to formulate an economic development strategy for one of the most populous counties in the United States. Pinkowski has served on the Economic Development Ad-hoc Committee for Plantation, Fla., to coordinate governmental, community, and business leaders in addressing new opportunities in that city for development. Pinkowski also was appointed to the South Florida Smart Growth Partnership to deliberate on issues of development and community planning with environmental sensitivity. He was appointed to the Honorary Host Committee of the national Rail~Volution 2007 conference in Miami that focuses on building livable communities with transit. In 2005, Pinkowski was keynote speaker at the City of Plantation Economic Development Summit.

Pinkowski has published three books with Taylor and Francis, worldwide publishers: the Handbook of Globalization, Governance, and Public Administration; the Homeland Security Handbook; and the Disaster Management Handbook. He has received numerous awards for his community leadership and continues to serve in many professional and community organizations. Pinkowski is listed in Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in Business Higher Education.

To qualify for the very competitive Fulbright award, Pinkowski had to formulate a detailed proposal to address a specific need anticipated by the partner organization overseas. In the two-tiered peer-review process, a panel of American academics and professionals with regional experience first review the merits of the application and the proposal for its quality and suitability regarding the interests of the host institution in addition to the academic and professional accomplishments of the applicant. As an outcome of the American peer-review panel, recommended candidates are forwarded to their foreign counterparts, who make the final decisions regarding grantees that they ultimately most desire to work with.

Andy Riess, Ph.D., senior program officer for CIES, said of Pinkowski winning the completion for the appointment to Ireland: “The competition for Ireland is always tough and the panel we sent forward last fall was especially good.”

Media Contact:
Alan Hancock, NSU Office of Public Affairs
954-262-5385, hancocka@nova.edu