Dr. Chih-Chin Chou Selected for Fulbright Award to Taiwan
RMHC Program Director Dr. Chih-Chin Chou has been selected for a J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship award to conduct research in Taiwan that will address the needs of the indigenous Taiwanese population with disabilities. Her research will take place at the College of Indigenous Studies of the National Dong Hwa University (NDHU) in Hualien, Taiwan. The college is the first and the only academic program established among Taiwan’s public universities to draw and build upon academic and research capabilities to address issues of concern to the indigenous people.
"I will work with experts of indigenous studies in Taiwan to build on my expertise in social support for indigenous individuals with disabilities and to obtain a more global perspective of their lives," said Dr. Chou.
Dr. Chou will primarily collaborate with Dr. Hiu Ha Chong, associate professor of the Department of Indigenous Development and Social Work, whose expertise in urban indigenous people and social services along with her extensive network with the indigenous communities will optimize Dr. Chou's time in Taiwan by facilitating visits to the indigenous communities and granting access to potential research participants.
Dr. Chou's Fulbright Research Objectives will be to:
- Develop an empirically-based typology of functional support for indigenous persons with different types of disabilities in Taiwan.
- Examine the impacts of culturally sensitive social support constructs in Taiwan on vocational rehabilitation outcome for indigenous people with different types of disabilities.
- Determine the mediating effects of social support on relationship between disability-related stressors and rehabilitation outcomes for indigenous people with different types of disabilities.
The Fulbright Program, which aims to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries, is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. As a grantee, Dr. Chou will join the ranks of distinguished participants in the Program. Fulbright alumni have become heads of state, judges, ambassadors, cabinet ministers, CEOs, and university presidents, as well as leading journalists, artists, scientists, and teachers. They include 59 Nobel Laureates, 82 Pulitzer Prize winners, 71 MacArthur Fellows, 16 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients, and thousands of leaders across the private, public and non-profit sectors.