Trevecca Graduate Chet Bush named Fulbright Scholar for 2022-2024

| Alumni

202202_MKTG_NEWS_Chet-Bush_WEB_v02Trevecca Nazarene University is pleased to announce that Dr. Chet Bush has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award in history for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. 

Bush is one of over 800 U.S. citizens who will conduct research and/or teach abroad for the 2022-2023 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Fulbrighters engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs, and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad. As Fulbright Scholar alumni, their careers are enriched by joining a network of thousands of esteemed scholars, many of whom are leaders in their fields. Fulbright alumni include 60 Nobel Prize laureates, 88 Pulitzer Prize recipients, and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.

Bush’s research project is called “Jerusalem, Sacred Tourism, and the American Civil Rights Movement.” He will study the ways in which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference engaged with and employed language about the religious tourism industry in Israel. This is a continuation of the research he conducted for his Ph.D. dissertation on the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign Mule Train. 

Bush graduated from Trevecca in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts in religious studies and went on to get his Master of Divinity degree from Nazarene Theological Seminary. He has served as pastor of multiple churches including Port Arthur First Church of the Nazarene,  Oxford Nazarene Church and Park Lane Church of the Nazarene. He received his master’s degree and Ph.D. in American history from the University of Mississippi.  Dr. Bush is the author of Called To The Fire: A Witness for God in Mississippi, The Story of Dr. Charles Johnson. He is an instructor at the University of Mississippi.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to forge lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries, counter misunderstandings, and help people and nations work together toward common goals. Since its establishment in 1946, the Fulbright Program has enabled more than 390,000 dedicated and accomplished students, scholars, artists, teachers, and professionals of all backgrounds to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and find solutions to shared international concerns. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.

Fulbrighters address critical global challenges in all disciplines while building relationships, knowledge and leadership in support of the long-term interests of the United States. The Institute of International Education supports the implementation of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, including conducting an annual competition for the scholarships.      

For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright

Trevecca Nazarene University (www.trevecca.edu) is a Christian university in the heart of Nashville focused on preparing students for lives of leadership and service.  Founded in 1901, Trevecca is committed to holistic education that encourages students to grow intellectually, socially, emotionally, physically and spiritually.  In addition to its historic main campus near downtown Nashville, Trevecca offers two other locations across Tennessee, and online classes worldwide. Trevecca has been recognized as a national university by the U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 Best Colleges; as a doctoral university by the Carnegie Foundation; and as the #2 school in Tennessee for bachelor’s degree graduate salaries by GradReports.

With students from 47 states and 39 countries, Trevecca offers 20 associate degrees, 81 undergraduate majors, 25 master’s programs, and three doctoral programs as well as specialist and certificate programs.