John Gilliam selected for the 2018-2019 Fulbright Scholar Award to lecture and research in the Czech Republic.

By Ellie Ebanks, College of Human Sciences Marketing and Communications Intern

John Gilliam, Ph.D. has been selected as a Fulbright Scholar for the 2018-2019 term. Dr. Gilliam was
awarded the Fulbright to pursue his research in the Czech Republic, where he will teach and conduct
research at Mendel University. Dr. Gilliam will leave for the program in September.

The Fulbright Scholar program was created to promote the international cooperation and the exchange of ideas within academia. Around 500 Fulbright scholar awards are offered to professionals and university faculty members each year. Awardees are given grants to research, lecture, or both in one of 125 countries available through the program.

"It is an extreme honor to be selected," Dr. Gilliam said. "The Fulbright will build my international experience of cooperation and produce meaningful research for the people of the Czech Republic."

For Dr. Gilliam's research in the Czech Republic, he will translate leading investment risk assessment into Czech and then assess Czech citizens' tolerance for risk, comparing the results to those found in other countries. John plans to further examine this risk by comparing the differences in the tolerances between men and women.

"The initial stage will begin before I arrive in September to collect data for the research during the fall while we are completing literature reviews and preparing the questions. This may take 6 to 9 months with additional research going forward from the data we collect."

In addition to his research, Dr. Gilliam will lecture to students at Mendel University, where he plans to teach students how to better manage their personal finances. John says he will pull from his experience teaching in the Personal Financial Planning (PFP) department at Texas Tech University to conduct his lectures at Mendel University. 

Dr. Gilliam is currently an associate professor in the Department of Personal Financial Planning and the Director of the PFP Master's Program at Texas Tech. John has over 35 years of experience as a financial and estate planner, and as a manager and trainer in the financial services industry. John's varied research interests stem from his professional experiences and range from behavioral characteristics effecting couples' financial risk tolerance to life insurance disclosure. 

To those interested in participating in the Fulbright Scholar Program, Dr. Gilliam recommends looking for someone to collaborate with at a smaller university. John says that applicants usually want to go to the larger universities, but faculty members at smaller universities research within a generous variety of disciplines as well.

"The Fulbright Commission likes to 'spread' their money around. Your odds are better if you have a good story to tell and help people at the same time."