Franklin University Dean Selected as a Fulbright Specialist Roster Candidate

Contact:

Sherry Mercurio
Executive Director, Office of Community Relations
(614) 947-6581
Email: sherry.mercurio@franklin.edu

Franklin University, one of the leading educators of working adults, is proud to announce that Dr. Jonathan McCombs, Dean of the College of Health and Public Administration, has been selected for the Fulbright Specialist Program Roster. The program, coordinated by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and the Institute of International Education’s Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES), provides grant opportunities to Fulbright Specialists. 

Fulbright Specialists are consultants with expertise in their academic discipline, who collaborate on projects in diverse settings of higher education in a wide range of eligible disciplines and fields. The program promotes relationships between U.S. scholars and professionals and their counterparts at host institutions overseas.  The specialist program awards grants for short-term collaborative projects at institutions in over 140 countries.  Specialists may be requested to provide academic services, such as short-term lecturing, conducting seminars, teacher training, assessments and evaluations, special conferences or workshops, as well as collaborating on faculty development and curriculum or institutional planning.

Dr. Dr. Jonathan McCombs serves as the Dean of the College of Health and Public Administration for Franklin University, a private, nonprofit institution of higher education enabling the broadest possible community of learners to achieve their goals and enrich the world. Dr. McCombs promotes student success through a variety of instructional approaches, academic resources, and learning support services, and has been involved in many significant strategic partnership initiatives that advance access to higher education for students and develop innovative workplace education solutions. 
Dr. McCombs is the co-Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Public Safety and Cybersecurity Education for Franklin, which includes public safety, public administration, and cybersecurity related degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels as well as academic innovation initiatives.  He is also the Co-Executive Director for the Global Center for Healthcare Education where he advances his work in the healthcare arena with key strategic partners in the Central Ohio region and beyond.

Active in the law enforcement community, Dr. McCombs is a former police officer and investigator, holds a Master’s of Science in Criminal Justice and a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice. His dissertation topic was a study of problem-based learning in law enforcement in-service training. An extensive career of over 25 years in public safety and higher education provided experience in narcotics investigations, intelligence analysis, anti-terror investigations, gun trafficking investigations, street patrol, campus law enforcement administration, higher education administration, and advanced training. As an industry expert in the field of law enforcement, problem based learning, and online learning.

“International collaboration in higher education is important work as we strive to bring different perspectives and voices to our students,” stated Dr. McCombs. “My appointment to the Fulbright Specialist roster will help me to facilitate collaborations across borders that will advance Franklin University programs and the curriculum in important ways.  This work will allow me to advance other international work I have done to a new level.”
To be considered for the Fulbright Specialist Program, the U.S. scholar must possess advanced academic expertise beyond teaching and research. U.S. faculty and professionals’ applications are reviewed by peers in their discipline and by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB), who then make their recommendation.

The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by then-Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs sponsor the Fulbright Program. The Fulbright Program awards approximately 8,000 grants annually. Roughly 1,600 U.S. students, 4,000 foreign students, 1,200 U.S. scholars, and 900 visiting scholars receive awards, in addition to several hundred teachers and professionals. Currently, the Fulbright Program operates in over 155 countries worldwide.

About Franklin University

Accredited, nonprofit, and dedicated to educating adults since 1902, Franklin provides onsite course options at our Main Campus in downtown Columbus, Ohio, and is an innovator in providing personalized online education. The University offers applied in-demand undergraduate, masters, and doctorate programs that enable adult learners to achieve their educational and professional goals. Through agreements with partner institutions, the University also offers international academic programs, including its top-ranked MBA.

Franklin University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and holds specialized accreditations for specific academic programs through the International Accreditation Council for Business Education, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, and the Commission on Accreditation of Health Informatics and Information Management Education. The National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security have designated Franklin University as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE).