USI English faculty member receives Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award

Dr. Amy Montz, University of Southern Indiana Professor of English, has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to conduct research in Manchester, United Kingdom, focusing on the nineteenth-century author Elizabeth Gaskell, during the 2025–26 academic year. She is the first USI faculty member to receive this honor since Dr. Mehmet Kocakulah, USI Professor Emeritus of Accounting, who was selected for the 2016–17 academic year. 

Montz began her application in March 2024 and spent most of the summer working on the requested documents (a personal statement, a list of reference works, individual questions outside the personal statement and a sample syllabi).   

After much work and several rounds of revisions, she submitted her application in September. In December, she was short-listed for the award, and in January, had an interview with the U.S.-UK Fulbright Commission where they asked questions about her project and goals for living in England. Montz received her decision letter in May.  

As a recipient, Montz will write Two Lived Lives: An Autobiographical Survey of Elizabeth Gaskell and Her Works, an examination of Gaskell’s novels, short stories, letters, papers, Victorian textiles, fashions and ephemera. Her publication will be complemented by an examination of current-day responses to Gaskell, such as the BBC’s productions of North and South and Cranford.  

Over a six-month residency, Montz will be affiliated with the University of Manchester, working in the renowned John Rylands Library, which houses the Elizabeth Gaskell Collection. Her research will delve into Gaskell’s novels and personal archives, with a particular emphasis on gender, class and nationalism. 

"Receiving this Fulbright is the culmination of a career-long dream," said Montz, who has studied Gaskell’s work for over a decade. "It’s an extraordinary opportunity to immerse myself in Gaskell’s world, both through the archives and through direct engagement with the places she lived and wrote about."  

While in Manchester, she will also engage with undergraduate and graduate students at the university through guest lectures and mentoring, contributing to the academic community through knowledge exchange and scholarly dialogue.  

Additionally, she will collaborate with the Elizabeth Gaskell House, a preserved historic site that was Gaskell’s home in Manchester, further enriching the research through site-specific inquiry and public humanities outreach. 

“None of this would be possible without the support of Dr. Oana Popescu-Sandu, Chair of English; Dr. Del Doughty, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts; Dr. Kristalyn Shefveland, Assistant Dean of the College of Liberal Arts; Dr. Shelly Blunt, Provost; the University at large, and, of course, my family,” says Montz. “While I am nervous about leaving my family and my country for six months, I'm also so excited to see what this project and adventure brings.” 

Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide.  

In the United States, the Institute of International Education implements the Fulbright U.S. Student and U.S. Scholar Programs on behalf of the U.S. Department of State.  For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit https://fulbrightprogram.org.