Michael G. Hasel, professor at the Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennesse (USA), received the Fulbright Scholar grant for the 2004-2005 academic year. Hasel will be researching and writing the book The Name Equation: Designating Eastern Mediterranean People, Places and Polities in New Kingdom Egypt.

Currently Hasel directs the Institute of Archaeology and is curator of the Lynn H. Wood Archaeological Museum.

He will be conducting his research at the Cyprus-American Archaeological Research Institute in Nicosia, Cyprus, from January to August, 2005.

"The Fulbright grant will enable me to conduct fulltime research and interact with scholars in the country of Cyprus and in the Middle East," said Hasel. "It will enhance the mutual understanding of our respective countries, and collaboration in the discipline of archaeology."

The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. In its 58-year existence, this competitive program has enabled thousands of U.S. educators and professionals to study, teach or research abroad. It has also allowed thousands of their counterparts from other countries to be involved in similar experiences in the United States.

Fulbright Scholar award recipients are selected on the basis of their academic or professional achievement. They have also demonstrated strong leadership in their fields.

Home to nearly 2,400 students, U.S. based Southern Adventist University is a graduate and undergraduate coeducational university. The academic program consists of eight graduate degrees, 54 baccalaureate degrees, 17 associate degrees and one certificate program. Southern Adventist University is part of the largest Protestant education system in the world. Seventh-day Adventists operate 5,590 schools worldwide, including 90 universities and colleges.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a mainstream Protestant church with more than 13,6 million adult baptised members in more than 200 countries.