Huber named Fulbright Specialist

Add Mara Huber to the Fulbright roster at UB.

Huber, senior director of instructional innovation and transformation in the Office of Curriculum, Assessment and Teaching Transformation, has been named a Fulbright Specialist.

The Fulbright Specialist Program complements the Fulbright Scholar Program by providing opportunities for U.S. faculty and professionals to engage in project-based exchanges at institutions around the world, but for a shorter duration — typically two to six weeks.

Huber will travel in May for a three-week placement at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro, Tanzania. While there, she will focus on introducing and strengthening experiential learning through an institute and symposium, lectures, workshops and studio-style sessions that support course design and curricular integration.

This work builds on the framework she shared in her recent book, “Experiential Learning and Community Partnerships for Sustainable Development: A Foundational Model for Climate Action.” It is also tied to her ongoing efforts to bring about basic education reform in Enugu, Nigeria, with colleagues Ndubueze Mbah, associate professor in the Department of History, and Cathleen Morreale, assistant vice provost for curriculum and educational effectiveness, through a Spencer Foundation Vision Grant.

“Through UB, I have had an extraordinary opportunity to share expertise and build partnerships with education leaders across West and East Africa, and I am excited for this next phase of the work,” Huber says.

The Fulbright award is especially meaningful to Huber because it takes her back to Tanzania, where she led a long-running UB study abroad course.

Huber in 2009 started the Buffalo Tanzania Education Project, which united students and faculty from Buffalo with the goal of improving opportunities for women and families in Tanzania’s Mara Region. When COVID-19 disrupted travel in 2020, Huber transitioned the experience into a virtual project model that allowed students to continue collaborating with Tanzanian partners through mentored projects.

“The last time I was actually in Tanzania was 2019, which was our final study abroad trip,” Huber says. “So, it will be seven years — hard to believe.”

Established in 1946, the Fulbright program is the U.S. government’s premier international academic exchange program devoted to improving intercultural relations, diplomacy and competence between the people of the U.S. and other nations through education.  

Coordinated by the U.S. Department of State, it provides opportunities for Americans and participants from 160 countries and locations to study, teach and conduct research abroad.

UB, which has increased its efforts to inform and prepare faculty to successfully apply to the prestigious Fulbright program, is one of only 25 institutions nationwide to be named a “Fulbright Top Producing Institution” for the 2025-26 academic year with six UB faculty members receiving Fulbright Scholar awards to study and teach abroad.