March 22, 2006

UCSB Communication Scholar Receives Prestigious Fulbright Fellowship

Eileen Conrad

Ronald Rice, Arthur N. Rupe Professor of Communication at UC Santa Barbara, is one of 800 scholars nationwide to receive a Fulbright Fellowship to teach and conduct research abroad this year.

This quarter, Rice is in Finland where he will teach courses and offer a series of workshops and seminars on the Internet and society and online health communication at the University of Helsinki and three other Finnish universities.

He will also conduct research on the uses of new communication technologies.

Rice is one of the nation's leading specialists on the Internet and new media, organizational communication, communication campaigns, and communication networks.

He is co-chair of UCSB's Center for Film, Television and New Media and president-elect of the International Communication Association.

A prolific scholar, his most recent books are "Social Consequences of Internet Use: Access, Involvement and Interaction" (2002, MIT Press), "The Internet and Health Care: Theory, Research and Practice" (2006, Erlbaum), and "Media Ownership: Research and Regulation" (2006, Hampton Press).

The Fulbright Scholar Program, America's flagship international education exchange program, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Over its 58 years of existence, the Fulbright Program has sponsored more than 250,000 American and foreign university students, K-12 teachers, and university faculty and professionals who have participated in Fulbright exchange programs.

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