Dr. Gregory P. Perreault, a 2006 PBA graduate, has received the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar award for a research project in digital journalism.
Perreault is an assistant professor of journalism at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. In February he will travel to Austria to conduct research and teach at University of Vienna.
He will teach research methods to master’s level journalism students. His own research will compare digital journalism practices in the U.S. and Austria.
“There are enough similarities and differences to make looking at digital journalism between the two countries absolutely fascinating,” said Perreault. “That provides an avenue for research into what digital journalism globally could look like.”
As his research considers journalism collaboration on a global scale, he said, “it also provides some sense of what we should be teaching our students increasingly, not looking at just a national marketplace, but an international marketplace.”
Perreault earned his master’s degree from Georgetown University and his doctorate from Missouri School of Journalism. As a PBA student he served four years on the student newspaper, which is now The Beacon Today. He recalls fondly the stimulating discussions in his PBA journalism classes, which “built up that intellectual curiosity and excitement to learn.”
While at Palm Beach Atlantic, Perreault served as youth pastor with the Royal Poinciana Chapel in Palm Beach. “I really loved working with students,” he said. As he continued his own education, he pondered how he could “bring together these two things I love,” mentoring and journalism. His resulting career as a journalism professor “has been everything I dreamed it to be and more,” he said. “Hopefully I can provide my students the same sort of learning environment that I received.”
Perreault is from Wellington, Florida. He and his wife, Mimi, live in Boone with their four children. They hope to take the whole family to Austria for the six-month Fulbright appointment, “perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the kids,” he said.
As a Fulbright Scholar, Perreault will join a network of esteemed scholars, many of whom are leaders in their fields. Fulbright alumni include 60 Nobel Prize laureates, 86 Pulitzer Prize recipients and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.
In the last three years, six other PBA graduates or students have been honored with a different Fulbright award, one that sends Fulbright students to teach English overseas.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. It is designed to “forge lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries; counter misunderstandings; and help people and nations work together toward common goals.”
