David Weindorf

Ten years after

I can’t believe it has been more than a decade since my Fulbright in Romania! Let me briefly catch up on all that has happened since. When I received my Fulbright, I was faculty at Louisiana State University. I returned to the USA and spent another two years at LSU, then moved to Texas Tech University to accept an endowed chair in soil science. I was then promoted to Associate Dean of Research in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, then became Associate Vice President for Research across the entire university. In those years at TTU, my career hit new highs. I was selected as both Fellow and Presidential Award winner in the Soil Science Society of America, I made an Emmy nominated documentary film, I was called to testify before the US Congress, and my research output soared. I was also selected for the Fulbright Specialist program and made a short visit to the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur. But all along, my connection to Romania has remained strong and enduring. Today, I serve as Vice President for Research and Innovation at Central Michigan University, where I oversee a team of 25 people inclusive of sponsored programs, safety programs, graduate studies, and research compliance.

During my Fulbright at the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Cluj-Napoca, I met Prof. Laura Paulette (a fellow soil scientist). She and I hit it off immediately and struck up a friendship and professional collegiality that has endured ever since. Together, she and I collaborated more strongly with Dr. Titus Man (Babeș-Bolyai University), who also joined us on many projects. As time went on, we met Dr. Dorina Podar (Babeș-Bolyai University) who also worked with us on a paper. I even hosted a Romanian student (Bogdan Duda) at Texas Tech University for a period of time, and published several papers with him. Dr. Paulette visited Texas Tech multiple times, and Dr. Man came to Texas Tech as a Fulbright Scholar. To date, Dr. Paulette and I have authored 9 peer reviewed papers together; Dr. Man and I have co-authored 8 peer reviewed papers together. These are in the best journals in the world and have established a lasting legacy of collegiality, friendship, and scientific advances between the three of us.

I just wanted to say how deeply and profoundly my exchange to Romania has affected my career. Truly, Romania is my home away from home. I have so many friends and colleagues there and have now visited well over a dozen times. I remain a champion for the program and laud the beauty of Romanian culture at every opportunity.