In 1956, Dr. Margaret M. Manchester’s family hurried to escape nazi-ravaged and then communist-controlled Hungary. this January, she’ll be proudly returning to her homeland to teach at two of that country’s universities.

Manchester, the 2006-07 recipient of the College’s Joseph R. Accinno Faculty Teaching Award, is headed back to her native country after being awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship last month.

Known as an engaging professor with a boundless passion for teaching, Manchester is an assistant professor of history and director of the American Studies Program. She has taught at PC since 1994.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1975 and her master’s in American history from PC in 1987. In 1994, she earned her doctorate in American history from Clark University.

As a Fulbright Scholar, Manchester will assist faculty members at the University of Debrecen and the University of Miskolc with curriculum development and assessment from February to June 2009. In addition, she will teach a seminar on “The West in the American Imagination” and a course on American policy in the Middle East.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. It was proposed in 1945 by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright as a vehicle for promoting mutual understanding between people of the U.S. and other countries. The program was signed into law by President Harry S. Truman in 1946.

Each year, the traditional U.S. Fulbright Scholar Program sends 800 scholars and professionals to more than 140 countries, where they lecture or conduct research in a wide variety of academic and professional fields.

Manchester submitted her Fulbright application—which included an explanation of her teaching philosophy and a proposal for syllabi that could be adapted to a Hungarian audience—in September 2008.

Then, after some of Manchester’s colleagues wrote about her scholarly accomplishments and following a peer review and an evaluation by a Hungarian commission, she was accepted as a traditional Fulbright Scholar.

In addition to the traditional scholarship, the Fulbright program offers pre-doctoral fellowships, teacher exchange scholarships, and visiting teacher scholarships, among others.

Manchester said the experience in Hungary will represent “an opportunity for service” and a search for truth.

“Under Communism, truth was twisted and perverted,” Manchester said. “For Hungarian students, the search for their truth and their history is an ongoing process.”

Dr. Hugh F. Lena, vice president for academic affairs, said the Fulbright Scholarship is a testament to Manchester’s stellar career and will provide her the opportunity to “revitalize” teaching at the Hungarian universities, as well as develop beneficial relationships with international colleagues.

“Dr. Manchester’s award brings honor to her work and to Providence College,” he said. “I am sure that Dr. Manchester will return from Hungary with a host of experiences and knowledge that will enliven her scholarship and teaching here at PC.”

Manchester agreed that her time in Hungary would prove beneficial to her students at PC, but added that the experience will contribute to her own quest for life-long learning.

“The secret is that I will learn far more than my students from this experience,” she said. “I’m proud to be representing Providence College and the United States, and I’m humbled by the responsibility.”