Maine Maritime Academy Professor Named Fulbright Specialist

Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) Professor, Dr. Elaine S. Potoker, was recently awarded the highly respected designation of “Senior Specialist” in the area of Business Administration by the Fulbright Program. The designation places Potoker on the U.S. State Department’s roster of academic experts for potential consultation and assistance in cases of need for project related advice, service, and development assistance. Such projects are proposed by host institutions and approved by the U.S. Embassy, or by the Fulbright Commission and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

According to Potoker, the award was based on peer recommendations and the fieldwork that she conducted while serving as a Fulbright Scholar during the first semester of the 2007-2008 academic year. Under the grant, Dr. Potoker travelled to Costa Rica to lecture and conduct research at the University of Costa Rica in San José (San Pedro Montes de Oca). She served 30% of her time as a guest lecturer in the area of strategic management within University’s School of Business Administration. While at the University, she was a member of the "Facultad de Administración de Negocios" (School of Business Administration), a group of 130 professors.

Dr. Potoker’s other work time was spent on research in the area of international trade. The DR-CAFTA ratification was an active contemporary political issue in Costa Rica while she was there. The country held a referendum in October of 2007 to decide the question, and it passed by a slim margin. She investigated the challenges facing the nation and the region specific to logistics readiness, and workforce needs with the implementation of the Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA). Her research was published in Costa Rica by the International Institute of Resource in Economic Science for distribution in the public and private sector.

According to the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, Potoker was one of approximately 800 U.S. faculty and professionals who travel abroad annually through the Fulbright Scholar Program. Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Program’s purpose is to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the rest of the world.

Recipients of the Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic of professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. Fulbright recipients are among 30,000 individuals participating in U.S. Department of State exchange programs each year.

Dr. Potoker, a full professor in Maine Maritime Academy’s Loeb-Sullivan School of International Business and Logistics, teaches in the graduate and undergraduate divisions of the School. Originally appointed to the college faculty in 1997, Potoker holds a B.A. degree from State University College, Potsdam, N.Y., an M.A.T degree from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. with focus in public policy and management, international business, and anthropology from The Ohio State University. She is the author of Managing Diverse Working Styles: The Leadership Competitive Advantage, 2005, Southwest Publishing. The 2nd edition of the book will be published in September, 2010 by Routledge Publishing (UK) with a new focus and entitled, International Human Resource Development: A Leadership Perspective. Dr. Potoker is a member of the Bangor Rotary International club.