NIU anthropology professor Judy Ledgerwood is smiling.

In tropical, warm Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the cultural anthropologist is continuing her study of the role of Buddhism in contemporary society, including translating ancient Buddhist texts.

“There are a set of Buddhist texts called the Buddh Damnay that talk about what will happen at the time between the coming of the last Buddha and the coming of the next and last Buddha Maitreya,” Ledgerwood said from Cambodia in an e-mail. “Many people know some lines from the text, but few people have studied it or know the text in detail.”

Ledgerwood will be able to expand her studies thanks to receiving a Fulbright scholar grant from the U.S. Department of State.

“I am very honored to have received the Fulbright because it allows me the chance to teach in Cambodia as well as do research,” she said.

About 800 U.S. professors receive a Fulbright grant each year.

“It’s a very prestigious award that is only given to the finest researchers,” said Susan Russell, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, where Ledgerwood serves as a faculty associate. “She’s a very strong scholar. She’s very dedicated to not only her research interests, but trying to help Cambodia.”

In July 2003, some NIU anthropology students will head to Cambodia and join Ledgerwood at a field school for a unique educational experience including visits to the archeological ruins at Angkor Thom, which was the Cambodian capital from the ninth to the 14th century.

“Speaking as a person for whom travel study changed the course of their life, I think I can say that students who undertake this field school will have a very rich experience,” she said. “They can see first-hand the lives of people very different from themselves culturally, as well as learn something about how to conduct anthropological research. NIU is very unusual among research universities, in that we, as professors, make direct efforts to involve undergraduates in our research.”

Mark Mehrer, chair of the anthropology department, is happy students will have this opportunity.

“It is an irreplaceable experience for our students,” he said. “This experience can be an immense help in building their character and their potential careers. They will gain a rare insight into Cambodia that few ever get.”

Ledgerwood echoed those sentiments.

“What I want for students from NIU who might come here is the chance to experience another culture, to learn about the way another people work and live and eat and dance and go about their lives,” she said. “I am a very strong believer in the notion that by having such experiences our own lives are enriched.”