WCU Stories      November 1, 2023

By Julia Duvall

Katerina Spasovska, associate professor of communication at Western Carolina University, has been selected as a Fulbright Fellowship recipient for 2024. 

Spasovska will take part in a teaching and research fellowship from February to July in Kosovo, which is located in the center of the Balkans and bordered by Serbia, Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro. 

“I'll be part of the faculty of mass communication and journalism at a non-public university in Kosovo,” Spasovska said. “I will be teaching two undergraduate courses and one master’s course.”  

Spasovska will also be doing research with the journalism program and professional journalists in Kosovo and North Macedonia.  

“This is a great opportunity to spend a longer period of time in a country with lots of different experiences,” Spasovska said. “This will enhance my research and give me ideas for different approaches in my teaching at Western.” 

Originally from Macedonia, Spasovska is excited to be close to her home country where her family still resides, which is about 50 miles from where she will be in Kosovo. 

“Even though it's close to where I am from, I've never done any research in Kosovo,” she said. “Kosovo is a relatively new independent state and after the COVID-19 pandemic, they don’t have any print media, only digital. This will be an interesting way to look at how the media and journalism are changing in that area.” 

Part of the fellowship agreement is staying in Kosovo while doing research, which means Spasovska most likely won’t get to travel to Macedonia very often, but she is hopeful she can do research there during the summer. 

Spasovska has been at WCU since 2010 and is excited to bring back her research findings to Cullowhee. 

“I think this will not only benefit me and my research, but also Western,” Spasovska said. “This is a great program that will give me new perspectives and methods for teaching the material.”