May 6, 2025 — Dr. Karen (Kat) Schrier, Director of Games  and Emerging Media at Marist, has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright Specialist Program grant to teach game design in Tunisia this summer. The award is presented by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Dr. Schrier’s work will be based at the Higher Institute of Multimedia Arts of Manouba, where she will lead a series of workshops to help faculty there integrate game design and game studies into their teaching.

In addition to her primary teaching responsibilities, Dr. Schrier will collaborate with the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia on workshops at the American Corner, which was established to promote free access to educational resources and information about the United States. She will share her knowledge of gaming in the U.S. to support STEM education as part of the broader outreach effort.

Dr. Schrier’s work at Marist is centered in the nationally recognized Games and Emerging Media program, where she is also the Founding Director. The program spans the Schools of Communication and the Arts and Computer Science and Mathematics. She is a leading researcher on games, ethics, and empathy. Her recent book, We the Gamers: How Games Teach Ethics and Civics, was published by Oxford University Press.

As part of her Fulbright work this summer, she will share her expertise with an international audience.

“I love teaching game design at Marist University, and I am happy to bring my enthusiasm for games and education to Tunisia,” said Dr. Schrier. “I am also excited to establish a deeper connection with the faculty and university there.”

Students in Dr. Schrier's Game Design class in Lowell Thomas are developing Escape Rooms. Photo by Nelson Echeverria/Marist University.

Dr. Schrier joins a cohort of more than 400 U.S. citizens each year who share their expertise with host institutions worldwide through the Fulbright Specialist Program. Award recipients are selected based on their academic and professional accomplishments, leadership in their respective fields, and their potential to cultivate long-term cooperation between international institutions.

Established in 1946, the Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s premier international educational exchange initiative. Fulbright alumni have left an indelible mark across a wide range of fields, including 60 Nobel Prize winners, 88 Pulitzer Prize recipients, and 39 individuals who have served as heads of state or government.