Faculty Sociologist Brings Fulbright Insights to UToledo

Faculty Sociologist Brings Fulbright Insights to UToledo

The University of Toledo's Dr. Karie Peralta is a student and teacher of the Dominican Republic.

Peralta spent two years in a remote community there as a volunteer with the Peace Corps, then another two in one of its two major cities as a student life director of a study-abroad program for a U.S. university. She later conducted research for her master's thesis and doctoral dissertation in the Dominican Republic, and at UToledo, where she is now an associate professor of sociology, she continues to engage in research in the country, including co-teaching two field schools that introduced students to participatory methods and fieldwork in Puerto Plata in 2017 and 2019.

Her latest trip extends this international experience in a new direction.

Peralta recently returned from a semester as a Fulbright Scholar in Santiago de los Caballeros, where she completed research toward a case study of community engagement policies and practices at the Universidad Instituto Superior de Agricultura (ISA University). As the fall semester approaches back at UToledo, Peralta is now analyzing her data and exploring ways to bring her research into the classroom in line with a new University-wide initiative, Applied Skills for Career Experience, Networking and Development (ASCEND), that requires every undergraduate, regardless of major, to engage in an experiential learning opportunity before earning their degree.

"My Fulbright project has strengthened my capacity as an experiential learning and community engagement specialist to support President Holloway's priority to institutionalize community engagement and applied learning at UToledo," Peralta said.

More than 400,000 individuals have studied, taught or completed research abroad through the Fulbright Program since it was established under the U.S. Department of State in 1946. The program supports the exchange of ideas, establishment of people-to-people connections and collaborative work to address complex global challenges.

The Fulbright Scholar Program specifically supports college and university faculty, administrators and researchers, as well as artists and professionals, with fellowships that enable U.S. Scholars to go abroad and Visiting Scholars to come to the United States. Fulbright Scholars engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions.

Peralta is part of a growing alumni community of the Fulbright Scholar Program at UToledo. This includes the College of Engineering's Dr. Sandrine Mubenga, who spent the 2025-26 academic year at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.

As an applied sociologist with a particular interest in community-engaged research and experiential learning, Peralta found a natural academic fit at ISA University. The institution boasts a long-standing reputation for sustainable development and community engagement, which Peralta explored for her case study that involved collecting data from university archives, interviews and participant-observation at several campus activities.

"One of my observations was how action research was incorporated into courses with close faculty-student mentorship and reflection," Peralta said. "Seeing this kind of assignment design and mentorship in person at ISA helped me to envision how I could implement similar strategies into my own research methods courses with collaborative, capacity-building exercises that include iterative steps, scaffolding and practice in real-world settings."

In addition to her research toward her case study, Peralta expanded her network of higher education colleagues in the Dominican Republic as a Fulbright Scholar. In what she describes as one of the most formative experiences of her semester abroad, she helped to develop a new program at her host institution that supports university-community projects proposed by professors and students, working in close collaboration with ISA's Office of Extension and Social Responsibility.

She also joined and contributed to the U.S. Embassy's Working Group on Higher Education in the Dominican Republic.

Dr. Melissa Gregory is the dean of UToledo's Judith Herb College of Arts, Social Sciences and Education. She credited the Fulbright Scholar Program with enriching not only Peralta, but also the college and University, in line with President James Holloway's vision for UToledo.

"By bringing back new ideas about how universities can partner effectively with their communities through Fulbright, Dr. Peralta will strengthen our commitment to applied learning and public impact while also advancing President Holloway's vision of UToledo as a deeply community-engaged university," she said.