BETHEL – Gareth Kucinkas, a physics teacher at Gould Academy, has been awarded a Fulbright Teacher grant to teach physics at the Gymnazium Jura Hronca for the International Baccalaureate Program in Bratislava, Slovakia, the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board announced recently.

Kucinkas, who departed with his wife, Debby, and son, Asa, on Aug. 5th, is one of approximately 250 U.S. grantees that will travel abroad for the 2003-2004 academic year through the Fulbright Teacher and Administrator Exchange Program. Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Sen. 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.

Kucinkas’ exchange partner, Elena Vojtelova, will arrive in Bethel, in late August with her family. During the year-long exchange, Vojtelova will be living in the Kucinkas’ home in Bethel and teaching physics at Gould Academy.

Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement and because they have demonstrated extraordinary leadership potential in their fields. Among the thousands of prominent Fulbright alumni are: Craig Bennet, chief executive officer of Intel Corp.; Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Secretary General of the United Nations; Dame Ivy Dumont, poet Laureate of the District of Columbia; Daniel Patrick Moynihan, former U.S. senator; and Robert Shaye, founder and chairman of New Line Cinema.