MISSISSIPPI STATE – Only 800 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Fellowships are awarded each year, but Mississippi State University’s Phyllis Miller has been awarded a Fulbright fellowship for the third time in her career.

Miller, a professor in apparels, textiles and merchandising in MSU’s School of Human Sciences, has received a lecturing and research appointment with the College of Engineering at the University of Mauritius. The university, located in the Republic of Mauritius, an island off Africa’s southeast coast, is establishing a new college of fashion.

“I’m going to teach computer-aided design and teach them to use their own cultural and historical influences as an inspiration for clothing and accessory design,” Miller said.

The research component of Miller’s work will document the culture’s use of colors, symbols and styles of dress. She will study museum collections to gather information, including color samples, from historical garments. She will classify the color data according to international databases.

“The Fulbright program is an international honor deserved by Dr. Miller,” said Michael Newman, director of MSU’s School of Human Sciences. “This sort of award adds to the prestige of our university, college and school. She will be able to share experiences and information that will make our students more competitive in the global marketplace.”

In September 2005, Miller received a Fulbright lecturing and research fellowship to teach textile design courses and to develop the prototype for an electronic database of costumes at the National Academy of Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria. In 2006, she received a Fulbright-Hays fellowship to participate in the Fabric of Indian Life Study tour. She received the MSU Faculty Diversity Award in 2010. Her textile and apparel designs have been selected for numerous prestigious juried exhibitions and have won both critical and popular awards.

Miller received her bachelor’s degree from Mundelein College, now part of Loyola University, a Master of Arts from Michigan State University, and a doctorate in textiles, design and journalism from the University of Tennessee.

The Fulbright program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The international educational exchange sends experts and students from the U.S. to countries around the world to promote teaching and research and brings international scholars to the United States.