Alexei Sivertsev, a religious studies professor, and Lisa Dietlin, a professional lecturer in the School of Public Service, were named a Fulbright Scholar and Fulbright Specialist, respectively, for 2025-26. (DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)A pair of College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences faculty members are representing DePaul abroad this fall as part of the prestigious
Fulbright Program.
Alexei Sivertsev, a religious studies professor, was named a Fulbright Scholar for the second time. He is spending the fall quarter in Israel.
Lisa Dietlin, a professional lecturer in the School of Public Service, spent much of August in Turkmenistan as a Fulbright Specialist.
Designed to build lasting connections between the U.S. and the world, the Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government.
“Alexei and Lisa’s efforts put the value of the liberal arts and our Catholic, Vincentian mission on full display for the world to see,” says Guillermo Vásquez de Velasco, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. “Working globally requires empathy, critical thinking, collaborative skills and cultural fluency. These are all skills that can be obtained through a liberal arts education that Alexei and Lisa have mastered and are putting to good use in Israel and Turkmenistan.”
Religious Studies’ Alexei Sivertsev continues research into Middle East in late antiquity
Sivertsev departed for Israel in early August to begin his four-month
Fulbright Scholar fellowship. It’s his second appointment in the last five years and allows him to continue his research into the Jewish cultural dynamics in late antiquity.
Fulbright Scholar Alexei Sivertsev, a religious studies professor, is spending the fall quarter in Israel furthering his research into Jewish cultural dynamics in late antiquity. (Photo courtesy of Alexei Sivertsev)“The fifth and sixth centuries were a time when Judaism and Christianity developed and evolved in ways that still inform their faiths and cultures today. Researching this period gives us an idea of how these groups survived and allows us to better understand the formative years in the history of both religions. I think that can only benefit us in the present day,” Sivertsev says.
He’s exploring the fifth-century synagogue floor mosaic in the city of Sepphoris in Lower Galilee and church mosaics in the neighboring sites of Horvat Kenes and Khirbet Bata, both in the vicinity of the present-day town of Carmiel.
The project is part of a broader attempt to understand how a variety of religious, ethnic and linguistic communities in late Roman Palestine constructed their symbolic environments and imagined themselves in relation to these environments.
Since arriving in Israel, Sivertsev has been invited by Fulbright Israel to present a paper at the Fulbright-sponsored Mediterranean Research Seminar in Alicante, Spain, later this month. The paper's title is "Mosaics, Epigraphy, and the Production of Language in Late Roman Palestine."
Sivertsev is the author of “Jews, Christians, and the Discourse on Images before Iconoclasm” and the article “Synagogues and Churches as the Centers of Local Communities” in “The Routledge Handbook of Jews and Judaism in Late Antiquity,” both published in 2024.
School of Public Service’s Lisa Dietlin spent August in Turkmenistan as a Fulbright Specialist
While in Turkmenistan, Dietlin met with non-governmental organizations and economic societies from around the country to assist with fundraising and communications. In addition to her role as a professional lecturer, Dietlin currently serves as the acting chair of Public Service Management in the School of Public Service and the president and CEO of The Institute of Transformational Philanthropy.
Lisa Dietlin, a professional lecturer in the School of Public Service, spent much of August in Turkmenistan as a Fulbright Specialist. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Dietlin)“Turkmenistan is a closed country that’s autocratic in nature. Because of this, there are only 20 NGOs in the entire country,” Dietlin says. “My goal was to offer them hope about ways they can generate income, how they can have a greater impact on society, and offer strategies as well as solutions to help their ideas come to fruition.”
Dietlin met one-on-one with more than 25 individuals and small groups of people as well as hosted numerous workshops on effective planning and implementation of communication and engagement strategies, connecting with communities to encourage participation, and mobilizing community resources among other topics.
“These organizations and individuals are doing incredible work,” Dietlin says. “I spent time discussing with them how to make connections with other NGOS and the private sector. It was an incredibly rewarding experience.”
The
Fulbright Specialist Program sends U.S. faculty and professionals to serve as expert consultants on curriculum, faculty development, institutional planning, and related subjects at academic institutions abroad for a period of two to six weeks. Recipients are selected based on academic and professional achievement, demonstrated leadership in their field, and their potential to foster long-term cooperation between institutions in the U.S. and abroad. Learn more about the Fulbright Program and how faculty can apply on
Global Engagement’s page.