AN academic has been awarded a prestigious international fellowship.

The University of Central Lancashire, which has a Burnley Campus, is celebrating after a member of staff was named the winner of the ninth annual Woody Guthrie Fellowship.

Professor Will Kaufman has published extensively on American folk musician Guthrie, as well as other aspects of American culture.

He is now the winner of the fellowship which enables scholars to use the extensive archival holdings available at the Woody Guthrie Centre in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Professor of American Literature and Culture, based at UCLan’s School of Language, Literature and International Studies, said: “I’m absolutely delighted.

“This is truly a great honour for me.

“I’ve been researching Woody Guthrie for many years now but there’s still plenty more to discover.”