The University of Notre Dame is among the top producers of Fulbright Program students for the seventh consecutive year.
With 29 finalists, the University ranked 7th this year in a tie with New York University, according to the U.S. State Department, which administers the Fulbright Program via the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
The Chronicle of Higher Education published the results online on Feb. 15.
“Once again, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program has recognized that Notre Dame students are exceptionally well prepared to participate in international educational and cultural exchange,” said Jeffrey Thibert, the Paul and Maureen Stefanick Director of the Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement (CUSE). “It’s been our pleasure to guide our undergraduate and alumni applicants through the application process, from discernment, to essay feedback, to preparing for the campus interview and evaluation.”
He continued, “Our students are so well prepared for opportunities like the Fulbright as a direct result of the outstanding work being done through Notre Dame International, the Keough School of Global Affairs, the Center for the Study of Languages and Cultures and our other units that support international study, research and language teaching and learning. Finally, we owe a debt of gratitude to the numerous faculty and staff who generously offer their time to assist with the campus interview and evaluation process, through which they offer advice and feedback that strengthen our applicants’ work in its final stages.”
“We are delighted to see Notre Dame students, both undergraduate and graduate, recognized for their dedication to the exchange of ideas via the Fulbright Program,” said Laura Carlson, vice president, associate provost and dean of the Graduate School. “International engagement is as important now as ever before, and the University’s commitment to helping students develop the skills to build bridges across cultures and communities is evident through these awards.”
Michael Pippenger, vice president and associate provost for internationalization, said, “We are honored that so many of our students have been recognized as Fulbright Scholars. Their academic excellence and commitment to be engaged global citizens has been shaped by the education they have received at Notre Dame from their professors and peers, administrators and mentors. In pursuing their goals, they serve as ambassadors for our wider community as they seek to promote intellectual exchange and mutual understanding while being a force for good in the world. We celebrate their success and look forward to their leadership in the future.”
Recognizing the current travel environment and the fact that many Fulbright programs were canceled because of the pandemic, this year’s results were based on the number of awards offered, not the number accepted.
In some cases, winners were able to defer the award until next year.
Established by an act of Congress in 1946, the Fulbright Program offers cultural and educational exchange programs for students, scholars, artists, teachers and professionals of all backgrounds to study, teach or pursue research or professional projects around the globe.
Undergraduate students interested in learning more about the program can visit cuse.nd.edu/fulbright. Graduate students can visit graduateschool.nd.edu/professional_development/research/.
Contact: Erin Blasko, assistant director of media relations, 574-631-4127, eblasko@nd.edu
Originally published by at news.nd.edu on February 25, 2021.