Ten University of Notre Dame students have been awarded Fulbright grants in the 2014-15 program, placing the University among the top-producing universities in the nation.
The U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program, Fulbright recently announced the complete list of colleges and universities that produced the most 2014-15 U.S. Fulbright students. The success of the top-producing institutions is highlighted in Thursday’s edition (Feb. 12) of The Chronicle of Higher Education.
“Notre Dame’s inclusion on the list of top producing institutions of Fulbright U.S. students is a sign of our expanded commitment to internationalization, along with the important work of Notre Dame International and the units that will make up the Keough School of Global Affairs,” said Jeffrey Thibert, assistant director of national fellowships in Notre Dame’s Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement (CUSE). “Our students are especially competitive for the Fulbright not simply because so many engage with the world through coursework and study abroad, but because of the depth of the engagement the University encourages. The Fulbright allows our students to take the international education they have begun at Notre Dame to another level, better preparing them to become representatives of the University on the international stage as they pursue their increasingly global careers.”
Mike Westrate, associate program director of the Graduate School Office of Grants and Fellowships, said, “As a ‘Fulbrighter’ myself, I know the extraordinary value of this award, both during and after the Fulbright year. We are proud of our graduate students, and we are quite happy that we were able to assist five of them to win this prestigious award. But most of all, we are happy about the powerful and lasting effect that a Fulbright year abroad will have on their lives, both personally and professionally.”
Notre Dame’s 2014-15 U.S. Fulbright students are:
- Natalie Boll, international economics, Class of 2014 — English Teaching Assistantship to Luxembourg
- Andrew Dupont, ACE Class of 2014 — English Teaching Assistantship to Bangladesh
- Melissa Guinan, political science, Class of 2012 — Study and research grant to European Union
- Hannah Hemphill, theology postgraduate student — Study and research grant to Switzerland
- Deanna Kolberg, political science/Chinese, Class of 2014 — English Teaching Assistantship to South Korea
- Marcus Liddell, German, Class of 2014 — English Teaching Assistantship to Germany
- Thomas Metzger, bioengineering postgraduate student — Study and research grant to Ireland
- Amy Nelson, medieval studies postgraduate student — Study and research grant to Austria
- Sara Troyani, literature postgraduate student — Study and research grant to Italy
- Sylvia Yong , biochemistry/French, Class of 2014 — Study and research grant to France
Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided participants — chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research; exchange ideas; and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. In the past 69 years, more than 50,000 students from the United States have benefited from the Fulbright experience.
CUSE provides undergraduate students in all the University’s colleges opportunities for research, scholarship and creative projects. More information on CUSE is available at cuse.nd.edu.