The George Washington University—which has recently received high marks as a top 25 “best neighbor” university and for its efforts in sustainability—can add the number of Fulbright Scholars to its list of accolades. With a record 23 GW graduates receiving Fulbrights this academic year, GW ranks seventh in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s newly released list of “Top U.S. Producers of Fulbright Students” for research institutions. GW is tied with Columbia University and Harvard University.
“We are extremely proud of this exceptional group of young scholars who have earned recognition from one of the nation’s most prestigious international educational exchange programs,” said Donald R. Lehman, executive vice president for academic affairs. “This year’s GW awardees come from both our undergraduate and our graduate programs. They are remarkable not only because of their numbers, but also because they will study and teach in a wide array of countries, from Argentina to China. Their range of interests demonstrates the global education they have received at GW.”
The brainchild of GW Law School alumnus and U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright, L.L.B. ’34, the Fulbright Scholarship Program provides funding for study and research abroad in a wide range of disciplines, including social sciences, business, performing arts, physical sciences, engineering, and education and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The GW Fulbright winners are studying and conducting research around the world for the 2009-10 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.
Eighteen of the winners are recent GW undergraduate alumni, and five are current graduate students at the University. The alumni include: Aaron Connelly, Erica Copeland, Lauren Deal, Erin Dumbacher, Chardét Durbin, Brittany Goodrich, Katica Kiss, Tyler Logan, Clayton McClesky, Riley McIntyre, Matthew Parelman, Erika Pillmeier, Amy Rizotto, Philip Schuster, J.J. Silverstein, Rachel Snyder, Thao-Anh Tran and Alexandra Usher. The graduate students are: Michael Dozler, Shaadi Khoury, David Linfield, Catalina Talero and Emily Watkins.
The students will study and complete research in 14 countries, including Colombia, Estonia, Senegal, South Korea and Argentina.
“The George Washington University’s successful record with the Fulbright Program is a testament to the quality of the applications its students submit and to the efforts of its Fulbright Program advisors to emphasize the legacy and importance of a Fulbright experience,” says Alina L. Romanowski, deputy assistant secretary of state for academic programs for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Most Fulbright awards are designed for research in a single country for one academic year and include university coursework, independent library or field research, and/or professional training in the arts and other fields.
More than 74 GW students applied for the scholarship this year, and Director of GW’s Center for Undergraduate Fellowships and Research Paul Hoyt-O’Connor attributes this to the “recent successes of applicants from GW in recent years.”
“More importantly, perhaps, is that GW has a strong tradition of sending students to study abroad, and a number of students have spent time studying in regions outside of Western Europe and Australia,” says Dr. Hoyt-O’Connor. “Also, a number of our students have pursued non-Western language study seriously. Those last two factors combine to make GW students quite well prepared for Fulbright grants to countries that typically garner less interest than others, including countries in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.”
Seven GW undergraduate students have also been awarded the prestigious Boren Scholarship to study foreign languages and cultures abroad, and two GW students have been named Thomas R. Pickering Fellows, which place talented students in academic programs related to international affairs, political and economic analysis, administration, management and science policy.