For the third time, Fordham University has been named byThe Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the nation’s top producers of U.S. Fulbright students among national research universities.
Fordham joined 41 other universities recognized by The Chronicle for their excellent showing during the 2011-2012 awards cycle. The University tied with several other national research universities in receiving nine student-Fulbright awards. These include: Duke University, New York University, Tufts University, San Diego State University and Ohio University, among others.
The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor ranked first, earning 29 awards out of 148 applicants.
The Jesuit institutions of Boston College and Georgetown University also made The Chronicle list, with 21 and 15 awards, respectively.
Results appeared in The Chronicle’s Oct. 24 issue.
“One of the best measures of a university’s stature is the achievements of its students,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham.
“By any standard, Fordham students are extraordinarily accomplished, and the 2011-2012 report on Fulbright scholarships is only the most recent affirmation of their ability and industry,” Father McShane said. “I am proud of our students’ scholarly achievements, and pleased that they are so ably supported by Fordham’s Office for Prestigious Fellowships.”
Fordham’s Fulbright applications are administered through the University’s Campion Institute for the Advancement of Intellectual Excellence, which helps students apply for a range of scholarship and fellowship programs. Last year’s nine Fulbright awards were culled from 44 applicants, making for a nearly 21 percent yield rate, said Elizabeth Brown, Fulbright fellowships coordinator.
“This year’s recipients are an extraordinarily diverse and accomplished group, one that is poised to fulfill a mission that is central to both Fulbright and to Fordham—that of cross-cultural understanding,” she said.
During the last eight years, Fordham has seen a surge in the number of prestigious fellowships and scholarships, having received 69 Fulbrights and 797 other scholarships and fellowships. In addition to this year’s showing, the University made The Chronicle’s list in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 as well.
The Fordham awardees will be serving on five continents and represent three undergraduate schools and two graduate schools. They are:
• Benajmin Alisuag, GSE ’11; Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to South Africa.
• Veronica Benavides, GSE ’11; Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Mexico.
• Jed Fix, GSAS ’10; Fulbright Fellow to the Philippines in Economic Development; “From the Ground Up: The Geography of Small Enterprises in the Philippines.”
• Brian Heise, FCRH ’11; Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to South Korea.
• Eric Horvath, FCRH ’11; Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to South Korea.
• Joseph Martinez, FCLC ’11; Fulbright Binational Business Grant to Mexico.
• Yamil Roger, Gabelli ’10; Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Brazil.
• Batya Rotter, GSAS; Fulbright Fellow to Israel in Psychology; “Resilient Transitions: Narratives of resilience from military to civilian life.”
• Walter Wietzke, GSAS; Fulbright Fellow to Denmark in Philosophy; “Kierkegaard’s Critique of Analytic Theories of Motivation.”
A list of Fordham’s Fulbright winners, year by year, is available here .
The Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program, is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State. Almost 1,700 American students, artists and young professionals in more than 100 different fields of study were offered Fulbright Program grants to study, teach English, and conduct research in over 140 countries beginning this fall.
