The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs on Feb. 10 named Syracuse University a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for U.S. students. This recognition is given to the U.S. colleges and universities that received the highest number of applicants selected for the 2022-23 Fulbright U.S. Student Program cohort.
Ten students from Syracuse University were selected for Fulbright research, study and teaching awards for academic year 2022-23 to Austria, Colombia, Germany, Morocco, North Macedonia, Poland, Spain (two awards), United Kingdom and Uzbekistan.
“As Syracuse University prepares students to be global citizens, the educational and research opportunities offered by the Fulbright program are often a key part of that mission, so this designation is particularly meaningful,” says Vice Chancellor and Provost Gretchen Ritter. “Our Fulbright students make a difference in the world. Just as importantly, the Fulbright experience can be a transformational one for our students.”
“On behalf of President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, congratulations to the colleges and universities recognized as 2022-23 Fulbright Top Producing Institutions, and to all the applicants who were selected for the Fulbright Program this year,” says Lee Satterfield, assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs. “Thanks to the visionary leadership of these institutions, administrators and advisors, a new generation of Fulbrighters—changemakers, as I like to say—will catalyze lasting impact on their campus, in their communities and around the world.”
The Fulbright competition is administered at Syracuse University by the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA). The University has been named a Fulbright Top Producing Institution three times—for the 2012-13 cohort (under campus Fulbright advisor and professor emerita Susan Wadley), and 2019-20 and 2022-23 cohorts (under CFSA).
Forty faculty and staff members from across the University served on the campus Fulbright committee for the 2022-23 cohort. The committee is convened by CFSA; members interview applicants, provide feedback and complete a campus endorsement for each applicant. “Our Fulbright work is an all-campus effort. Faculty and staff support is crucial to our students’ success,” says Jolynn Parker, director of CFSA.
Students apply for Fulbright awards in the fall and awards are made in the spring. In the current competition for the 2023-24 cohort, 22 of the University’s 24 applicants have been named as semifinalists. Awards will be announced this spring.
Fulbright is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. It is also among the largest and most diverse exchange programs in the world. Since its inception in 1946, more than 400,000 participants from all backgrounds and fields—including recent university graduates, teachers, scientists, researchers, artists and others, from the United States and over 160 other countries—have participated in the Fulbright Program. Fulbright alumni have returned to their home countries to make an impact on their communities thanks to their expanded worldview, a deep appreciation for their host country and its people, and a larger network of colleagues and friends.
Fulbright alumni work to make a positive impact on their communities, sectors and the world and have included 41 heads of state or government, 62 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 78 MacArthur Fellows and countless leaders and changemakers who carry forward the Fulbright mission of enhancing mutual understanding.
More information about the Fulbright Program is available online.
Original article was published on February 14, 2023, by Kelly Homan Rodoski here
