CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Nine faculty members at the University of Illinois have received Fulbright Scholar awards.
This complements the earlier awarding of grants to 15 Illinois students as part of the Fulbright U.S. Students Program, placing the campus in the top five in that category among all public universities. The students are offered the opportunity to design their own program and pursue one academic year of study, research, or teaching English abroad.
"This accomplishment is another indicator of the creative and innovative thinking, overall excellence, and above all, strong desire to engage with the world beyond our borders that is so characteristic of our faculty," said Wolfgang Schlör, interim associate provost for international affairs at Illinois. "No less important is the fact that our campus is sending 15 Fulbright student awardees this year. It shows that our students are not only motivated to have deep international experiences, but have the academic excellence to make it through a highly competitive selection process."
The Fulbright Program was founded in 1947 by U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright, who saw the program as a much-needed vehicle for promoting "mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries of the world."
The program sends 800 U.S. faculty members and professionals each year to 140 nations, allowing scholars to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.
The U. of I. scholars, their project titles or areas of specialization, and their destinations:
- Susan A. Cole, professor, social work, "Developing Social Work Intervention Skills to Meet the Needs of Children and Families in Taiwan and China," National Taiwan University
- Kristin L. Hoganson, professor, history, "The United States in World Context," Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich (Germany)
- Dana L. Rush, professor of art history, School of Art and Design, "In Remembrance of Slavery: Tchamba Slave Spirits in Vodun Art and Thought," University of Benin
- Marsha C. Woodbury, visiting lecturer, computer science, "Information Technology," Indian Institute of Technology
- David Wright, professor, English, "And In the Ruined Houses, A Novel; African-American Studies," University of Sao Paulo (Brazil)
The campus liaison for faculty Fulbright Scholars is Tim Barnes, assistant director for institutional collaboration. Student Fulbright applications are administered through the national and international scholarships program, led by David Schug and Laura Hastings.
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