Penn State Global honors Fulbright recipients at the program’s 75th anniversary

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — More than a hundred Penn State faculty, staff, and scholars came together in the Smeal Atrium on Friday, April 8, to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. The ceremony recognized Penn State faculty and staff, past and present, who have received a Fulbright Award from the U.S. Department of State.

The ceremony, which lasted from 6 to 9 p.m. included a reception, dinner, and two keynote speakers — Institute for International Education President Allan Goodman and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Academic Programs in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Ethan Rosenzweig from the U.S. Department of State — as well as remarks by Penn State President Eric Barron and Executive Vice President and Provost Nick Jones.

What is Fulbright?

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government's flagship international educational exchange program and was established by Sen. J. William Fulbright in 1946.

The program celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2021 and has given over 390,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals experiences through the competitive program.

“Today, the idea that we all live in a global society is widely accepted. But in 1946, that wasn’t the case,” Barron said in his remarks at the event. “Senator Fulbright championed the vision for a global society, and created an avenue for ambitious, talented, brilliant scholars to collaborate and expand their ideas. The experiences our Fulbright scholars have had during their time abroad have enriched the teaching, research, and service activities that are the essence of Penn State’s land-grant mission.”

"Since 1946, the Fulbright program became the United States’ most prestigious and effective vehicle for knowledge generation and soft diplomacy,” said William Shuey, director of development for Penn State Global and International. “It speaks volumes of our institution, that year after year, Penn State is one of the top producers of Fulbright Scholars."

Fulbright at Penn State

Penn State has been named a Top Producer of Fulbright Scholars for the past 10 years running. Eight Penn State faculty and staff received Fulbright awards for the 2021-22 year, landing the University at No. 3 in the world for Fulbright scholars. Scholars for 2022-23 have also been announced.

Penn State has been a part of the Fulbright program since 1950, when three recipients — Haskell Curry, Holden Furber, and John Alden — embarked on their Fulbright experiences. Since then, Penn State has sent hundreds of scholars — and students — abroad on the Fulbright program and the University has also hosted Fulbright scholars from abroad, benefiting from both sides of the exchanges.

“The opportunity served as a springboard to help me excel in a longtime engineering and higher education career,” Jones said in his remarks at the recognition event, as he recalled his Fulbright experience to the United States in 1980.

“Penn State’s commitment to and engagement with the Fulbright Program is unwavering,” he added. “We value it for myriad reasons, including the opportunities it offers for cultural enrichment and vital research.”

Part of the support offered by Penn State for the program comes in the form of Discipline-Based Panels, consisting of Penn State faculty members who were themselves past recipients, volunteering their time in support of their colleagues through the application process and serving as a tremendous resource to Fulbright applicants.

There are more than two dozen faculty volunteers and the panels are broken into six categories: Humanities and Social Sciences; Engineering and All Sciences; Arts and Architecture; Business, Law, and Education; Medicine and Health and Human Development; and Communications and Information Sciences and Technology.

The event

Approximately 80 Fulbright recipients were in attendance for the event, each of which had completed or had been awarded an award. The recipients had a chance to meet with Barron and Jones, and Goodman and Rosenzweig.

Goodman delivered remarks, as did Rosenzweig, who emphasized Penn State’s commitment to Fulbright from the leadership.

Following the remarks, Roger Brindley, vice provost for Global, emceed the recognition ceremony. Fulbright recipients in attendance received medallions commemorating their experience and celebrating program's anniversary.

“It was an exciting opportunity to meet colleagues from across the university that have a common experience through Fulbright,” said Melanie Miller-Foster, associate teaching professor of international agriculture, who completed her Fulbright experiences in Korea and Malaysia along with Daniel Foster, associate professor in the College of Ag Sciences who runs the Global Teach Ag initiative. “We all had experiences in different countries and at different times, but we all share the goal of promoting mutual understanding in an interconnected world.”

“As a mid-career faculty member, it’s inspiring to see the not only the reach of our particularly institution around the world, but the commitment to this inspiring global mission that helps make the world better place,” added Foster. “I look forward to seeking additional opportunities to represent proudly our institutions and country around the world through the Global Teach Ag Network.”

What’s next?

Fulbright continues to be one of the University’s flagship global engagement programs, alongside programs such as the Humphrey Fellows program and the University’s strong record of sending students abroad and hosting international students on its campuses.

Faculty who are interested in applying for a Fulbright for 2022-23 can do so by Sept. 15.

Applicants are aided by members of the Fulbright discipline-based panels, who take time to share their Fulbright experience with their colleagues. Panelists review, evaluate and provide critical feedback to any faculty applying for a Fulbright award.

The new 2022-23 awards competition has just been announced, and the deadline for submission is Sept. 15. For more information about the application process, contact Sylvester Osagie at 814-867-4276 or soo1@psu.edu.