Middlebury a Top Producer of Fulbright Scholars and Students
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury has again made the list of U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most 2018–2019 Fulbright U.S. Students and Fulbright U.S. Scholars. Each year the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces the top producing institutions for the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program.
Three Middlebury faculty members and 10 students and alumni were awarded Fulbright awards for 2018–2019. Middlebury is among only 11 institutions in the country to be named a top producer for both the Fulbright U.S. Student and Scholar programs.
“I would like to congratulate all of our Fulbright recipients and recognize this remarkable feat,” said President Laurie Patton. “As we continue to emphasize the global liberal arts and sciences at Middlebury, I am immensely proud of our faculty and students who engage in international scholarship, and are clearly thriving in doing so!”
Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright program has provided more than 390,000 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential—with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Over 1,900 U.S. students, artists, and young professionals in more than 100 different fields of study are offered Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards to study, teach English, and conduct research abroad each year. Over 800 U.S. college and university faculty and administrators, professionals, artists, journalists, scientists, lawyers, and independent scholars are awarded Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program awards to teach and/or conduct research annually.
“We are thrilled to be once again recognized as a top-producing institution for the Fulbright student grant program,” said Lisa Gates, associate dean for fellowships and research. “This flagship program provides our graduating seniors and young alumni with an unparalleled opportunity to pursue independent research, continue with graduate study, or serve as an English teaching assistant in other parts of the world.”
Gates noted that currently Middlebury has 20 seniors and alumni selected as semifinalists for the 2019–20 grant year. “We’re hoping for more good news in the spring when final grant decisions are made.”
In addition, some 4,000 foreign Fulbright students and scholars come to the United States annually to study, lecture, conduct research, and teach foreign languages.
The Fulbright U.S. Student and Fulbright U.S. Scholar Programs are programs of the U.S. Department of State, funded by an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and supported in their implementation by the Institute of International Education.
For more information about the Fulbright programs, visit eca.state.gov/fulbright.
Middlebury’s 10 active Fulbright students include the following:
Raouf Belkhir ’17.5 (Neuroscience) Study/Research, Italy
Brennan Delattre ’16 (Neuroscience) Study/Research, Brazil
Michael Fournier ’17.5 (International Politics and Economics) English Teaching Assistant, Germany
Georgia Grace Edwards ’18 (International Politics and Economics) English Teaching Assistant, Czech Republic
Marney Kline ’17.5 (American Studies) English Teaching Assistant, Italy
Mandy Kwan ’15 (Spanish) English Teaching Assistant, Argentina
Arianna Lippi (Spanish Language School) English Teaching Assistant, Columbia
Marykate Melanson ’18 (International and Global Studies, Latin American Studies) English Teaching Assistant, Brazil
Julia Shumlin ’17.5 (Sociology and Anthropology, Spanish) English Teaching Assistant, Mexico
Phoebe Wiener ’18 (Political Science) Study/Research, Japan
In addition to the Top Producer list, Middlebury alumna Jessica Parker ’15.5 is also an ETA in Brazil.
Middlebury’s Fulbright Scholar recipients include the following:
Mez Baker-Médard, assistant professor of environmental studies, Fulbright Scholar grant for research at the Institute of Marine Sciences in Madagascar
Carrie Anderson, assistant professor of history of art and architecture, Fulbright Scholar grant for teaching/research in the Netherlands
Svea Closser, former associate professor of sociology and anthropology, Fulbright-Nehru Scholar Program Flexible Grant in India. Svea Closser is now a visiting associate professor in the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.