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News Release

Last modified: Thursday, September 6, 2007

Eleven IU doctoral students receive Fulbright-Hays grants

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 6, 2007

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie announced today (Sept. 6) that 11 IU students have received prestigious Fulbright-Hays grants for Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad for the 2007-08 academic year.

"The Fulbright-Hays program is extremely competitive and demands of its recipients very high levels of scholarship," McRobbie said. "Indiana University is very proud of these 11 recipients who strive to excel in their fields. This is a significant honor for each of these students and reflects IU's commitment to the attainment of even higher levels of academic distinction."

These students are 11 of fewer than 170 U.S. citizens and permanent residents who will travel abroad for the 2007-08 academic year through the Fulbright-Hays program. The Fulbright-Hays program typically receives more than 500 applications for approximately 160 annual grants averaging $29,000 each to pursue six to 12 months of research abroad. Two other IU students were awarded the grant but declined it to pursue other opportunities.

"Fulbright awards are first and foremost an indication of the outstanding quality of our graduate students," said Patrick O'Meara, vice president for International Affairs at IU. "These substantial international grants enable them to go to different parts of the world to do research, which leads to outstanding doctoral dissertations. They are also an indication of the high quality of IU's international resources and faculty and of our ability to attract the very finest students."

Last week, IU also announced that eight students were named U.S. Student Fulbright Award recipients for the 2007-08 academic year. Nationwide, more than 6,000 students apply annually for approximately 1,300 awards. At IU Bloomington, 50 students applied for Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants during the 2007-08 competition. Of these, eight students received awards. One student, Gabriel McGuire, a doctoral candidate in anthropology, declined a Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant to accept a Fulbright-Hays doctoral research grant.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program for Graduate Study or Research Abroad is the best-known source of overseas study grants in the nation. It provides support for bachelor's degree recipients and graduate students to study abroad, conduct research, teach English, or obtain professional training in the creative and performing arts. These Fulbright grants are administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

The Fulbright-Hays grants for Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad are among the most competitive graduate research grants in the nation. They were established to provide support specifically for dissertation research in modern foreign languages and area studies in non-Western European countries. Applicants must intend a future teaching career at an institution in the United States. They are administered by the U.S. Department of Education's International Education Programs Service.

At IU Bloomington, 38 doctoral students applied for Fulbright-Hays research grants during the competition for 2007-08 grants, of which 13 students received awards (two have declined), and three have been named alternates who may convert to principal grantees.

The IU students who were awarded grants include:

• Chad Beck, communication and culture, Mexico
• Daniel Beers, political science, Romania
• Ama Okomfo Boakyewa, anthropology, Ghana
• Flory Gingging, folklore, Malaysia
• Megan Hershey, political science, Kenya
• Brent Hierman, political science, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
• Barbara Junisbai, political science, Belarus and Kyrgyz Republic
• Arwen Kimmel, anthropology, Ghana (declined grant)
• Gabriel McGuire, anthropology, Kazakhstan
• Anna Muller, history, Poland and Ukraine
• Alfio Saitta, history, Argentina
• Paul Schauert, ethnomusicology, Ghana (declined grant)
• Nicole Willock, religious studies, Central Eurasian Studies, China and India

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