New College Tops Fulbright List for 2009-2010

The Fulbright Program recently announced the complete list of colleges and universities that produced the most 2009-2010 U.S. Fulbright Fellows.  The success of the top producing institutions was highlighted in the October 19 print edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education.

New College of Florida’s eight Fulbright winners placed the College at No. 7 among 50 institutions granting a bachelor’s degree. The only Florida institution to appear in the bachelor’s degree category, New College was outranked by a handful of some of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the country, including Smith, Oberlin, Swarthmore and Vassar. The largest number of Fulbright awards to a Bachelor’s institution went to Pomona College (CA), with 15 Fulbrighters.

Only two other Florida institutions appeared on the overall list: the University of Florida (research institution) with nine Fulbrighters; and Rollins College (master’s degree), with four students.

New College’s eight Fulbright winners for 2009-2010 were Melissa Jacobowitz (Ukraine); Evan Alexrad (Norway); MacKenzie Karp (Germany); Georgia Junmei Kashnig (Switzerland); Adam Schaefer (Spain); Claire Michelsen (Germany); Lee Ellen Reed (Germany) and Adele Fournet (Peru).  This year’s record group of Fulbrighters brings the College’s historical total to 50 Fulbright recipients.

In recent years, New College has produced a higher proportion of Fulbright winners for its student population than virtually all other colleges and universities. New College’s Fulbright success is linked to the nature of the College’s educational program.

“New College’s emphasis on independent study and research is useful practice for developing a viable Fulbright project at the graduating senior level,” said Suzanne Janney, special assistant to the president and senior member of the National Fellowship Team.  “In fact, often our students propose projects so sophisticated that we counsel them to demonstrate in their essays that they have acquired the level of expertise necessary to complete the projects.”

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program equips future American leaders with the skills they need to thrive in an increasingly global environment by providing funding for one academic year of study, research or assistant teaching abroad.  Under this program, 1,559 American students in more than 100 different fields of study have been offered grants to study, teach English, and conduct research in over 125 countries throughout the world beginning this fall.

Students receiving awards for this academic year applied through 570 colleges or universities.  Lists of Fulbright recipients are available at: www.fulbrightonline.org/us.

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided approximately 294,000 participants worldwide with the opportunity to observe each others’ political, economic and cultural institutions, exchange ideas and embark on joint ventures of importance to the general welfare of the world’s inhabitants.  In the past 63 years, more than 42,000 students from the United States have benefited from the Fulbright experience.

The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.  Financial support is provided by an annual appropriation from Congress to the Department of State, with significant contributions from participating governments and host institutions in the United States and abroad.   The Presidentially appointed J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board formulates policy guidelines and makes the final selection of all grantees. In the United States, the Institute of International Education administers and coordinates the activities relevant to the U.S. Student Program, including conducting an annual competition for the scholarships.