UW-Madison a leader in Fulbright Fellows with top 10 ranking

Continuing the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s strong tradition of global engagement, the campus is ranked once again in the top 10 of research institutions nationwide in the number of Fulbright Fellowships awarded to students.

That ranking is according to 2009-10 data recently released by the Fulbright Program. UW–Madison is tied with Indiana University at Bloomington and University of Minnesota-Twin Cities for ninth place. See the full rankings.

Seventeen UW–Madison students received Fulbright U.S. Student Program fellowships for 2009-10, and 14 accepted. In total, 1,559 U.S. citizens in more than 100 different fields of study have been offered grants in more than 125 countries through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program beginning this fall.

“We should all be proud to be part of a global public university with this kind of international reach and influence,” says Gilles Bousquet, dean of the Division of International Studies and International Institute director. “These are the people whose work today will help solve tomorrow’s global challenges.”

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides funding for one academic year of study, research or assistant teaching abroad. The program is sponsored by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, with significant contributions from participating governments and host institutions.

In addition to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program fellowships, eight doctoral students from UW–Madison received Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Research Abroad awards for dissertation research abroad.

Since its establishment in 1946, under legislation introduced by the late Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the program has provided approximately 294,000 participants worldwide with an opportunity to research and teach in different political, economic, educational and cultural institutions to exchange ideas and embark on joint ventures for 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.

Following is a list of UW–Madison students who received Fulbright awards for 2009-10, their destinations and their research areas.

Receiving Fulbright Institute of International Education Fellowships were Leif Brottem, Mali, geography; Emma Condon, Nepal, public administration; Tim Frandy, Finland, area studies; Corey Hade, Sweden, engineering; Mathew Holland, Denmark, area studies; Jessica Kirstein, Argentina, history; Chris Limburg, Nepal, geography; Jeremy Menchik, Indonesia, political science; Jennifer Miller, Japan, history; Bradley Moore, Czech Republic, history; Carly Schall, Sweden, sociology; Jennifer Skiba, South Korea, English teaching assistantship; Catherine Skroch, Morocco, political science; and Molly Thomasy, Russia, languages and literature.

Receiving Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowships were Matthew Brown, Nigeria/South Africa, languages and literature; Bennett Cross, Nigeria/Mali, history; Nicole Eggers, Democratic Republic of Congo, African history; Joshua Gedacht, Philippines/Indonesia, history; Gwendolyn Kelly, India, anthropology; Jessica Krug, Angola/Brazil, history; Carmen McCain, Nigeria/Niger, African languages and literature; and Melissa Tully, Kenya, mass communication.