WKU again makes list of top Fulbright producers

For the third time and the second consecutive year, WKU has been named a top Fulbright-producing institution.

With five student grantees for 2015-16, WKU tied at fifth in the nation among master’s degree-granting institutions. The lists were reported Monday (Feb. 22) in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

WKU’s five grantees are:

• Erin Asher of Louisville, a 2015 graduate in international business and economics and the Honors College at WKU. She is using her Fulbright to pursue a master’s degree in spatial, transport and environmental economics at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
• Sarah Fox of Russellville, a 2015 graduate in music and history and the Honors College at WKU. She is studying for a master’s degree in music, choral conducting pathway, at the University of Birmingham in England.
• Lindsey Houchin of Bowling Green, a 2011 WKU graduate and current graduate student in English. She was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Croatia.
• Kayla Sweeney of Somerset, a 2015 graduate in English for secondary teachers and the Honors College at WKU. She was awarded a Fulbright ETA to Malaysia.
• Rebecca Thieman of Louisville, a 2014 graduate in psychology and English and the Honors College at WKU. She was awarded a Fulbright ETA to Malta.

“Once again WKU leads the way in the academic achievements of our students,” WKU President Gary Ransdell said. “A Fulbright success rate of 20 percent (25 applicants, five awards) is a great testament to the ability of WKU students and the mentoring of WKU faculty. Given the international dimension of the Fulbright awards, it is also a strong indication of WKU’s international reach.”

Melinda Grimsley-Smith, WKU’s Fulbright Program Advisor, said: “The Fulbright U.S. Student program gives graduating seniors and recent graduates the opportunity to do something amazing—almost anything, almost anywhere, for a year. If they can dream up a way to contribute to mutual understanding between Americans and people in other countries, Fulbright can fund it. Working with our applicants is rewarding in every way imaginable.”

The Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program, is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State. The largest international exchange program in the United States, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program awarded about 1,800 grants annually to fund an academic year of study, research, or English teaching in one of about 140 countries worldwide last year. In each of the past two years, more than 10,000 graduating seniors and recent graduates applied nationwide. Grantees are selected on the basis of academic merit, leadership potential, and demonstrated ability to serve as cultural ambassadors for the United States while abroad.

About the Office of Scholar Development: The Office of Scholar Development is committed to helping WKU students in all majors and degree programs develop the vision, experience and skills to be independent, engaged scholars. OSD welcomes the opportunity to work with students interested in national or international scholarships.

Contact: Melinda Grimsley-Smith, (270) 745-5043