Fort Lewis College is a top producer of U.S. Fulbright Scholars

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs recently announced the U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most 2016-2017 Fulbright U.S. Scholars. The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Top-producing institutions are highlighted annually in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Three scholars from Fort Lewis College (FLC) were awarded Fulbright grants for 2016-2017, tied for the most with the U.S. Naval Academy among bachelor’s institutions. The 2016-2017 Fulbright U.S. Scholars from FLC are Justin McBrayer, associate professor of philosophy, who is researching the origins and rationality of religious beliefs in Austria; Ross McCauley, associate professor of biology, studying the evolution of plants in the Galápagos Islands, and Nancy Cardona, associate professor of English, teaching as a roving scholar in American studies in Norway.

“I’m very proud of our quality faculty who could be teaching anywhere in the world, but who chose Fort Lewis College. The Fulbrights are a recognition of the exceptional professors here," says Dr. Dene Thomas, president of Fort Lewis College.

The Fulbright Scholar Program is supported at Fort Lewis College through Dr. Robert Sonora, FLC professor of economics.

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 370,000 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 1,100 U.S. college and university faculty and administrators, professionals, artists, journalists, scientists, lawyers, and independent scholars are awarded Fulbright grants to teach and/or conduct research annually. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program operates in over 125 countries throughout the world. Lists of Fulbright Scholar recipients are available at: www.iie.org/cies.

The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the United States Congress to the Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support.

In the United States, the Institute of International Education’s Council for International Exchange of Scholars administers and coordinates the activities relevant to the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program on behalf of the Department of State, including conducting an annual competition for the scholarships. The Fulbright Program also awards grants to U.S. students and teachers to conduct research and teach overseas. In addition, some 4,000 new foreign Fulbright students and scholars come to the United States annually to study for graduate degrees, conduct research and teach foreign languages.

For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright.