Old Main in the spring on Penn State's University Park campus.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Fifteen Penn State faculty have received Fulbright Scholar Awards for the 2022-23 academic year, according to the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program, the U.S. government's flagship international educational exchange program.
Administered by the Institute of International Education, Fulbright Scholar Awards are prestigious and competitive fellowships that provide unique opportunities for scholars to teach and conduct research abroad.
The program gives Penn State faculty members, staff and administrators the opportunity to conduct advanced research, teach or do both, as well as attend seminars abroad. The program also affords recipients the opportunity to interact with, and make an impact on, their host communities during their Fulbright tenure. The Fulbright program plays a critical role in U.S. cultural diplomacy, establishing long-term relationships between recipients and their international collaborators in host institutions and countries around the globe.
“The Fulbright program stretches the conventions of traditional learning; it broadens our perspectives and makes us better in what we do,” said Sylvester Osagie, Penn State Global director of Sub-Saharan Africa Engagement and University Faculty Fulbright adviser. “Fulbright scholars leverage their connections in their host institutions for their own professional development, and for the benefit of their students and their programs here at Penn State.”
Penn State’s Fulbright recipients for the 2022-23 awards cycle, and their host countries, are:
- Eliyana Adler, associate professor of history and Jewish studies, University Park — Fulbright Global Scholar Program— Host countries: Poland and Argentina
- Thomas Boothby, professor of architectural engineering, University Park — Host country: France
- Jose Fuentes, professor of meteorology, University Park — Host country: Brazil
- Elizabeth Kadetsky, associate professor of creative writing, University Park — Host country: India
- Aaron Knochel, associate professor of art education, University Park — Host country: Norway
- Akhil Kumar, professor of supply chain and information systems, University Park — Host country: Australia
- Dongwon Lee, professor of information sciences and technology, University Park — Host country: United Kingdom
- Paul Marriott, associate professor of landscape architecture, University Park — Host country: United Kingdom
- Mark Patzkowsky, professor of geosciences, University Park — Host country: Germany
- Senel Poyrazli, professor of psychology, Penn State Harrisburg — Host country: Turkey
- David Witwer, professor of American studies, Penn State Harrisburg – Host country: Finland
- Hui Yang, professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering, University Park — Host country: Finland
- Travis Young, doctoral graduate student in geography, University Park — Host country: Australia
- Ludmil Zikatanov, professor of mathematics, University Park — Host country: Norway
- Karl Zimmerer, E. Willard and Ruby S. Miller Professor of Environment and Society Geography, University Park — Host country: Peru
“The Fulbright program is highly competitive and selective, recognizing the importance of connecting outstanding U.S. based scholars with their colleagues around the world,” said Roger Brindley, vice provost for Penn State Global. “This preeminent model of people-to-people diplomacy is arguably more important today than at any time over its 76-year history, and I congratulate the faculty and staff at our globally engaged, land-grant university for consistently committing to the Fulbright vision. I know that each Penn State Fulbrighter considers their own Fulbright award to be an exemplary part of their career.”
Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright program has provided more than 400,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds and fields the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to important international problems. Alumni include thousands of leaders and world-renowned experts in academia and many other fields across the private, public and non-profit sectors.
75th Anniversary reception and dinner held earlier this spring
More than a hundred Penn State faculty, staff and Fulbright Scholars came together in the Smeal College of Business Atrium on April 8 to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Fulbright Program. The ceremony recognized Penn State faculty and staff, past and present, who have received a Fulbright Award from the Department of State. Read the full story here.
Penn State a top Fulbright Scholar producer for 2021-22
Penn State recently was recognized as a top U.S. producer of faculty Fulbright Scholars for the 2021-22 academic year by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, one of 18 universities to receive such recognition this year. Eight faculty were offered awards for 2021-22, according to the Feb. 28 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Fulbright Scholar Award applications now being accepted for 2023-24
The competition for Fulbright awards for the 2023-24 academic year has been announced, and the deadline for submission is Sept. 15. For more information about the application process, contact Sylvester Osagie at 814-867-4276 or [email protected].
