Fordham University has set a school record for the number of students receiving Fulbright Fellowships. For the 2007-2008 academic year, eight current and former students received the prestigious fellowships, breaking the previous record of seven.
The fellowships, which are funded by the U.S. Department of State, went to five students who were completing their graduate studies and have since graduated, two undergraduates and one alumna.
The Fulbright program is a highly competitive international study and exchange program that seeks to build intellectual and cultural relationships between the United States and other countries.
“A Fulbright year is very important in a student’s development, whether they are conducting dissertation research or preparing for careers in economic development or international affairs,” said Regina Plunkett-Dowling, Ph.D., associate director of the University’s Saint Edmund Campion Institute for the Advancement of Intellectual Excellence. “These eight awards can be attributed to a lot of hard work among the students, combined with excellent advice and support from their faculty mentors.”
The eight student fellowships were among 1,400 awarded nationally for the 2007-2008 academic year. Receiving Fulbright awards were:
Sarah E. Fetterhoff (FCRH ’07), who has received an English teaching assistantship to Germany;
Christina M. Gonzalez (FCLC ’06), who will travel to New Zealand to analyze the impact of governmental policies on Maori groups in urban centers;
Margaret M. Hargrave (FCRH ’07), who will travel to Bolivia to research the role of Quechua market women in the sale of traditional medicines;
Kevin A. Komoroski (GSAS ’07, International Political Economy and Development), who will travel to China to study Chinese trade patterns with Western Asia;
Ken Mondschein (Ph.D. candidate in history), who will travel to France to analyze the impact of medieval liturgies on the development of Western ideas of time;
Matthew S. Pavone (GSAS ’07, International Political Economy and Development), who will travel to Italy to study its southern agricultural community and the central banking system;
Anna Polanski (FCRH ’04, Ph.D. candidate in economics), who will travel to Germany to examine the effects of private equity financing on the nation’s economy; and
William Verzani (GSAS ’07, International Political Economy and Development), who has received an English teaching assistantship in Indonesia.
In all, 26 Fordham students applied for the fellowship program, which operates in 140 countries. Students receive round-trip transportation to their countries and a monthly living stipend.
Sarah Fetterhoff said she hopes to present a positive image of Americans while she is in Europe, and to broaden her understanding of world cultures.
“Both my professors and the Campion Institute staff were a tremendous help throughout the whole application process,” she said. “I owe my fellowship in large part to my experiences at Fordham and living in the Bronx. Both have inspired me to bring an open mind and heart to my time in Germany.”
The Fulbright Program also offers opportunities for post-doctorate and foreign exchange study. In 2006, it awarded approximately 6,000 grants worth more than $235 million to U.S. students, teachers, professionals, scholars, and to their foreign counterparts.
