The Institute for International Education recently named UW a top producer of Fulbright scholars. The efforts of UW staff and faculty members are key to the scholars’ success, both on-campus and abroad.
In late September, 51 UW faculty and staff members volunteered to serve as Fulbright campus interviewers, providing feedback to 58 UW seniors and graduate students who applied to the Fulbright US student program for next year. The Institute for International Education recently named UW a top producer of Fulbright Scholars.
“The campus selection process demonstrates the wide-ranging resources and research interests available at UW,” say Robin Chang, Marilyn Gray, and Natalia Dyba, UW’s Fulbright advisers. It is just one of many ways that UW contributes to the success of Fulbrighters, abroad and on campus.
“I don’t think there’s another university that would so readily accept a business faculty member in the College of Engineering,” reflects Dr. Yan Cimon, the 2012 – 2013 Fulbright Visiting Chair in Innovation at the UW College of Engineering’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “I benefited greatly from my amazing colleagues and research group at UW… they were instrumental in making my Fulbright year a success.” Dr. Cimon is Associate Professor of Strategy at Université Laval in Quebec, Canada and Deputy Director of CIRRELT, the Interuniversity Research Center on Logistics, Transportation and Enterprise Networks.
While at UW, Dr. Cimon investigated the integration of international value chains through a multi-disciplinary research project. He also collaborated extensively with UW Scholars, including Dr. Anne Goodchild of the College of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “The cross-fertilization of ideas between visiting Fulbright and UW scholars enriches the level of academic scholarship and discourse at the university and makes UW very globally relevant,” he says.
Sam Lim, a UW alumnus and Fulbright US Student Program Fellow to Germany, emphasizes the importance of his UW education in preparing him for his Fulbright fellowship. “My research experiences, particularly the ethnographic research I did with Dr. Taso Lagos during a study abroad program in Greece, allowed me to go on my Fulbright to Germany feeling quite comfortable with my research goals. Another critical aspect of my Fulbright prep work was simply the access I had to UW faculty mentors who helped me shape my research approach.”
As a Fulbright Fellow in Germany, Sam served as an enthusiastic ambassador. “I have great pride in being an American and a UW alumnus. I always seemed to find an opportunity to inform [fellow Fulbrighters and friends in Berlin] that the UW would be a great place for them to further their career. One ended up coming to UW for a summer research opportunity.” Currently completing his Master of Arts in Education Policy at Columbia University’s Teachers College, Sam continued his ambassadorial work when he was selected in 2012 as a Fulbright Alumni Ambassador to assist with Fulbright’s national outreach efforts.
For visiting Fulbrighters and those abroad, UW is an ideal place to prepare for international scholarship and make strong connections with fellow innovators.
