Claremont McKenna College has been named to a list of top Fulbright Scholar producing institutions for 2012-2013.
The acclimation was published in the Oct. 28 online edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education, a leading source of news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty members and administrators based in Washington, D.C.
Danica Fisher, assistant director for fellowships at CMC’s Center for Global Research, the recognition is timely. “Last year’s Fulbright applicant pool was the largest in CMC history (36 applicants),” she said, “and the number of award recipients––nine––was the most the college has ever had.”
Fisher acknowledged that the honor is exciting for CMC and proves what many already know about the student body—that they are nationally competitive, intellectually curious, and globally engaged.
“It places us among an elite cadre of institutions that are sending students into the world as ambassadors not only for the US Fulbright Student program, but also for their respective colleges and universities,” she said.
“The success CMC students have in winning Fulbright grants is a testament to not only their intelligence, enthusiasm, and dedication, but to the breadth and depth of their CMC educations,” adds Lee Skinner, Fulbright student program adviser and associate professor of Spanish at Claremont McKenna. “Our Fulbright-winning students combine an extraordinarily rigorous academic and intellectual preparation in the liberal arts with a strong commitment to understanding their roles as global citizens, and to improving the many communities which they inhabit. It is gratifying that the Fulbright selection committees recognize this.”
In a letter to President Gann, Allan E. Goodman, president and chief executive officer of the Institute of International Education, commended Skinner for her tireless work to ensure the program’s success at CMC.
It is a sentiment echoed by Fisher: “I think the success that CMC experienced last year was due in large part to the leadership of Lee Skinner and her commitment to working collaboratively with students and faculty from across disciplines, consultants and staff from the Center for Writing and Public Discourse, and the Fellowships Office in the Center for Global Education.
“Professor Skinner,å“ Fisher says, "has built a robust program of Fulbright preparation activities that includes an information session, writing workshops, and applicant interviews with faculty members. Because of this, our students are more educated about the Fulbright program and have a tremendous amount of resources and support available to them as they prepare applications.”
Currently, CMC is in a new cycle of applications for 2013-2014 Fulbright Scholarships, with applicants soon to find out who will move on to the next round of consideration.
The names of Fulbright Scholarship winners for 2013-2014 will be announced in spring, as they become available.