Claremont McKenna College has been ranked third, nationally, among undergraduate colleges for the number of Fulbright Scholars it produces, according to a national ranking just published by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
In its third-place position, CMC-which was awarded six Fulbrights last year from a pool of 18 CMC applicantsfinished ahead of peer institutions Swarthmore, Vassar, Bowdoin, Amherst, Colgate, and Grinnell colleges, and ahead of neighboring Pomona College, ranked fourth on a list of 25. "As a national award, this ranking indicates that our students are extremely well prepared and competitive in relation to other undergraduate students," says Carrie Chorba, CMC's Fulbright program advisor and a past Fulbright recipient (to Bogota, Columbia, 1989). "Our students are extremely effective at putting together valid and feasible research plans, searching out the resources necessary, and preparing themselves in terms of pertinent language skills and coursework."
In addition to the ranking, The Chronicle's Oct. 22 cover story profiled CMC Fulbright recipient Daniel Rosengard '04, who is teaching English at a South Korean high school (and, according to writer Sara Lipka, has been nicknamed "Mr. Handsome" by his students). The Chronicle reports that Rosengard is the first participant in the Fulbright Teaching Assistantship Program to teach at Dongan High School in Anyang, South Korea, a city of 600,000, about 40 minutes from the capital city of Seoul.
Seven CMC students, including Rosengard, were actually awarded Fulbrights last year and six of those recipients have already accepted the grants and have begun their year of research, study, and teaching abroad. The others all representing the Class of 2004 are: Mitzi Dorland, Elizabeth Jansma, Amanda Johnson, Gene Lee, Brian Taylor, and Lauren Weisskirk. (Full story: http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/pressreleases/article.asp?article_id=366).
"The Fulbright Program supports academically oriented researchers who seek to immerse themselves in local culture and study specific topics abroad," Chorba says.
Sponsored by the U.S. State Department, the Fulbright Program was proposed to the U.S. Congress in 1945 by then freshman Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. In the aftermath of World War II, Senator Fulbright viewed the program as a much-needed vehicle for promoting "mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries of the world." Currently, the Fulbright Program offers opportunities to conduct career-launching study and research in more than 140 nations.
The Chronicle's Fulbright listing numbered CMC just behind second-ranked Smith College (9 recipients of 28 applicants) and first-ranked Wellesley College (10 recipients of 36).