Record-setting 10 CU-Boulder students awarded Fulbright grants

A record-setting 10 University of Colorado Boulder students have received Fulbright grants to pursue teaching, research and graduate studies abroad during the 2011-12 academic year.

CU-Boulder students have received 119 Fulbright grants since 1978, but never 10 in one year, according to the university's Office of International Education.

"Our 10 Fulbright recipients are carrying on the long and proud tradition of CU-Boulder students who have been driven by academic excellence, and by research that serves communities throughout the world," said CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano. "They bring honor to themselves, to CU-Boulder and the nation through their pursuit of the unparalleled Fulbright experience and their wonderful ambassadorial work."

The 2011 CU-Boulder student Fulbright recipients and their destination countries are: Llana Blum, Tajikistan; Lauren Collins, Macau; Catherine Compton, Germany; Ryan Drickey, Sweden; Rachel Fleming, India; Grant Garstka, Bulgaria; Guy Hepp, Mexico; Elaine Hild, Germany; Joseph Knelman, Norway; and Nicholas Williams, Indonesia.

They will study a vast array of subjects, from the work of composer Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel in Germany to the endangered Kula language in Indonesia, plant-soil-microbe interactions in subarctic crops in Norway, and ancient social interactions through archaeological excavations at the La Consentida site in Mexico.

CU-Boulder's Office of International Education also has been selected by the Fulbright program to host a Gateway Orientation Aug. 1-5, providing acclimation activities for international Fulbright students before they head out to campuses throughout the United States. This will be the third year CU-Boulder has hosted the event, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs.

"As a Fulbright Gateway Orientation host, CU-Boulder has an important role as a first point of contact for 60 international students this year," Bell said. "It's gratifying to be a partner of the prestigious Fulbright program and its purpose – to increase mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and other countries – not only through the students we send abroad, but also through the opportunity to welcome students here and set them up for success."

Fulbright students are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more than 155 countries and has sent more than 300,000 students abroad in its 65-year history.

Students interested in applying for the Fulbright program should visit http://www.colorado.edu/OIE/admin/graduate.html. The first application deadline for the 2012 academic year is Sept. 9, 2011.

For program highlights and a list of previous CU-Boulder Fulbright awardees visit http://www.colorado.edu/oie/admin/CUFulbrightHighlights.html.