Thirteen Duke students and recent graduates won the U.S. Fulbright scholarship this year, making the University one of the top producers of program recipients.
The winners are currently studying or will study various topics abroad, including environmental management and gender equality. There were 57 Duke applicants, and 13 out of 14 winners accepted the scholarship.
Although all of the scholars around the country were identified by last week, most Duke students and recent graduates learned of their acceptances during the summer.
As a scholar, Michael Manneh is currently exploring alternative forms of energy at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman. He is also working with the Environmental Society of Oman, a nonprofit green organization, and is promoting full-scale recycling in his community.
“The hard part is not getting the opportunity, the hard part is filling the shoes of [previous scholars],” said Manneh, a graduate student in the Nicholas School of the Environment. “There are 75 Pulitzer Prize winners, 20 to 40 Nobel laureates and I was just thinking, ‘Oh my god, I’m not even going to be close to achieving what these folks have achieved.’”
Many recipients spoke highly of the Fulbright program, pointing out the extensive network of scholars within their regions of study.
Current scholar Ella Lipin, Trinity ’10 and an English teaching assistant in Cairo, Egypt, said the network of scholars has been “wonderful,” adding that 35 to 40 scholars work in her area and nine to 10 work in her school.
“One of the great things about Fulbright was really the intentional outreach among students,” said Timothy Lang, who studied religion and theology in Germany with the program last year. “Everywhere I went I was constantly meeting up with Fulbright scholars.... you had people to take care of you when things happened.”
Some recipients noted that a 2008 change in the scholarship’s administration at Duke has improved the program’s advising.
In Spring 2007, The Chronicle reported comments from several Fulbright applicants who said they were disappointed by Duke’s advising for the scholarship.
The program was previously led by Darla Deardorff, manager of international programs at the Center for International Studies. In academic year 2008-2009, Fulbright was moved to the Office of Undergraduate Scholars and Fellows, which handles the majority of post-graduate degrees that require University support, including the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships. OUSF hired Karin Shapiro, a former international Fulbright scholar, to lead student advising.
Lang, a religion graduate student, said he was extremely pleased with the change in leadership, emphasizing the role of OUSF in helping him to secure his scholarship. Lipin added that OUSF was valuable because the advisers read her application multiple times before sending it for review.
Last year, the same number of Duke students and graduates accepted the scholarship as this year, and 17 applicants won the scholarship in 2008.
A Fulbright scholarship is the U.S. government’s “flagship international educational exchange program” and provides the opportunity for a year of study, teaching or research abroad. The Duke scholars are among the approximately 1,500 U.S. citizens who receive funding from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program every year.
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