ASU named Fulbright HSI Leader for third year
Photo by Deanna Dent/ASU
For the third year in a row, Arizona State University has been named as a Fulbright HSI (Hispanic-Serving Institution) Leader.
The designation, from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, recognizes ASU’s achievement in two areas — service to the Hispanic community and success in placing faculty and students into the prestigious Fulbright program, in which they can study, teach or conduct research abroad.
ASU is one of 28 doctoral-granting institutions nationwide to receive the designation, along with the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University. In all, 50 institutions were recognized.
ASU was designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution in June 2022 and has been named a Fulbright HSI Leader every year since. The HSI honor recognizes that ASU has an enrollment of Hispanic undergraduate students that is at least 25% of the overall student body — plus a commitment to financial and academic support programs, K–12 outreach programs and resources for the broader community. Examples include El Concilio, an umbrella for more than 20 Hispanic student organizations; the Hispanic Research Center; and the Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program, which reaches out to middle and high school students and their families.
Earlier this year, ASU was designated a "top producing institution" overall of both Fulbright U.S. Scholars, which is for faculty, and Fulbright U.S. Students. For the 2023–24 academic year among doctoral-granting institutions, ASU ranked sixth overall for faculty awards, with eight awardees, and 21st overall for student awards, with 16 awardees. Of all public universities, ASU ranked fifth.
The Fulbright program, the U.S. government's flagship international academic exchange program, was created in 1946 to increase mutual understanding between Americans and the people of other countries.
“One of the wonderful things about Fulbright and why it aligns so well with ASU and why we’ve had such tremendous success is that the Fulbright mission of inclusion matches the ASU Charter,” said Kyle Mox, associate dean of national scholarship advisement in the Lorraine W. Frank Office of National Scholarships Advisement (ONSA) at ASU.
“Given our demographics, just by encouraging our students to apply, we provide Fulbright with a broad range of backgrounds and life stories and types of students. This is recognition of how well we’re helping to contribute to the larger mission that Fulbright has.”
Nancy Gonzales, ASU executive vice president and university provost, said, “As a global research university with a charter that calls on us to make positive impact in the communities we serve, it is vital that all members of our academic community engage beyond the U.S. to share knowledge and pursue solutions.
“Being recognized for the third straight year as a Fulbright HSI Leader demonstrates our ongoing commitment to promote global exchange and scholarship opportunities for students and scholars who have historically been underrepresented in this critical higher-education experience.”
ASU supports both students and faculty members during the Fulbright application process. ONSA provides information sessions, workshops and interview preparation for students.
“It’s a very long application process, and many begin in April or May and submit at the beginning of October,” Mox said. “We keep students on course with doing multiple drafts and working hard to get letters of recommendation and writing detailed proposals.
“We’re here in the summer working to keep our students supported.”
Faculty members get help from Karen Engler-Weber, program director in the Office of the University Provost and ASU’s liaison to the Fulbright Scholar and Specialist programs.
She works with faculty to identify which award to pursue, then mentors them as they conceptualize their project proposal, and finally reviews their application materials, including multiple drafts of project or teaching statements, plus letters of recommendation.
“The work of the ASU Fulbright office and ONSA not only seeks to support ASU’s success in the Fulbright programs, but also to support ASU’s charter and commitment to inclusive excellence,” she said.
“The Fulbright HSI recognition is twofold: It reflects our efforts in supporting an applicant pool that is representative of our ASU community, ensuring that everyone sees themselves as a potential Fulbrighter — at the same time, we are recognized for our efforts in providing a welcoming campus where students and faculty from abroad are supported and embedded into our community.
“There is always more work to be done, but ASU is leading the way.”
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