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Furman’s Fulbright Four


Last updated June 3, 2016

By Tina Underwood

Four 2016 Furman University graduates have received Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

With the newly selected 2016-2017 Fulbright winners, Furman has matched its total of four awards received for 2015-2016, which placed the university among the nation’s top 40 “bachelor’s” institutions producing Fulbright winners.

The graduates are among over 1,900 U.S. citizens who will teach, conduct research, and provide expertise abroad for the 2016-2017 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement as well as record of service and demonstrated leadership in their respective fields. The recipients are:

Elias Eells (Crestwood, Ky.). Eells is a Classics major who graduated magna cum laude. Eells will be researching at the University of Leiden (the Netherlands) as part of a project entitled “Collaborative Digital Documentation and Analysis of Ancient Texts.” He is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Tracy D. Eells of Crestwood, Ky.

Kelly Rae (Greenville). Rae, who graduated magna cum laude as an education major, has received an English Teaching Assistantship to educate local elementary school children in Kinmen, Taiwan as part of a project to encourage language and cultural exchange. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph E. Rae of Greenville.

Julia Roberts (Boone, N.C.). Roberts received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant to Laos where she will be assigned to a local university to work with Laotian students as an English Teaching Assistant. Graduating summa cum laude in political science, she is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gary M. Roberts of Boone, N.C.

Samantha (Sami) Strickland (Greenville).  Graduating magna cum laude in political science and history, Strickland will be researching at the University of Leipzig (Germany) as part of a project entitled “Digital Athenaeus.” She is the daughter of Ms. Maggie P. Milat of Greenville.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to build relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries that are needed to solve global challenges. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Fulbright Program’s establishment in 1946 under legislation introduced by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. Since then, the Program has given more than 360,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Fulbrighters address critical global challenges – from sustainable energy and climate change to public health and food security – in all areas, while building relationships, knowledge, and leadership in support of the long-term interests of the United States and the world. Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many fields, including 54 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 82 who have received Pulitzer Prizes, and 33 who have served as a head of state or government.

Fulbright recipients are among over 50,000 individuals participating in U.S. Department of State exchange programs each year. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is administered by the Institute of International Education.

For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State, visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright, or contact the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Press Office at (202) 632-6452 or e-mail ECA-Press@state.gov.

For further information about the Furman honorees, contact the Furman News and Information office at (864) 294-3107.

 

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