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Boston College is the eighth-leading producer of Fulbright winners among research universities in the United States, according to statistics released recently by the program.
Twenty-one BC students out of 73 who applied for Fulbrights last fall were awarded the prestigious awards, which support a year’s post-baccalaureate study abroad. That was the eighth highest total among comparative institutions: the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor had the most with 29, followed by Northwestern (27), Yale (26), Stanford and University of Chicago (25 each), University of Washington (24) and Columbia (23). Rounding out the top 10 were Harvard with 20 and Arizona State with 18.
The news was welcomed by the University Fellowship Committee, which assists BC students in competing for Fulbrights and other notable undergraduate and graduate fellowships and scholarships, and was a fitting coda for Slavic and Eastern Languages Professor Margaret Thomas, who stepped down as director of BC’s Fulbright program this past summer after 15 years.
“BC students continuously amaze me with their verve, imagination, cultural openness, willingness to take risks, and dedication to achieving their goals,” said Thomas. “I think the whole faculty take pride in their accomplishments.”
This year’s crop of BC Fulbright scholars are studying in such countries as Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Germany, Korea, Nepal, Spain and Vietnam. The University’s Fulbright winners are teaching English, examining Poland’s efforts to halt human trafficking, exploring Spain’s arts communities, and learning about perceptions of immigration and ethnic heritage in Argentina, among other projects.
Thomas’ successor as Fulbright director, Adjunct Associate Professor of Political Science Paul Christensen, credited BC’s success in producing Fulbright winners as the result several factors.
“It really begins with bright and committed students, and all the faculty that work so hard to prepare them academically to apply for grants like this. We also have great advisors in Eileen Sweeney, Elizabeth Chadwick, Michael Resler and Jim Weiss, who work one on one with the students in developing their applications, and an equally wonderful group of faculty members that help us with the campus interviews.
“This is truly a collective effort, and one that the entire BC community can be proud of,” he said.
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs Donald Hafner noted that the individual tallies for research institutions combines both undergraduate and graduate Fulbrights.
“Because BC has smaller graduate programs than those other institutions, and has very few graduate applicants, in effect BC is competing with undergrads alone against the universities who have both graduate and undergrad applicants.”