James Madison University is a top producer of Fulbright students

Harrisonburg, Virginia — James Madison University is proud to be named one of the U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most 2021-2022 Fulbright U.S. Students. Each year the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) announces the top producing institutions for the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government's flagship international educational exchange program. The Chronicle of Higher Education publishes the lists annually.

Four students from JMU received Fulbright awards for academic year 2021-2022.

“Congratulations to our Fulbright applicants and recipients. We’re proud to see these scholars pursue the idea of engaged learning that is so central to the JMU experience, on the global stage,” said JMU President Jonathan Alger. 

“We congratulate the colleges and universities we are honoring as 2021-2022 Fulbright Top Producing Institutions and are especially delighted to celebrate the institutions that achieved this distinction for the first time this year. These institutions reflect the geographic and institutional diversity of higher education in the United States, and include Minority-Serving Institutions” said Ethan Rosenzweig, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Academic Programs in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. “We thank the leadership of these institutions for supporting their faculty advisors and administrators, who are instrumental in guiding their students through the Fulbright application process. We know that U.S. institutions benefit from having their students represent their campus overseas, which often fosters reciprocal exchanges that in turn help further internationalize U.S. campuses.”

The Fulbright competition is administered at JMU through the Office of Fellowships and Awards in Research and Scholarship.

The Fulbright Program was established over 75 years ago to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Fulbright is the world’s largest and most diverse international educational exchange program. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. 

Since its inception in 1946, over 400,000 people from all backgrounds—recent university graduates, teachers, scientists and researchers, artists, and more—have participated in the Fulbright Program and returned to their home countries with an expanded worldview, a deep appreciation for their host country and its people, and a new network of colleagues and friends.

Fulbright alumni work to make a positive impact on their communities, sectors, and the world and have included 40 heads of state or government, 61 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 76 MacArthur Fellows, and countless leaders and changemakers who carry forward the Fulbright mission of enhancing mutual understanding.  

Fulbright is active in more than 160 countries worldwide and partners with participating governments, host institutions, corporations, and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States. Many of these organizations also provide direct and indirect support. ECA sponsors the Fulbright program, and several non-profit, cooperative partners implement and support the program on the Bureau’s behalf. For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit eca.state.gov/fulbright.

###

Contact: Ginny Cramer, cramervm@jmu.edu, 540-568-5325