JMU named top producer of Fulbright U.S. students

Harrisonburg, Virginia  — Today, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs named James Madison University a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for U.S. Students. This recognition is given to the U.S. colleges and universities that received the highest number of applicants selected for the 2022-23 Fulbright U.S. Student Program.  Eleven JMU students and alumni were offered entry to the program and seven accepted for academic year 2022-2023.

James Madison University Fulbright U.S. student grantees are currently abroad in Taiwan, Spain, Czech Republic, Germany and Mozambique.

Fulbright is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. It is also among largest and most diverse exchange programs in the world.  Since its inception in 1946, more than 400,000 participants from all backgrounds and fields – including recent university graduates, teachers, scientists, researchers, artists, and others, from the United States and over 160 other countries – have participated in the Fulbright Program.  Fulbright alumni have returned to their home countries to make an impact on their communities thanks to their expanded worldview, a deep appreciation for their host country and its people, and a larger network of colleagues and friends.  

“Congratulations to our Fulbright applicants and recipients. We’re proud to see these students and alumni being the change around the globe, pursuing the engaged learning that is so central to the JMU experience,” said JMU President Jonathan Alger. 

“On behalf of President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken, congratulations to the colleges and universities recognized as 2022-2023 Fulbright Top Producing Institutions, and to all the applicants who were selected for the Fulbright Program this year,” said Lee Satterfield, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.

“Thanks to the visionary leadership of these institutions, administrators, and advisors, a new generation of Fulbrighters – changemakers, as I like to say – will catalyze lasting impact on their campus, in their communities, and around the world.” 

The Fulbright competition is administered at JMU through the Office of Student Awards, Initiatives and Research (STAIR) 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. While 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, it benefits from additional support from foreign partner governments, non-governmental organizations, private organizations, corporate partnerships, and individual donors. Importantly, U.S. and foreign host institutions provide support as well. 

Fulbright alumni work to make a positive impact on their communities, sectors, and the world and have included 41 heads of state or government, 62 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 78 MacArthur Fellows, and countless leaders and changemakers who carry forward the Fulbright mission of enhancing mutual understanding.  

For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit https://fulbrightprogram.org/ 

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