SU Again Named Among Nation's Top Fulbright Student Producers

SALISBURY, MD---Salisbury University has been named among the nation’s top producers of Fulbright Students by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for the fourth year in a row.

The Fulbright is the country’s flagship international exchange program. Top-producing campuses were highlighted in The Chronicle of Higher Education. For the 2020-21 academic year, SU tied for the fourth highest number of Fulbright Students produced by master’s-level institutions in the U.S.

SU Fulbright recipients during that academic year were recent graduates John Bunke ’20; Austin Dabbs ’20; Mia Dikos ’20; Lydia Narum ’20; Sam Stevens B.S. ’18, M.A. ’20; and Gabrielle Voithofer ’20. They represented SU’s largest Fulbright Student class to date.

“In the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us a lot about the importance of connections, both locally and globally,” said Dr. Karen Olmstead, SU provost and senior vice president of academic affairs. “Fulbright awards provide opportunities for our students to make connections internationally while receiving unique and powerful learning experiences. We are proud to be among the nation’s top producers of students selected for this prestigious honor for the fourth consecutive year.”

Bunke, an international studies major from Silver Spring, MD, was awarded an English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) in Azerbaijan.

Dabbs, a chemistry and interdisciplinary studies major and Glenda Chatham and Robert G. Clarke Honors College student from Columbia, MD, earned a research award to develop a new lateral flow assay (LFA) at the University of Regensberg, Germany.

Dikos, a psychology major and Clarke Honors College student from Timonium, MD, received an ETA in Spain.

Narum, a biology major from Montgomery Village, MD, earned an ETA in the Slovak Republic.

Voithofer, a biology and psychology major and Clarke Honors College student from California, MD, received a research award to study a model of human McArdle’s disease, a metabolic muscular disorder, in zebrafish at the University of Wroclaw, Poland.

Stevens, of Queenstown, MD, earned his B.A. and M.A. in history at SU and was a member of the Clarke Honors College. He earned an award to conduct research in Hungary on the country’s history under Ottoman rule during the Long Turkish War of 1593-1606.

“The commitment of our students continues to amaze,” said Dr. Kristen Walton, director of SU’s Nationally Competitive Fellowships Office, which provides mentorship and support to applicants. “SU remains among the top 10 master’s-level institutions nationally for its number of Fulbright students, and we continue to be the only master’s-level campus in the University System of Maryland spotlighted in The Chronicle.”

SU has had 21 Fulbright Students since its first in 2012. Fifteen SU students are Fulbright semifinalists for 2021-22. More than 60 SU students have won national and international fellowships, scholarships and awards in the past eight years.

SU also has a long history of faculty, administrator and alumni Fulbrighters, and has twice been among the nation’s top producers of those awards.

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 390,000 participants with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Some 1,900 U.S. students are offered Fulbrights annually. The program operates in over 140 countries.

SU students or alumni who are interested in applying for any fellowships may contact Walton for assistance. For more information visit the SU Nationally Competitive Fellowships Office webpage.