See http://www.uark.edu/admin/fellows

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - University of Arkansas Fulbright College senior John Hulsey of Heber Springs has been selected as a 2002 Fulbright Scholar.

With the honor, Hulsey will receive approximately $25,000 to study abroad in Austria in the upcoming year.

"One of the real advantages of going to the University of Arkansas is all the support provided by the faculty--everything from help with SILO grant proposal to letters for study abroad opportunities to participating in Stammtisch every Friday night with the German faculty," Hulsey said. "I am looking forward to returning to Austria on the Fulbright and to have the opportunity to learn Serbo-Croatian. I will be working with Professor Josef Marko at Karl-Franzens University to analyze Bosnia and Herzegovina's changing social fabric."

Hulsey will graduate in May with a degree in German, followed by another trip to Austria. Studying abroad is nothing new to Hulsey. He was a recipient of the Elizabeth W. Fulbright Study Abroad Scholarship in 2000-2001, paying for his undergraduate research in Austria, and he traveled to Switzerland as well, where he completed a summer internship. Also in 2000-2001, he was selected as a SILO/SURF Undergraduate Research Fellowship recipient.

"The Fulbright Program was created for students like John Hulsey," said DeDe Long, UA Fulbright Program advisor. "His commitment to international education and scholarship has been demonstrated throughout his undergraduate program as he developed German language fluency, completed a summer internship in Switzerland and prepared himself for research during his junior year abroad in Austria. We are all very proud of his accomplishments and thrilled that he will represent the University of Arkansas as a Fulbright Scholar next year."

The Fulbright Program was established in 1946, at the end of World War II, to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries, through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills.

Its primary source of funding is an annual appropriation made by the United States Department of State, and it answers directly to U.S. Congress on matters relating to the program's annual funding, recruitment and placement policies, and administration locally in the U.S. and in 140 foreign countries.

Senator J. William Fulbright, sponsor of the legislation, saw it as a step toward building an alternative to armed conflict. Today the Fulbright Program is the U.S. Government's premier scholarship program. It enables U.S. students, artists, teachers and other professionals to benefit from unique resources in every corner of the world, and the award pays tuition and living expenses in various countries overseas.

Participating governments and host institutions also contribute financial support through direct cost sharing, as well as through tuition waivers, university housing and other benefits.

Grants are made to citizens of participating countries, primarily for university teaching, advanced research, graduate study, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools.

Past Fulbright Scholars at the U of A include Erica Edwards, International Relations, Belgium, 2000; Katrina Vandenberg, Translation, Netherlands, 1999; Karry Evans, Political Science, Kuwait, 1998; Stephanie Ricker, Teaching Assistant, Germany, 1998; James Frank, Translation, Switzerland, 1993; Anthony Elliott, Research, Belize, 1992; Maya Shastri, Teaching Assistant, Germany, 1992.

"What a great year it has been for Fulbright College students, and the Fulbright Scholarship is one of the highlights," said Randall Woods, dean of Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. "J. William Fulbright's imprint is visible everywhere on this campus from the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences to the Fulbright Institute to the Peace Fountain. His vision has given shape to ours, and it seems appropriate that our students would be successful competing for this national scholarship that is such a far reaching emblem of his goals."

Under policy guidance of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB), the Department of State administers the program in cooperation with binational Fulbright commissions and foundations. The FSB, composed of twelve educational leaders appointed by the president of the United States, within its statutory authority, oversees the Fulbright Program, establishes policies and selection criteria, and selects grantees for awards.

Abroad, the Fulbright Program is administered by the posts in non-commission countries and by binational commissions and foundations in 51 countries that have executive agreements with the United States. In the U.S., the Department of State awards annual administrative grants to the Institute of International Education (IIE) and other cooperating organizations to carry out the work of program promotion, candidate recruitment and institutional placement, and grantee monitoring. IIE assists with the administration of Fulbright grants for graduate study, while other Fulbright components are handled by other cooperating agencies.

IIE is a private, not-for-profit, non-government organization, founded in 1919, which assists the Department of State in administering Fulbright grants for graduate study. IIE works cooperatively with the Department of State, the commissions, foundations, and posts overseas and with the U.S. higher education community - to bring new Fulbright grantees to appropriate educational programs in the United States and abroad, to enable them to achieve their objectives, and to assist them in returning home.

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