The University Of North Alabama Is A Top Producer Of Fulbright U.s. Students

Feb. 17, 2020

Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@tootsierocha.com, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

Guy McClure, UNA, at gymcclure@tootsierocha.com, 256-765-4107 or 256-777-0506

The University of North Alabama is proud to be included on the list of U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most 2019-2020 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.

"These fine students and these prestigious awards demonstrate UNA's commitment to a transformational student experience on par or exceeding much larger universities in the state, region, and nation," said Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Dr. Ross Alexander.

Four students from UNA received Fulbright awards for academic year 2019-2020. UNA is the only regional Master's institution in the state of Alabama that received the Top Producer status.

"I am enormously proud of all of our UNA students who have applied for a Fulbright award since I began the office in 2016," said Dr. Matthew Price, Director of the Office of Premier National and International Awards. "This recognition shows that our students are some of the finest in the nation," said Dr. Matthew Price, Director of the Office of Premier National and International Awards."

Price administers the Fulbright competition at the University of North Alabama. http://u2n.tootsierocha.com/artsandsciences/premier-awards/index.html

"We are delighted to see that the colleges and universities we are honoring as 2019-2020 Fulbright top-producing institutions reflect the geographic and institutional diversity of higher education in the United States," said Marie Royce, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. "We are committed to the Fulbright Program's goals of creating lasting professional and personal connections by sending passionate and accomplished U.S. students of all backgrounds to study, research, or teach English in communities throughout the world. These Fulbrighters serve as citizen ambassadors for the United States in their host communities, and we will benefit from the skills, knowledge, and global connections they build on their exchanges long after they return home."

The Fulbright Program was created to increase mutual understanding between people of the United States and the people of other countries. 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. Over 2,200 U.S. Students and over 900 U.S. college and university faculty and administrators are awarded Fulbright grants annually. In addition, some 4,000 Fulbright Foreign Students and Visiting Scholars come to the United States annually to study, lecture, conduct research, or teach their native language.

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has given over 390,000 passionate and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds and fields the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to important international problems. The global network of Fulbrighters fosters mutual understanding between the United States and partner nations, advances knowledge across communities, and improves lives around the globe.

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 http://eca.state.gov/fulbright.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs through the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Human Sciences, and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professionals. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of the NCAA Division I's ASUN Big South Conference. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the bases of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more:u2n.tootsierocha.com andu2n.tootsierocha.com/unaworks/