Fulbright Scholars

University Continues as Top School for Fulbrights

February 24, 2017

The University of Portland continues to be one of the top producers of Fulbright awards in the nation among master’s level institutions, according to a study released by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The University tied for third place nationally in student Fulbright awards for the academic year 2016-2017, with six students who have received the prestigious grant to study, conduct research and/or teach English abroad.

The six Fulbright recipients were awarded English Teaching Assistantships (ETAs) to several countries in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America. Currently, two of the Fulbright scholars are teaching English in South Korea. The other four are currently each in positions teaching English in Argentina, Germany, Malaysia, and Mexico. The 2016 Fulbright recipients were Kristen Jakstis ’16 (Germany), Erin Nishijima ’16 (South Korea), Jonathan Squires ’13 (South Korea), Katherine Lord ’16 (Malaysia), Taylor Zehren ’16 (Argentina), and Josefina Duran-Martinez ’16 (Mexico).

The University of Portland continually ranks in the top tier of all master’s level institutions. Since 2001, students from the University have earned 58 Fulbright grants.

The United States Fulbright program began after World War II to “assist in the development of friendly, sympathetic and peaceful relations between the United States and other countries of the world” through the exchange of students, scholars and professionals. The program operates in more than 160 countries worldwide. Since its establishment in 1946 by the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has given over 360,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, scientists and other professionals the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

For more information on the University’s ranking, please go to this link. For further information about the Fulbright Program, please visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright.

New UP Fulbright Winner: Taylor Zehren ’16

September 16, 2016

zehren Taylor Zehren, a recent graduate with double majors in biology and Spanish, has been offered a Fulbright Grant to Argentina, according to John Orr, assistant provost. Taylor was an alternate for the Argentina grant, and is the first UP student to win a Fulbright to that country.

The University now has a total of five student Fulbright grants. Originally there were seven finalists (the Fulbright term for winner), but one of UP’s Germany English Teaching Assistants declined the Fulbright to accept an Austrian Government Teaching Award. Emily Dovel ’16, who was awarded a Fulbright to Turkey, will not be going since the U.S. State Department cancelled all Fulbrights to that country, given the anti-American sentiment that has arisen since the recent failed coup.

For more information contact Orr at orr@up.edu.

Six Students, One Alumnus Latest UP Fulbright Scholars

April 29, 2016

Orr copy Six students and one alumnus have been awarded prestigious 2016 Fulbright grants to work and study abroad. Caroline Harpster ’16 (Germany), Kristen Jakstis ’16 (Germany), Erin Nishijima ’16 (South Korea), Jonathan Squires ’13 (South Korea), Katherine Lord ’16 (Malaysia), Josefina Duran-Martinez ’16 (Mexico), and Emily Dovel ’16 (Turkey) have been awarded English Teaching Assistantships to countries in Europe, Asia and Mexico.

The University is among only 14 institutions in the country with the highest number of both students and faculty to receive U.S. Fulbright grants.

For more information contact John Orr, assistant provost, at x7286 or orr@up.edu.

Fulbright Candidates Wanted

March 18, 2016

Orr copy Faculty members are encouraged to send the names of ambitious and talented rising seniors who would benefit from a year of study, research, or teaching English abroad after graduation to the fellowships and grants office, according to John Orr, assistant to the provost. Students will be contacted and given assistance in starting the Fulbright application process over the summer so that their files can be finalized at the start of the fall semester. For more information or to pass along names, send an e-mail to scholars@up.edu or call 7857.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program currently awards approximately 1,900 grants annually in all fields of study, and operates in more than 140 countries worldwide. For more information go to http://us.fulbrightonline.org/.

Six UP Students Awarded Fulbright Grants

April 6, 2015

Six University of Portland students have been awarded prestigious Fulbright grants to work and study abroad. Four of the Fulbrights are for English teaching positions in Germany, one is for an English teaching position in Turkey, and the other is for an English teaching position in Mexico.

Recipients of the German teaching grants are Megan Lester, an English and German studies double-major from Veradale, Wash.; Erin Petersen, an organizational communication and German studies double-major from Sioux Falls, S.D.; Mikayla Posey, a communication and German studies double-major from Kingman, Ariz.; and Michelle Wilcox, a history and German studies double-major from Folsom, Calif. The recipient of the Turkish teaching grant is Rebecca Parks, an English major from Pittsburgh, Pa., and the recipient of the Mexican teaching grant is Megan Fitzgerald, an elementary education major from Hillsboro, Ore.

The University was ranked first nationally among its peers for Fulbright recipients in 2012-13, 2011-12, 2010-11 and 2007-08, and second nationally in 2009-10, 2008-09 and 2006-07. Since 2001, 54 students from University of Portland have earned Fulbright grants.

The United States Fulbright program began in 1946 after World War II to “assist in the development of friendly, sympathetic and peaceful relations between the United States and other countries of the world” through the exchange of students, scholars and professionals. The program operates in more than 140 countries worldwide.

For more information contact John Orr, assistant to the provost, at 7286 or orr@up.edu.

Students, Alumni Win Grants and Scholarships

April 28, 2014

Several University of Portland alumni and students recently were awarded prestigious grants and scholarships from organizations across the world. The University provides opportunities for students to apply for and receive a wide variety of grants and scholarships that encourage further scholarship, cross-cultural learning, leadership, and community service. In addition to two Fulbright Scholarships won by a current UP student and an alumna in 2014, other notable awards include a Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship, an NCIIA/Epicenter Engineering University Innovation Fellows program recipient, a NIH Postbac training program recipient, and a National Science Foundation graduate school grant. The University previously announced Truman Scholarship recipient Sarah Donohoe, Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship winner Sarah Letendre, and NCIIA/Epicenter Engineering University Innovation Fellows program recipient Kevin Bastien.

Fulbright Scholarships were awarded to senior Cerice Keller, double major in English and German studies, and a 2009 alumna who has been selected to study in Ireland. Keller received an English teaching assistantship to Germany. Since 2001, students from University of Portland have earned 48 Fulbright grants. The University has been a leader among its peer institutions in producing Fulbright scholars for several years, ranking first nationally in 2012-13, 2011-12, 2010-11, 2007-08; second nationally in 2009-10, 2008-09, 2006-07; and third nationally 2013-14.

Clarie Couch, a senior biology major, has been accepted into a NIH Postbac Training Program. Couch’s project will involve genetic characterization and vaccine development for chlamydia. Couch will be working at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana. Last year, Couch was a recipient of a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship.

James Gaynor, a senior chemistry major, has been awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Student Grant. Gaynor will be attending the University of Washington in the fall. Last year, Gaynor was a recipient of a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship.

For more information about scholarship opportunities available to University of Portland students, please visit the website for the Office of Fellowships and Grants at http://www.up.edu/fellowships/.

Larson, Hiro Receive Fulbright U.S. Scholar Grants for 2014-2015

March 24, 2014

University professors Lars Erik Larson and Molly Hiro have been selected to receive Fulbright U.S. Scholar Teaching Grants to India for the 2014-2015 academic year. Larson and Hiro are both English professors at the University, and a married couple as well. They joined the faculty in 2005. Larson and Hiro anticipate that they will serve for one semester at a university or set of universities in India, possibly New Delhi. The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board will inform them of their destination at a later date.

Hiro was an award-winning teacher at UCLA before coming to UP, and currently serves as chair of the English department. Her academic areas of expertise include African-American writers, American women writers, multi-ethnic American literature, American literature and social change, nineteenth-century American literature, and American modernism.

Larson also taught at UCLA before coming to Portland, and his academic interests include twentieth-century American literature, nineteenth-century American literature, western American literature, literature and the visual arts, cultural geography, literature of the environment, and spatiality nonfiction. He received the University of Portland Faculty Outstanding Teaching Award in 2013.

Since 1996, there have been a total of 13 Faculty Fulbrights awarded to professors at the University of Portland, including business professor Arjun Chatrath in 2005; English professor John McDonald, education professor Blaine Ackley, and business professors Richard Gritta and Mark Meckler in 2007; and biology professor Katie O’Reilly in 2012.

For more information contact Molly Hiro, English, at hiro@up.edu.