The University of South Florida is again a top producer nationally for the highly
competitive Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program for the 2024-25 academic year. This is the ninth time over the last decade USF has
been named a top producer – rankings here.
Recipients of Fulbright awards earn the opportunity to teach and conduct research
abroad with the goal of cultivating mutual understanding between the United States
and other countries. The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural
Affairs administers the program.
USF’s Fulbright Scholars represent a variety of academic disciplines, including economics,
information sciences and engineering. Their research endeavors took them to Taiwan,
France, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Maldives and Japan.
“The University of South Florida is proud to be recognized as one of the nation’s
top institutions for producing Fulbright Scholars,” USF President Rhea Law said. “Our
faculty and administrators who participate in the Fulbright program are enhancing
USF’s impact across the world as they make important contributions to our university’s
global research, learning and engagement activities.”
Through their international engagement, Fulbright Scholars gain new insights and experiences
that can be integrated into their research endeavors as well as into the courses they
teach at USF. Fulbright recipients also establish global partnerships that last long
beyond their time in-country and provide additional benefits for USF through opportunities
for the exchange of ideas, research collaboration, and faculty and student mobility.
“USF is consistently ranked among the nation’s top producers of faculty Fulbright
Scholars,” said Kiki Caruson, Vice President for USF World.
“The Fulbright program offers faculty from USF, and from abroad, the opportunity to
collaborate on cutting-edge research with peers from around the world,” Provost Prasant
Mohapatra said. “Because a strong partnership is at the heart of every Fulbright exchange,
the relationships established endure and grow into sustainable networks of researchers.”
The Fulbright program is the U.S. government’s flagship international academic exchange
program. Since 1946, it has provided more than 400,000 talented and accomplished students,
scholars, teachers, artists and professionals of all backgrounds with the opportunity
to study, teach and conduct research abroad. The Fulbright program awards approximately
8,000 merit-based grants every year to accomplished students, scholars, teachers,
artists, and professionals of all backgrounds and fields.
“USF is consistently ranked among the nation’s top producers of faculty Fulbright
Scholars,” said Kiki Caruson, Vice President for USF World. “We take great pride in
celebrating the contributions of our Fulbright Scholars especially when they bring
global learning back to USF. Their continued engagement with their host institutions
abroad plays a vital role in research outcomes and novel educational experiences for
our students including those that leverage technology to connect our students with
their peers around the world virtually.”
From the USF College of Engineering, Associate Professor Mauricio Arias traveled to
National Autonomous University of Mexico and Professor Ji-En Chang traveled to National
Taiwan University to conduct research on water and environmental quality and privacy
issues in machine learning respectively.
Murat Munkin, associate professor of economics, traveled to Kazakhstan to study how
private medical insurance can potentially change the country’s healthcare system and
affect access to quality medical services and preventative care.
Loni Hagen, associate professor of data science, traveled to Japan to conduct research
on human supervision of artificial intelligence at the University of Tsukuba.
USF St. Petersburg Regional Chancellor Christian Hardigree was selected to participate in the Fulbright International Education Administrators
Program in France.
Associate Professor Charles Vanover, who studies educational leadership and policy,
is the inaugural Fulbright scholar to Villa College in Malé, Maldives, where he taught
qualitative methods and continuous improvement. He was officially welcomed to the
college in a formal ceremony.
For more information about the Fulbright program at USF, visit the USF World Faculty Fulbright website.
