Thirteen Duke students will spend apart of the 2009-10 academic year abroad as Fulbright scholars, making Duke one of the top Fulbright-producing institutions in the country for this year.
Under the Fulbright program, 1, 559 American students in more than 100 different fields of study have been offered grants to study, teach English, and conduct research in over 125 countries throughout the world beginning this fall.
"The Fulbright awards recognize the strong connection between education and global citizenship, which is why Duke students excel in the competition for them," said President Richard H. Brodhead. "We are proud of our students' accomplishments and their promise for the future."
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program equips future American leaders with the skills they need to thrive in an increasingly global environment by providing funding for one academic year of study, research or assistant teaching abroad.
The 13 students put Duke among the top 25 Fulbright-producing institutions for the year. The projects include undergraduate and graduate work in the social sciences, business, communication and performing arts to physical sciences, engineering and education.
The competitive awards traditionally provide exceptional research opportunities for students. Meagan Green Labunski is an art and architectural history doctoral student who is current on a Fulbright in Verona, Italy, studying architecture and pious practice in Verona between 1220 and 1375 A.D.
"My project examines how the mendicant churches of Verona responded to the social, economic and religious structures of the medieval city," Labunski said. "I'm in Verona to explore how these sites were shaped by local pressures and circumstances, such as population distribution, economic practices, religious rituals, and urbanization.
"In doing so, I offer a new reading of Verona's mendicant convents as part of a social process, proposing that these churches and their decoration reflect an intimate link between the friars and local religious and socio-economic institutions, such as the commune, the confraternity and the merchant class."
For more information about the Fulbright Program, contact the Fulbright program adviser, Professor Karin Shapiro, and Associate Director of OUSF Babs Wise at fulbright@duke.edu.
The full list of Duke student winners and their projects are below:
Montie Pitts Jr. Graduate Study: Modern History in Brazil (Fulbright Hays)
Timothy Lang Graduate Study: Theology & Religion in Germany
Caroline Whistler Undergraduate Study: Economics in Brazil
Naomi Schwartz Undergraduate Study: Environmental Standards in Cambodia
Lindsay Bayham Undergraduate Study: Economics in Ghana
Danielle Terrazas Williams Graduate Study: History in Mexico
Luke Stanhope Graduate Study: Creative Writing in S. Korea
Mona Shin Undergraduate Study: English Teaching Assistantship in S. Korea (declined)
Frances Ellenbogen Undergraduate Study: Business Mgt. in Mexico
Lorien Olive Graduate Study: Anthropology in Ecuador
Lindsay Aylesworth Graduate Study: Ecology in Brazil
Meagan Labunski Graduate Study: Art & Arch. History in Italy
Kendall Dabaghi Undergraduate Study: Public Administration In Mexio