12 Win Fulbright Awards for Study Abroad

Twelve Duke University students have been awarded J. William Fulbright Scholarships to study abroad for one year and otherwise benefit from living in a foreign culture.

The Fulbright program, founded in 1946, is the U.S. government's premier scholarship program. It was created by Congress shortly after World War II to foster mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchanges.

This year's Duke recipients - nine Class of 2000 graduates and three graduate students - will travel to nine countries in all: China, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Germany, Ivory Coast, Japan, Lithuania, Morocco and Romania.

"It's an exceptional group of students," said Rob Sikorski, executive director of Duke's Center for International Studies. "Not only are they among the brightest that Duke has to offer, they also appreciate the value of embracing another culture."

Thirty-three Duke students applied for the scholarship this past year, according to Sikorski. The 12 awards granted represent a 36 percent acceptance rate, the university's highest in recent years, he said.

This year's recipients are:

> Adam Henry Bund of Lexington, Mass., a recent graduate who will travel to China to conduct a project titled, "Internet and White Collar (Bai Ling) Identity in China."

> Christopher James Dyer of Bryan, Texas, a recent graduate who will travel to Germany to study "Musical Perception: Computer Interpretation and Analysis."

> Katherine Leigh Fieri of Martinez, Ga., a recent graduate who will travel to Germany to conduct a study titled, "Socially-Induced Turning Points in an Elderly German Population."

> Matthew William Kovalick of Fairfax, Va., a graduating senior who will travel to Lithuania to study "NATO Expansion to Lithuania and the Baltic Region."

> Simone Michele Manigo of New York City, a recent graduate who will travel to Ethiopia for a study titled, "The Rounding of the African Diaspora."

> Elias Ibrahim Muhanna of Cyprus, a recent graduate who will travel to Morocco to study "Cultural Identity and Musical Experimentation in 1970s Morocco."

> Jaime Beth Palter of Sharon, Mass., a recent graduate who will travel to Costa Rica to conduct a study titled, "The Effects of Different Land Uses and Nutrient Enrichments on the Gulf on Nicoya, Costa Rica."

> Catherine Lynn Phipps of Durham, a graduate student who will travel to Japan to study "The Geography of Early Japanese Imperialism in Northern Kyushu."

> Matthew Louis Reisman of Tallahassee, Fla., a recent graduate who will travel to Ivory Coast to study "Refugee Integration in the Communities of Western Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)."

> Joanne M. Richardson of Durham, a graduate student who will travel to Romania to conduct a project titled, "Contemporary Art in Romania: The Politics of the Avant-Garde."

> Robert Thomas Rozehnal of Dillon, Colo., a graduate student who had planned to travel to Pakistan but who has declined his grant in favor of another scholarship. The Fulbright Scholarship program does not permit scholars to defer their awards.

> Colin Traian Williams of Boulder, Colo., a recent graduate who will travel to Romania for a project titled, "Media, Democracy, and National Identity in Post-1989 Romania."

Each year the Fulbright program allows Americans to study or conduct research in more than 100 nations. The program is funded by an annual congressional appropriation and contributions from other participating countries.

Selection is made on the basis of each applicant's academic or professional record, language preparation, the feasibility of the proposed study project, personal qualifications and the extent to which the candidate and the project will advance the program aim of promoting mutual understanding among nations.

Written by Noah Bartolucci.