International Fulbright Award Recipients Come to Scranton

Five Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants and one Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence are teaching at The University of Scranton during the 2015-2016 academic year. Seated, from left, are Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants Céline Langlard from France, Chie Fujikake from Japan and Marwa Gaafer from Egypt. Standing are Linda Ledford-Miller, Ph.D., professor and chair of the University’s Department of World Languages and Cultures; Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Manuel de Alba from Mexico; Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants Maria Pia Pallero, from Argentina and Janina Schmidt from Germany; and Marie Karam, director of the University’s Language Learning Center.

The University of Scranton is home to five Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants and one Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence for the 2015-2016 academic year.

Marwa Gaafer of Egypt, Janina Schmidt of Germany, Chie Fujikake of Japan, Maria Pia Pallero of Argentina and Céline Langlard of France, are recipients of Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program grants and are serving as teaching assistants in the University’s Department of World Languages and Cultures. They will also take courses at the University. Scranton is also hosting Manuel de Alba, a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence who is a documentary filmmaker from Mexico.

The Fulbright teaching assistants are among more than 400 young educators from 50 countries who will travel to more than 200 institutions in the U.S. during the 2015-2016 academic year. The program intends to help internationalize U.S. colleges and universities, which is a key goal of many institutions as they prepare students for the 21^st century workforce and globalized world.

Recipients of Fulbright FLTA grants are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential.

The Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Program assists U.S. higher education institutions to internationalize U.S. campuses, curriculum and communities by supporting non-U.S. scholars through grants for teaching. Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence recipients teach primarily on the undergraduate level in their areas of expertise and provide a cross-cultural or international perspective to promote curriculum and program development. U.S. colleges and universities apply to the Council for International Exchange of Scholars to host a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence.

The Fulbright Program, administered by the Institute of International Education, was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas.

The University of Scranton has a long tradition of success with students earning prestigious Fulbright scholarships. Since 1972, a total of 150 Scranton students have been awarded grants in the competitions administered by the Institute of International Education, including Fulbrights. Scranton has been recognized among the nation’s top producers of U.S. Fulbright students by The Chronicle of Higher Education for 10 consecutive years.