Cooper Worth, The Daily Iowan
Fulbright 2021 scholar Sarah Schlosser poses for a portrait. Schlosser will travel to India in spring 2022 and live there for nine months.
The University of Iowa U.S. Fulbright Program awardees will travel abroad, after candidates were deferred because of the pandemic last year.
In total, 22 students and three faculty members from the UI will study abroad for their 2021-22 Fulbright awards.
Thirteen of the 22 student winners, more than half, are deferred from the 2020-21 academic year.
The Fulbright program provides grants for research projects and English teaching assistant programs to take place during one academic year in a participating country outside the U.S.
Fulbright recipients are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program spans over 160 countries worldwide.
Russell Ganim, UI International Programs associate provost and the dean, said it is great that recipients are finally allowed to travel again.
“Because of COVID, there were some instances where the awardees had to put off their travel for 18 months, and now they’re finally getting a chance to go,” Ganim said.
The UI was named a top producer of Fulbright students nationally for the sixth year in a row for the 2020-21 academic year.
Ganim said this recognition has led to increased applications from students and alumi.
“The word gets out that if you’re from Iowa, you have maybe a 50/50 chance of actually getting one of these awards,” he said. “Fulbright at the University of Iowa remains quite popular, and this is an option that students and alums see as quite viable if they want to pursue a career or further study in a global space.”