Daniel Kramer, director of the Fulbright Scholarship program, visits UM Thursday. Submitted photo
OXFORD, Miss. – Daniel Kramer, director of the Fulbright Scholarship program, will visit the University of Mississippi on Thursday (March 1) to speak with students and faculty members.
Kramer will meet with students and faculty members as part of an overall effort by UM to raise awareness about scholarship opportunities through Fulbright and also other programs. The visit will also help students and faculty, who nominate applicants, learn more about what is expected to be accepted into the program.
A workshop for potential Fulbright Student Program applicants is set for 3-4:30 p.m. at the Honors College, Room 331.
Oliver Dinius, director of the Croft Institute for International Studies, has been working to bring Kramer to campus. Administrators want more Croft students to apply for Fulbright scholarships, he said.
“Dr. Kramer’s visit is a unique opportunity for our students to learn directly from someone overseeing the selection process what makes for a strong application,” Dinius said. “This is also an opportunity for faculty and administrators to learn more about how the Fulbright program can help us to strengthen the University of Mississippi’s international profile more generally.”
The Fulbright program is one of the most prestigious and generous aid programs available to students and professionals for an international exchange. The scholarship is named for the late Arkansas U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright, who served more than 30 years in Washington.
Fulbright earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Arkansas in 1925 and went on to Oxford University, where he earned a master’s degree. He was profoundly affected by the experience of learning overseas. In the U.S. Senate, he sponsored the legislation that created the Fulbright program in 1946.
The U.S. government supports the program, which also has partnerships with foreign governments to help sponsor U.S. and foreign participants for exchanges. They come from sciences, business, academe, public service, government and the arts. The goal is for them to continue to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those of other countries.
To date, there have been more than 250,000 Fulbright students, scholars and teachers.
Each year, 15-20 Ole Miss students submit grant applications to conduct research, teach English or pursue graduate degrees supported by the Fulbright US Student program, said Tim Dolan, director of the Office of National Scholarship Advisement in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.
“We feel like we have many more qualified students who simply don’t yet know about the Fulbright and we’d like to encourage them to apply,” Dolan said. “Dr. Kramer will provide valuable insight into the mission of the Fulbright and how students can create competitive applications.
“Current students who are Fulbright semifinalists will be on hand to talk about the process they went through in choosing a grant and putting together their applications. We hope to build enthusiasm among University of Mississippi students so that more will take advantage of the opportunity to go abroad and promote peace and mutual understanding between people with different cultural traditions.”