News Center

Allegheny College, one of the nation’s oldest and most innovative four-year colleges where multidisciplinary learning breaks the conventional mold, is proud to be included on the list of U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most 2021-2022 Fulbright U.S. Scholars.

Each year the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) announces the top producing institutions for the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. The Chronicle of Higher Education publishes the lists annually.

Two scholars from Allegheny received Fulbright awards for 2021-2022 — Christopher Bakken, the Frederick F. Seely Professor of English, and Stephen Onyeiwu, the Andrew Wells Robertson Chair of Economics, are currently teaching and conducting research in Greece and Nigeria, respectively.

“We congratulate the colleges and universities we are honoring as 2021-2022 Fulbright Top Producing Institutions and are especially delighted to celebrate the institutions that are being recognized as Fulbright Top Producers for the first time. These institutions reflect the geographic and institutional diversity of higher education in the United States, and include Minority-Serving Institutions,” said Ethan Rosenzweig, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Academic Programs in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. “We thank the leadership of these institutions for supporting their faculty and administrators who pursue Fulbright awards. In return, these institutions benefit from new, global perspectives and new international collaborations, which can positively impact local and global communities. Fulbright U.S. Scholars expand the scope and reach of their research, expand networks, and further development of sectors which work to address local and global challenges.”

“We are honored to be included among the 2021-2022 Fulbright Top Producing Institutions and again congratulate Professor Bakken and Professor Onyeiwu on their Fulbright U.S. Scholar Awards,” said Allegheny President Hilary L. Link. “This recognition reflects our faculty’s excellence in teaching and innovative research and their commitment to incorporating global perspectives and partnerships as they mentor Allegheny students and prepare them to solve pressing problems.”

Added Allegheny Assistant Dean for Fellowship Advising Patrick Jackson: “A lot of liberal arts colleges talk about having world-class teachers and scholars on their faculty. Allegheny’s recognition as a top-producer of Fulbrighters is proof that — around here — this claim is more than just rhetoric.”

The Fulbright Program was established over 75 years ago to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Fulbright is the world’s largest and most diverse international educational exchange program. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Since its inception in 1946, over 400,000 people from all backgrounds—recent university graduates, teachers, scientists and researchers, artists, and more—have participated in the Fulbright Program and returned to their home countries with an expanded worldview, a deep appreciation for their host country and its people, and a new network of colleagues and friends.

Fulbright alumni work to make a positive impact on their communities, sectors, and the world and have included 40 heads of state or government, 61 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 76 MacArthur Fellows, and countless leaders and changemakers who carry forward the Fulbright mission of enhancing mutual understanding.

Fulbright is active in more than 160 countries worldwide and partners with participating governments, host institutions, corporations, and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States. Many of these organizations also provide direct and indirect support. ECA sponsors the Fulbright program, and several non-profit, cooperative partners implement and support the program on the Bureau’s behalf. For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit eca.state.gov/fulbright.