Grinnell College Has Been Named a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Students

Grinnell College is proud to be named one of the U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most 2022-2023 Fulbright U.S. Students. 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. 

“I am incredibly proud that Grinnell College has been named a top producing Institution for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Students come from all over the country and the world to Grinnell to learn with and from each other and our renown faculty and staff. Through living and learning in community, they hone their potential for navigating the world’s complexities and contributing to the common good. It is an honor to foster students whose brilliance and talents can further the noble mission of the Fulbright Foundation and make a positive impact on their communities, sectors, and the world,” said Grinnell College President Anne F. Harris.   

Fulbright grantees meet, work, and learn from the people of the host country, sharing daily experiences. The program facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction in the classroom, office space, research lab or field in relationship to specific projects, while very importantly in the community and through daily life experiences. This allows for grantees to gain an appreciation of others’ viewpoints and beliefs, the way they do things, and the way they think, to foster mutual understanding and exchange. 

“Grinnell’s commitment to intellectual curiosity, global understanding, critical thinking, and the exchange of ideas is a strong foundation for success in receiving these awards,” said Ann Landstrom, assistant dean and director of global fellowships and awards in Center for Careers, Life, and Service. “Our alumni return, having made a distinct impact upon the communities they serve, and having had transformative experiences that prepare them for the next steps of their professional lives.” 

Four Grinnellians received Fulbright Grants for the 2022-2023 academic year. Grinnell College’s recent Fulbright grantees are engaging in research, study, and teaching in Jordan, Switzerland, Chile, and Czech Republic: 

• Mary DaVega ’21, political science major with a policy studies concentration, is working in Amman, Jordan, where she will teach and support secondary and university students in their English studies and consult with faculty on English pedagogy. In addition, she received the Critical Language Enhancement Award (CLEA) to study Arabic at Qasid Institute in Amman, which runs concurrently with the Fulbright Grant. 
• Sarina Kopf ’22, a biological chemistry major, is working in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she will study DNA nanotechnology under Dr. Maartje Bastings.   
• Sarina Lincoln ’21, a biology major from Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, is working in Chile in the subject area of fisheries. Lincoln will research “Characterizing the extent of unreported catches in central Chile’s small-scale fisheries.”  
• Katelyn Mehlhaus ’22, a history and sociology double major with a peace and conflict studies concentration from Boone, Iowa, is doing an English teaching assistantship in the Czech Republic. Mehlhaus will support English language education at regional high schools and plan and organize community outreach events to enhance the impact of her stay and integrate into the local host institution and host town.  

The Fulbright competition is administered at Grinnell College through the Global Fellowships and Awards program in the Center for Careers, Life, and Service (CLS). The application process is beginning for a 2024-2025 grant year, and Ann Landstrom invites current students and alumni to visit with her about the opportunities in over 140 countries. 

About the Fulbright Program and Top Producer Awards  

“On behalf of President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken, congratulations to the colleges and universities recognized as 2022-2023 Fulbright Top Producing Institutions, and to all the applicants who were selected for the Fulbright Program this year,” said Lee Satterfield, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.  

“Thanks to the visionary leadership of these institutions, administrators, and advisors, a new generation of Fulbrighters – changemakers, as I like to say – will catalyze lasting impact on their campus, in their communities, and around the world.”    

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. While 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, it benefits from additional support from foreign partner governments, non-governmental organizations, private organizations, corporate partnerships, and individual donors. Importantly, U.S. and foreign host institutions provide support as well.  

Fulbright alumni work to make a positive impact on their communities, sectors, and the world and have included 41 heads of state or government, 62 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 78 MacArthur Fellows, and countless leaders and changemakers who carry forward the Fulbright mission of enhancing mutual understanding.   

For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit https://fulbrightprogram.org/