KU ranked among top universities for Fulbright Scholars for the 2017-18 academic year

LAWRENCE — With six Fulbright Scholars, the University of Kansas ranked among the top universities in the nation for the number of researchers during 2017-18, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The six awards place KU in a tie for sixth place, according to the Chronicle’s rankings. Fulbright awards provide funding for scholars to teach and conduct research overseas while exchanging ideas and contributing to finding solutions with international peers.

“I would like to congratulate these researchers on their accomplishments and their selection as Fulbright Scholars,” said Chancellor Douglas A. Girod. “Through KU’s continued success in the Fulbright Scholar program, these researchers will be able to broaden their global perspectives to the benefit of our students, our society and the region.”

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright program has provided support for more than 380,000 participants chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential. More than 1,100 college and university faculty and administrators, professionals, artists, journalists, scientists, lawyers and independent scholars are awarded Fulbright grants to teach and/or conduct research annually.

All-time, KU faculty members and administrators have earned 325 Fulbrights. Rachel Sherman Johnson, KU director for campus internationalization and fellowship programs, congratulated the faculty members who represented KU in 2017-18 as Fulbright scholars.

“KU is deeply enriched through these scholars’ experiences abroad and their contributions to their academic fields and in the classroom. The high rate of faculty participation in the Fulbright program also supports the development of a Fulbright culture on campus that is welcoming to inbound international Fulbright students and scholars and promotes Fulbright teaching and research opportunities for U.S. students,” she said.

KU’s 2017-18 Fulbright Scholars:

Ben Chappell, associate professor of American studies, is teaching in the American studies department at the University of Regensburg in Germany. He will teach courses titled “The United States in a Global Context” and “The Cultural Lives of Neoliberalism.” 

Raj Mitra, professor and chair of rehabilitation medicine at KU Medical Center, is conducting research at the National Institute for the Orthopaedically Handicapped in Kolkata, India, on a project titled “Education and Quantitative Analysis of Disability in India.”

Andrew Short, associate professor of ecology & evolutionary biology and associate curator of the Biodiversity Institute, is studying at the National Research Institute for Amazonia in Manaus, Brazil, and is working on a project titled “Aquatic Biodiversity of the Brazilian Amazon: Modeling Aquatic Beetle Distributions and Capacity Building in Aquatic Bioassessment.”

John Rury, professor of educational leadership & policy studies, is studying at Eszterhazy Karoly College in Eger, Hungary, and is working on a project titled “History of American Education.”

Benjamin Uchiyama, assistant professor of history, will travel to Nihon University in Chiyoda-Ku, Japan, to work on a project titled, “Dancing Through Total War: Yokusan Culture and the Pursuit of Joy in Wartime Japan.”

Kim Warren, associate professor of history and women, gender & sexuality studies, is studying at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, Denmark, and is working on a project titled “Citizens of the World: Gender, Race, and Human Rights in the United States and Denmark.”