WILBERFORCE — Central State University has been named a Fulbright Historically Black College and University Institutional Leader for 2022.
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs recognizes selected HBCUs’ strong engagement with the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international academic exchange program. According to Fulbright Program officials, for the third year, CSU has demonstrated noteworthy support for Fulbright exchange participants during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic school years.
According Dr. Fahmi Abboushi, the designated school official, the first Fulbright Language Teaching Assistants started in Fall 2013.
“The first year, we had one Fulbright teaching the Arabic language. Since then, we added Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, and Swahili,” he said.
Said Executive Director of Honors College and International Affairs Dr. Paul Schlag: “We appreciate the support and expertise the Fulbright Program and our Fulbright Scholars provide to our students. Hosting distinguished language professors from across the world brings myriad benefits to our student scholars including providing new and stimulating learning opportunities, bolstering a vibrant and diverse campus culture, promoting second language acquisition, and bringing the world to our campus,”
Abboushi’s office files an application with the Institute of International Education annually, coordinates the FLTAs arrival to campus, arranges housing, and also supervises their work and needs while they are on campus.
“Fulbrighters have to teach one language class each semester and take two classes of their choice each semester,” Abboushi said. “FLTAs are not paid to teach classes. Fulbright pays them a monthly stipend to live on campus.”
Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Lee Satterfield commended all of the HBCUs receiving the Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leader designation this year.
“HBCUs are an important part of the American and global higher education communities, providing life-changing exchange opportunities for American and international students, faculty and administrators,” Satterfield said, adding that she hopes “these institutions’ success encourages all HBCUs to engage further with Fulbright and with the State Department.”
On Nov. 3, a Fulbright HBCU Virtual Workshop will feature representatives of Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders sharing best practices for HBCUs to leverage Fulbright Program engagement to support students and faculty, increase campus internationalization, and build global networks.
