Morehouse College is a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Scholars

ATLANTA — Morehouse College was named on the list of U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most 2019-2020 Fulbright Scholars, the nation's flagship international educational exchange program.

The recognition was announced recently by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and listed in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Two Morehouse scholars received prestigious Fulbright awards for 2019-2020. Morehouse was one of two HBCUs to receive the distinction. 

“We are delighted to see that the colleges and universities we are honoring as 2019-2020 Fulbright Top Producing Institutions reflect the geographic and institutional diversity of higher education in the United States,” said Marie Royce, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. “In supporting their faculty and administrators who pursue Fulbright awards, these institutions benefit from new viewpoints from abroad and new international collaborations, which often lead to discoveries and breakthroughs that have a global impact. Fulbright U.S. Scholars benefit professionally throughout their career by expanding the scope and reach of their research, bringing a global perspective to their teaching, and receiving the professional recognition that comes with being named a Fulbright Scholar.”

The Fulbright Scholar Program is supported at Morehouse College through the work of Dr. Leah Creque, an Honors Program Director and English professor. Creque said a college-wide focus on international programs in recent years heightened awareness about prestigious fellowships like the Fulbright. Three faculty members are alumni of the Fulbright Scholar Program. One of those professors, Dr. Ida Mukenge, recently traveled to Africa. 

Morehouse's 2019 co-valedictorian Jonathan Epps was named as a 2020 Fulbright Scholar. He traveled to Brazil to teach English during his Fulbright fellowship.

"I think this is a significant accomplishment," Creque said of the recent recognition from Fulbright. "We have always had students who rank high and qualify for national scholarships and fellowships. Within a three to five year period, we had three students and one faculty member to earn Fulbrights. It just so happened that two of those students earned Fulbrights simultaneously."

The Fulbright Program was created to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. 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. Over 2,200 U.S. Students and over 900 U.S. college and university faculty and administrators are awarded Fulbright grants annually. In addition, some 4,000 Fulbright Foreign Students and Visiting Scholars come to the United States annually to study, lecture, conduct research, or teach their native language.

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has given over 390,000 passionate and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds and fields the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to important international problems. The global network of Fulbright Scholars fosters mutual understanding between the United States and partner nations, advances knowledge across communities, and improves lives around the globe.

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.