Claremont McKenna College has been ranked 10th nationally, in a tie (along with Swarthmore and Grinnell Colleges), among undergraduate colleges for the number of Fulbright Scholars eight this year from 31 applicants it produces, according to a national ranking just published by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
With its eight Fulbright Awards, CMC equals its all-time annual record for the scholarship and doubles the number of Fulbright scholars from last year.
In its 10th-place position, CMC finished behind neighboring sister schools Pitzer College which ranks first with 22 awards and Pomona College which tied for fourth on the list with 11 Fulbright scholarships.
In making the top ten, CMC finished ahead of such peer institutions as Vassar, Colgate, Bowdoin and Wellesley on the list of 31 bachelor degree-granting institutions.
"I'm thrilled that CMC is on the list of Top Producing Schools for the Fulbright Program," says Aleta Wenger, executive director for international programs at CMC. "The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government's flagship academic exchange program, and it is one of the most selective fellowship programs in the world. That so many of our 2010 graduates were selected for a Fulbright is a testament to the strength of the academic preparation that they received at CMC as well as their leadership abilities and good communication skills. We are also very proud that our graduates will play a role in promoting mutual understanding, a primary goal of the Fulbright Program."
Sponsored by the U.S. State Department, the Fulbright Program was proposed to the U.S. Congress in 1945 by then freshman Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. In the aftermath of World War II, Senator Fulbright viewed the program as a much-needed vehicle for promoting "mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries of the world." Currently, the Fulbright Program offers opportunities to conduct career-launching study and research in more than 140 nations.
The Fulbright program places a great deal of emphasis on academic qualifications and CMC's Fulbright winners of both research and teaching awards are, uniformly, serious, dedicated students who have excelled in the classroom as well as in their extra-curricular activities.
"CMC provides students with wonderful academic opportunities and our Fulbright winners have pursued those opportunities to the utmost," says Lee Skinner, associate professor of Spanish at CMC and faculty advisor to the Fulbrights. "It's immensely gratifying to see their hard work and commitment rewarded; they are truly outstanding and getting to work with these students is an absolute delight."
CMC Fulbrighters embody a dizzying diversity of interests and accomplishments, all connected by a passion for cross-cultural communication and international education. Click these words to read about the Class of 2010 Fulbright award winners.