By Emmanuel Freeman
NASHVILLE, TN (TSU News Service) — Tennessee State University is a Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leader for Academic Year 2018-2019, solidifying its position even more on the global stage.
The designation was recently announced in a letter to TSU President Glenda Glover from Marie Royce, U.S. assistant secretary of state for Educational and Cultural Affairs.
TSU is one of 19 HBCUs to receive the Fulbright designation for demonstrating noteworthy support for Fulbright exchange participants during the 2018-2019 academic year, as well as for promoting Fulbright program opportunities on campus.
“We are extremely excited to be recognized for our participation in this prestigious program,” Glover said. “With our diverse student, staff and faculty population, TSU identifies with the Fulbright program’s goal of promoting mutual understanding between people of the United States and other countries through cultural exchanges.”
Last year, TSU became the first historically black university to host the Fulbright Pakistan Re-entry Seminar (April 25-28). The seminar, funded through a grant from the Institute of International Education, was intended to help students from Pakistan, who have studied in the United States for two to seven years, prepare for the culture shock they may experience when they return home.
Earlier this year, TSU professor Janice M. Williams received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to South Africa in Dental Sciences. She was one of over 800 U.S. citizens who were selected to teach, conduct research, and/or provide expertise abroad for the 2019-2020 academic year.
According to Dr. Jewell Winn, executive director of the TSU Office of International Affairs, having this designation with Fulbright, which has partnerships with more than 160 countries worldwide, positions the university to be more attractive globally.
“It has been challenging to develop cultural exchange programs with major research institutions around the world,” she said. “But this designation will show that we are among the most prestigious and respected HBCUs implementing comprehensive internationalization.”
In the State Department’s letter, assistant secretary Royce congratulated TSU for attaining the Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leadership status, along with the other 18 HBCUs.
“ECA has established this new designation to acknowledge the strong partnership between the Fulbright Program and HBCUs, and to encourage the entire network of HBCUs to increase their Fulbright engagement,” the letter said. “This initiative is part of the U.S. State Department’s long-standing commitment to build diversity and inclusion within the Fulbright Program and within the Bureau’s international exchange program overall.”
TSU will be recognized at a special reception hosted by the Fulbright Program on Feb. 18, during the annual Association of International Education Administration in Washington, D.C.
Terrence Izzard, TSU’s associate vice president for Enrollment Management and Student Success, said the designation helps the university’s recruitment effort by further opening the pipeline for engaging more foreign students.
“We have a large international population of students, and this designation certainly helps to enhance our outreach to continue to attract the best and brightest from abroad,” Izzard said.
Added Katelyn Thompson, president of Tennessee State’s SGA, “TSU’s diverse student population makes us unique. I think the Fulbright Program would help to expose our students to more cultural exchanges, as well as bring in more students from foreign countries.”
As part of the State Department designation, TSU received a certification of congratulations, as well as a Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leader digital badge to display on the institution’s website and on its social media platforms.