Four University of Scranton Graduates Earn Fulbright Scholarships

Four University of Scranton graduates will bring their talents to countries around the world as the school’s newest Fulbright Scholars.

Sustaining a tradition of success at the University, the graduates have been selected for Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards for the 2014-2015 academic year.

University of Scranton graduates earning Fulbrights are: Emmanuel Akpan Jr. ’14, Flanders, N.J., Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Cyprus; Olivia Salama ’14, Bayonne, N.J., Fulbright Scholarship in Law to Finland; Matthew Tibbitts ’14, West Hartford, Conn., Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Malaysia; and Marc Andris Vallone ’10, Collingswood, N.J., Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Brazil.

The Fulbright program is the U.S. government’s premier scholarship program for overseas graduate study, research and teaching. For nine consecutive years, The Chronicle of Higher Education has listed The University of Scranton among the “top producers” of Fulbright awards for American students. Since 1972, a total of 148 students who applied through The University of Scranton have been awarded grants in the competitions administered by the Institute of International Education, including Fulbrights.

“The University’s newest Fulbright Scholars will embark upon teaching and research projects that range from teaching English in Malaysia, Brazil, and Cyprus to studying white collar crime in Finland,” said Susan Trussler, Ph.D., Fulbright Program adviser and associate professor of economics/finance at The University of Scranton. “At the same time, these exceptional graduates will immerse themselves in local communities in their host countries, continuing their remarkable records of volunteering with human development and healthcare organizations, after-school programs, and student clubs.”

This year approximately 1,500 Fulbright Scholarships were awarded, according to the Institute of International Education. The recipients were selected from a pool of more than 10,000 applicants. The awards were announced recently by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

 Additional information about each Fulbright recipient can be found by clicking on the graduate’s name above.

Four University of Scranton graduates have been selected for Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards for the 2014-2015 academic year, including three members of its Class of 2014. From left, are Matthew Tibbitts ’14, who received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Malaysia; Olivia Salama ’14, who received Fulbright Scholarship in Law to Finland; and Emmanuel Akpan Jr., ’14 who received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Cyprus; and Susan Trussler, Ph.D., Fulbright Program adviser and associate professor of economics/finance at The University of Scranton.

Marc Andris Vallone, a 2010 graduate of The University of Scranton, received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Brazil for the 2014-2015 academic year.