FIT--For the First Time Ever--Is a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Scholars

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Mar 01, 2019, 11:00 ET

NEW YORK, March 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) announced today its inclusion—for the first time ever—in the list of U.S. colleges and universities that produced the highest number of 2018–2019 Fulbright U.S. Scholars. Each year the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces the top producing institutions for the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government's flagship international educational exchange program. The Chronicle of Higher Education publishes the lists annually.

One scholar and two specialists from FIT were awarded Fulbright awards for 2018–2019—ranking among the top awarded colleges of "associate and baccalaureate/associate institutions." Joseph Antee, associate professor, Fashion Business Management, and Brenda Cowan, associate professor and associate chair, Exhibition and Experience Design, were awarded Fulbright Specialist Grants. The Fulbright Specialist Program sends faculty and professionals from the United States to serve as expert consultants on curriculum, faculty development, institutional planning, and related subjects at academic institutions abroad. Deirdre Sato, dean for International Education, has been awarded a Fulbright International Education Administrator Seminar Award to travel to India. Winners of this award are given the opportunity to learn about the host country's education system, as well as establish networks of U.S. and international colleagues.

"I am so very proud of FIT's new Fulbright awardees and delighted for them, as well," said Dr. Joyce F. Brown, president of FIT. "Globalism is part of the FIT mission because it is important to us that our students learn to navigate in cultures unlike their own. I am confident that our students and the rest of the FIT community will be enriched by the experiences of our Fulbright awardees on their return."

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 390,000 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential—with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. More than 800 U.S. college and university faculty members and administrators, professionals, artists, journalists, scientists, lawyers, and independent scholars are awarded Fulbright grants to teach and/or conduct research annually. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program operates in over 125 countries throughout the world.

"We thank the colleges and universities across the United States that we are recognizing as Fulbright top producing institutions for their role in increasing mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries," said Marie Royce, assistant secretary of state for Educational and Cultural Affairs. "We are proud of all the Fulbright students and scholars from these institutions who represent America abroad, increasing and sharing their skills and knowledge on a global stage."

The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State, funded by an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and supported in its implementation by the Institute of International Education.

The Fulbright Program also awards grants to U.S. students and teachers to conduct research and teach overseas. In addition, some 4,000 foreign Fulbright students and scholars come to the United States annually to study, lecture, conduct research and teach foreign languages. For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit eca.state.gov/fulbright.

About FIT
The Fashion Institute of Technology, a part of the State University of New York, has been a leader in career education in art, design, business, and technology for almost 75 years. Providing its 9,000 students with an uncommon blend of hands-on, practical experience, theory, and a firm grounding in the liberal arts, FIT offers a wide range of affordable programs that foster innovation and collaboration. Its distinctive curriculum is geared to today's rapidly growing creative economy, including fields such as computer animation, toy design, production management, film and media, and cosmetics and fragrance marketing. Internationally renowned, FIT draws on its New York City location to provide a vibrant, creative community in which to learn. The college offers nearly 50 programs and grants AAS, BFA, BS, MA, MFA, and MPS degrees, preparing students for professional success and leadership in the new creative economy. Visit fitnyc.edu.

Alexandra K. Mann
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SOURCE Fashion Institute of Technology