Chico State Once Again Recognized as Fulbright HSI Institutional Leader

After earning federal designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution in 2015, Chico State has continued to work in earnest to provide robust and comprehensive services to serve its Latinx and Hispanic student population. Through initiatives like the Chico Adelante Program, Chico STEM Connections Collaborative and the Student Transition and Retention Center, it has maintained its designation and commitment to the success of its Hispanic and Latinx students, which now comprise 36.6 percent of the Chico State student body, according to the 2022–23 enrollment census.

With this continued designation, the University has also remained engaged with the US Department of State Fulbright Scholar Program, which creates opportunities for US students and faculty to study, teach and conduct research abroad, and their international counterparts to engage in like activities in the United States

In tandem, those endeavors continue to earn the University recognition. This month, for the second time in as many years, Chico State has been recognized by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) as a 2022 Fulbright HSI Leader for our noteworthy engagement with the Fulbright Program during the 2021-2022 academic year.

One of 43 two-year and four-year colleges and universities across the United States and Puerto Rico to receive the honor, Chico State exemplifies a deep commitment to international exchange and to build lasting connections between the people of the United State and the people of other countries.

“Awards like this showcase the fact that the research and teaching of Chico State’s faculty are competitive with some of the nation’s largest universities,” said Matthew Stone, the University’s Fulbright Scholar liaison and associate professor of marketing.

Underscoring its commitment to and excellence in providing resources for its Hispanic students, the CSU system represented eight of the 43 schools listed. Cal State Long Beach, San Diego State and San Francisco State were the CSU campuses named among doctoral institutions, while master’s institutions included Cal State LA, CSUN, Sacramento State and San José State.

ECA established the Fulbright HSI Leader designation in 2021 to acknowledge the strong partnerships between the Fulbright Program and HSIs, and to encourage all HSIs to increase their Fulbright engagement on campus. Having strong HSI participation in the US government’s flagship international exchange program is critical to fully representing the diversity of the United States through the Program.

Fulbright offers numerous programs for campus global engagement opportunities, including our own faculty teaching or conducting research abroad, hosting international Fulbright students and scholars at Chico State, and opportunities for our graduates to study, conduct research, and teach English abroad. Approximately 800 Fulbright US Scholars receive awards each year to lecture or conduct research.

Earlier in the year, Chico State was named among the nation’s top Fulbright Scholar-producing higher education institutions. The University proudly produced three Fulbright Scholars during the 2021–22 academic year—Lee Altier from the College of Agriculture was a visiting professor at Ege University in Izmir, Turkey; Jesse Dizard, from the Department of Anthropology, was a visiting professor at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan; and Brian Brazeal, also from the Department of Anthropology, traveled to Sri Lanka to study and document the country’s gemstone-trading industry.

“It is so exciting to see how these Fulbright Scholar awards directly benefit our University’s diverse communities—not just through awards like this one, but through the international connections, research, and cultural learning that these faculty bring back to campus,” Stone said.

Since its inception over 75 years ago, the Fulbright Program has provided a platform for US students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds and fields with international opportunities to exchange ideas, build people-to-people connections and address some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the US Congress to the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

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.