UND helps establish North Dakota Fulbright Chapter
UND faculty and staff play critical role in bringing Fulbright Association to scholars and students in North Dakota
Last year, Yee Han Chu, academic support and fellowship opportunities coordinator at UND, was selected to join the inaugural group of Fulbright Program Advisor mentors. Now, she and other UND staff and faculty are establishing a statewide Fulbright chapter to help prospective Fulbright scholars, artists and researchers across the state.
The North Dakota Fulbright Chapter is an extension of the Fulbright Association, a network of Fulbright Program alumni and Fulbright enthusiasts that supports prospective applicants and awardees by promoting cultural exchange. The chapter will connect North Dakotan scholars and students to 53 chapters in 38 states and international chapters in countries such as India and Norway.
Chu said the idea for starting the chapter came soon after she took on her mentorship role with Fulbright and presented the concept to a panel of University Fulbright alums organized for last fall’s International Education Week.
Chu saw the state chapter as an opportunity to increase enthusiasm for Fulbright’s mission of fostering international connections and promoting cultural exchange. In addition to networking and program support, the state chapter will give members access to resources at the national office.
“In my mind, part of my role as a Fulbright advisor was creating more Fulbright culture on campus,” Chu said. “Now, the state chapter will help bring Fulbright culture across North Dakota, so we can reach everyone who wants to join and participate in it.”
Chu said that word had traveled fast about the association’s newest chapter, and that other state chapters have already contacted them offering support. Notably, Michael Dorscher, the Minnesota Fulbright State Chapter president and a UND alum, invited board members to an upcoming Fulbright event.
“We’re not just launching and building connections in North Dakota here in North Dakota, but apparently — rather quickly — we’re getting to know our colleagues in Minnesota,” Chu said with a chuckle.
Fulbright a “life-changing” experience for chapter president
Lavinia Iancu, director and assistant professor of the forensic science program, will serve as president of the North Dakota Fulbright chapter. She said that creating a Fulbright culture offers more than prestige; it’s an opportunity for students and faculty to broaden their horizons academically and culturally.
“That’s something I think that people often misunderstand. It’s not just 100% research, it’s also cultural exchange,” Iancu said. “Living in another country and adapting to it are important experiences and they goes hand in hand with research.”
Iancu completed her Fulbright forensic science research at Sam Houston State University in 2018. She said immersing herself in another culture was “life-changing,” and she thinks it can have a similar effect on other students and faculty in the state.
“I think that going outside of your comfort zone makes you a more powerful researcher or artist or scholar,” she said. “You gain more confidence in yourself when you have to adjust to living in another culture.”
Additionally, Iancu said that a formal network in the state will help prospective applicants through the process and allow for greater collaboration among Fulbright alums worldwide. There are Fulbright opportunities in over 140 countries, and she believes the network will be a boon for Fulbright hopefuls in the state.
“Yee Han Chu has done an amazing job as a mentor, and now having more people from different fields will help applicants,” she said. “It’s very important to have someone in your field that can give you advice or put you in contact with scholars from other countries.”
Two weeks ago, group members held their first official meeting, and Iancu says they’ve already started to prepare for events, the first of which will take place on Sept. 14. She has extended invitations to more than 30 Fulbright alumni statewide.
Iancu and Chu said they hope the event will help garner interest from students and faculty at UND and across the state.
“My hope is that this chapter is able to generate activities and events that bring in students and engage them so that they learn more about what international education and Fulbright have to offer,” Chu said.
According to Chu, the University is also applying for institutional membership with the Fulbright Association. This would present an even more direct line of contact between UND Fulbright hopefuls, the national office and other Fulbright-affiliated institutions across the world.
Other board members include vice president Paul Sum, professor of political science and public administration; secretary Allison Johansen, study abroad advisor in Student Success; Pempho Chinkondeji, assistant professor of Education, Health, and Behavior; Yun Ji, graduate program director of chemical engineering; and Divine Tarla, a database administrator in Bismarck. Chu will serve as treasurer.
More Fulbright news at UND
In related news, University students and faculty have received recognition and awards from the Fulbright program in the last year. Listed below are their achievements:
Brian Urlacher, chair of political science and public administration in the College of Arts & Sciences, was named a 2023-2026 Fulbright Specialist. The Fulbright Specialist Program pairs experts, academics and professionals in the United States with institutions in other countries to share their knowledge and gain international expertise as they conduct two- to six-week projects with their host institutions.
Aaron Kennedy, associate professor and graduate director of atmospheric sciences, was named a 2025 Fulbright U.S. Scholar for the Fulbright Iceland-National Science Foundation Arctic Research Grant. Kennedy’s application has been forwarded to the host country, the U.S. Department of State, and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for review.
Ali Alshami, associate professor in chemical engineering, was named a semi-finalist (competition still in progress) in the 2024-2025 Fulbright Scholar competition for the Fulbright Qatar All Disciplines Research Grant. The competition is still in progress; final decisions are expected in June.
Richard Hoberg, PhD student in educational foundations and research, was named a 2024 Fulbright Research Grantee and 2024 American Scandinavian Foundation Scholar for his doctoral research project in Norway called “Investigating Equity in the Reorganization of Norway’s Rural Schools.” Fulbright will fund his core research proposal in Trøndelag sites, while the American Scandinavian Foundation will fund his expansion project in Møre og Romsdal and Nordland.
