Four University of Idaho Students Receive Fulbright Scholarship Awards
Monday, April 24 2006
April 24, 2006 MOSCOW, Idaho – Four University of Idaho scholars have been awarded Fulbright Scholarship Awards to study abroad. Richard Eppink, Dana Elliott, Adair Muth and Jessica Rowe were selected as Fulbright grantees on the basis of academic or professional achievement and demonstrated leadership potential in their fields of study. “What a proud day for the University as our students make an impact in communities outside our nation’s borders,” said University of Idaho President Timothy P. White. “It’s a wonderful honor to have one Fulbright Scholar – four is extraordinary. These four individuals are inspiring examples of the exceptional students at the University of Idaho.” Fulbright recipients •Dana Elliott, a 2004 graduate of the university’s resource recreation and tourism program in the College of Natural Resources, received a Fulbright grant to teach English and American culture in Germany. She will leave in September. She also plans to engage students outside the classroom by offering extracurricular activities in English and discussing current events taking place in the U.S. and worldwide. “I am excited and very honored to have been chosen as an ambassador to Germany for the Fulbright program. I look forward to learning more about the German culture and teaching my students about the U.S., which I hope will strengthen the friendship between our two countries,” she said. Elliott is from Orofino and has completed a master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language. She will leave in September and return in June 2007. While studying at the University of Idaho, Elliott made the dean’s list each year and received several scholarships and awards including the Carlton Laird Iiams Book Award, Outstanding Graduating Senior in a Modern Language Award, both from the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences; and the Outstanding Senior in the College of Natural Resources and in the conservation social sciences. •Adair Muth, a University of Idaho senior studying ecology and conservation biology, also received a Fulbright. Muth is from Missoula, Mont., and will be collaborating with the Ecuadorian government and local agencies to assist in the eradication of an invasive species of mosquito that transmits Dengue and yellow fever. For 10 months, Muth will live on the Island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos to enhance an environmental education program that disperses information on how to reduce the number of mosquitoes on the island. She will work with David Arana, the supervisor of the Galapagos Inspection and Quarantine System of the Ecuadorian Agricultural Health Service. The agency is predominantly responsible for preventing the introduction of new species to the Galapagos Islands and eliminating those invasive species that are on the islands. “With the knowledge I gain, I will bring a fresh perspective back to the U.S. and to my future educational and professional pursuits. I cannot imagine a better way to start my career than this project,” said Muth, a two-time winner of the national Morris K. Udall Foundation Scholarship. She also was listed in the 2005 edition of "Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges" as a national outstanding campus leader. She is the second member of her family to receive a Fulbright Award. Alyssa Muth ’98 received a Fulbright for travel to Costa Rica. •University of Idaho third year law student Richard Alan Eppink also was selected to receive a Fulbright Award. His recently accepted proposal is to conduct rigorous research on public legal education in Canada in order to institute a similar program in the U.S. Public legal education in Canada is conducted through a long-established network of government funded agencies that educate Canadians about the law, and their rights and responsibilities under the law. Eppink will conduct his research under Canada’s leading PLE scholar, Lois Gander, director of the University of Alberta’s Legal Studies Program. "Ritchie Eppink's project is innovative and timely. It promises to be an engine for making justice accessible, understandable and responsive to diverse American populations. Ritchie is exceptionally well qualified to carry this project to a successful conclusion,” said Donald Burnett, dean of UI’s College of Law. He has served as vice president of the University of Idaho Student Bar Association and as the national liaison between the American Bar Association Law Student Division and the ABA Standing Committee on Public Education. As this year's managing editor of the symposium edition of the University of Idaho Law Review, Eppink established the theme of community justice and he recently organized the best-attended symposium program the Law Review has ever sponsored. He will take the Idaho Bar Exam in August then begin his research in Edmonton, Alberta. •Jessica Rowe, a graduate student from Paul, Idaho, received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Romania where she will be teaching university-level English and culture courses. She also will work as an educational adviser. “I think that my having been chosen for the award says more to the quality and caring of our faculty and student support offices than anything else,” Rowe noted. “We have a very, very supportive campus for these kinds of opportunities.” The second-year graduate student in the Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) program will leave for Romania in September and return in June 2007. “I wanted to find an opportunity for more experience abroad, and I wanted my experience to be meaningful,” she added. ”This opportunity was interesting because Romania is at a point of change and growth right now.” Her ultimate career plan is to teach English as a Second Language. “I’ve had experience teaching developmental writing and other early composition course and find that there is a lot of cross-over between the two fields. The former AmeriCorps volunteer is passionate about students finding their voice and using it to communicate. “Language, writing, conversation, art – we’ve all got something to say.” The Fulbright program is the largest U.S. international exchange program offering opportunities for students, scholars and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide. It was established in 1946 by the U.S. Congress, in an effort led by Senator J. William Fulbright, to "enable the government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries." The program is funded by annual Congressional appropriations. Fulbright selection is a rigorous process based on academic or professional record; language preparation; feasibility of the proposed project; personal qualifications and other factors established by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB) and the Fulbright Commissions/Foundations. As Fulbright Scholars, the University of Idaho students will join the ranks of more than 265,000 alumni of the program. Fulbright alumni have become heads of state, judges, ambassadors, cabinet ministers, CEOs and other high ranking professionals. Other recent University of Idaho faculty and student Fulbright Scholarship Award recipients include library professor Maria Anna Jankowska, in ’04, and head of the geography department, Harley Johansen, ’03. Then-graduate students Aaron C. Mosher, Spokane, Wash., Ralph M. Kern, Nampa; and Don Blackketter, Moscow, earned awards in ‘02. Students Erik Nielsen, Moscow; Zachary Saul, Idaho Falls; and Lori Lahlum, Valley City, N.D., were chosen in 2000. Most recently, University of Idaho alumnus Jim Chacko (‘75), who holds a doctoral degree in natural resources from the university, received a Fulbright Scholarship Award in 2005. -30- About the University of Idaho Founded in 1889, the University of Idaho is the state’s flagship higher-education institution and its principal graduate education and research university, bringing insight and innovation to the state, the nation and the world. The only institution in the state earning the prestigious Carnegie Foundation ranking for high research activity, University of Idaho researchers attract more than $100 million in research grants and contracts each year. UI’s student population includes first-generation college students and ethnically diverse scholars. Its high academic performers include 34 National Merit Scholars and a 2005-06 freshman class with an average high school grade point average of 3.42. Offering 106 degree options in nine colleges, UI combines the strengths of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities. For information, visit www.uidaho.edu. CONTACTS: Joni Kirk, UI Communications, (208) 885-7725, joni@uidaho.edu SM/DE-4/24/06-CNR/LAW/CLASS
About the University of Idaho
The University of Idaho helps students to succeed and become leaders. Its land-grant mission furthers innovative scholarly and creative research to grow Idaho's economy and serve a statewide community. From its main campus in Moscow, Idaho, to 70 research and academic locations statewide, U-Idaho emphasizes real-world application as part of its student experience. U-Idaho combines the strength of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities. It is home to the Vandals. For information, visit www.uidaho.edu.