San José State Named An Inaugural Fulbright HSI Leader

San José State University has been named a Fulbright HSI Leader by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), recognizing the noteworthy engagement that selected Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) have achieved with the Fulbright Program. San José State is one of 35 HSIs to receive this inaugural distinction with the Fulbright Program,  the United States government’s flagship international educational exchange program.

SJSU was chosen because it has demonstrated noteworthy engagement with Fulbright exchange participants during the 2019-2021 academic years and has promoted Fulbright Program opportunities on campus. Fulbright HSI Leaders were announced today during an international plenary session at the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) annual conference.

“San José State enjoys a strong and esteemed relationship with the Fulbright Program, including our most recent designation as a Fulbright Top-Producing institution by the Chronicle of Higher Education,” said President Mary Papazian. “So being named a Fulbright HSI leader, while delightful, comes as no surprise given the tremendous work by our College of Professional and Global Education as well as our Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to develop opportunities for our international student scholars to grow, continue their research, and succeed academically and professionally.”

This initiative is part of the U.S. State Department’s longstanding commitment to build diversity and inclusion within the Fulbright Program and within all the Bureau’s international exchange programs. 

SJSU has an extensive history with the Fulbright Program. From the 1960-1961 through the 2019-2020 academic years, SJSU has had or hosted 152 Fulbright Scholars.

Editor’s Note: Learn about SJSU’s three visiting Fulbright Scholars from the 2018-2019 academic year and how they contributed to SJSU being named on the Chronicle of Higher Education‘s list of top producers of Fulbright Scholars for master’s institutions. 

2021 marks the 75th anniversary of the Fulbright Program. The Fulbright Program was created to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. 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 U.S. 

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Academic Programs Ethan Rosenzweig, speaking on behalf of ECA, which sponsors the Fulbright Program, congratulated and thanked the leadership of the designated institutions for recognizing the impact of the Fulbright Program: 

“Thank you for creating a campus culture that celebrates the mission of Fulbright and international exchanges. Thank you for epitomizing the principle that mutual understanding between peoples of the United States and other countries will lead to a more just and peaceful society at home.”