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Hanim Astuti, a Fulbright Foreign Student Program grantee from Indonesia pursuing a doctorate in FSU\u2019s School of Information, delivers remarks at the 2025 Fulbright Reception Tuesday, Nov. 18. (Bill Lax\/Florida State University)\t\t<\/p>\n\t\tHanim Astuti, a Fulbright Foreign Student Program grantee from Indonesia pursuing a doctorate in FSU\u2019s School of Information, delivers remarks at the 2025 Fulbright Reception Tuesday, Nov. 18. (Bill Lax\/Florida State University)\t\t<\/p>\n
Photo Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n Florida State University recognized international and domestic participants of the Fulbright Program during a reception Tuesday, Nov. 18, at the Longmire Building.\u00a0<\/p>\n Founded in 1946, the Fulbright Program is one of the most widely recognized international academic exchange programs. It aims to increase mutual understanding and support friendly and peaceful relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The U.S. government currently partners with more than 160 countries worldwide.\u00a0<\/p>\n FSU has participated in the Fulbright Program since 1951 and has been among the nation\u2019s top producers of both faculty and student awards in recent years. The U.S. State Department\u2019s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs recognized Florida State as a top-producing institution of U.S. Fulbright Scholars<\/a> earlier this year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n For the 2025-2026 cycle, four current and former FSU students earned scholarships through the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program<\/a> to conduct research in the U.K., Colombia, the Slovak Republic and Argentina. In addition, four FSU faculty members will travel to teach and conduct research abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program<\/a> in Ireland, Taiwan, Hungary and India.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n On campus, 13 foreign students and scholars from places like Indonesia, Armenia and Uruguay are currently studying or conducting research at FSU through the Foreign Fulbright Program. Twelve students are here through the Fulbright Foreign Student Program, and one researcher is here through the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program.\u00a0<\/p>\n Steve McDowell, FSU\u2019s assistant provost for International Initiatives, presided over the event. FSU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs James Clark delivered welcoming remarks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Steve McDowell, FSU’s assistant provost for International Initiatives, addresses attendees during the 2025 Fulbright Reception Tuesday, Nov. 18. (Bill Lax\/Florida State University)FSU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs James Clark delivers opening remarks during the 2025 Fulbright Reception Tuesday, Nov. 18. (Bill Lax\/Florida State University)<\/p>\n \u201cWe are proud that FSU has consistently been recognized as a top producer of both scholar and student Fulbright recipients,\u201d Provost Clark said. \u201cThis recognition reflects our faculty\u2019s commitment to international collaboration and the university\u2019s investment in supporting global endeavors. Our Fulbright students and scholars, past and present, embody the values of scholarship, leadership, and global citizenship that define Florida State University.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur Fulbright students and scholars, past and present, embody the values of scholarship, leadership, and global citizenship that define Florida State University.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014James Clark, FSU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs<\/p>\n Hanim Astuti, a Fulbright Foreign Student Program grantee from Indonesia pursuing a doctorate in FSU\u2019s School of Information<\/a>, shared her experience at the reception. Astuti began her studies in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe. For her first two semesters, she attended classes online from Indonesia, managing a 12-hour time difference with Tallahassee by shifting her schedule to join virtual sessions from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. each day.\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite this challenging situation, Astuti arrived on FSU\u2019s campus in January 2021 and is now nearing the completion of her Ph.D. program. She expressed gratitude for the opportunity to pursue a Ph.D. at \u201cone of the leading information schools\u201d in the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFulbright has made it possible for people like me to dream beyond our circumstances,\u201d Astuti said. \u201cThank you so much Florida State University for not only giving me knowledge, but also opportunities, memories, and a lifelong vision to give back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Hanim Astuti (left), a Fulbright Foreign Student Program grantee from Indonesia pursuing a doctorate in FSU\u2019s School of Information, with her mother. (Bill Lax\/Florida State University)Hanim Astuti, a Fulbright Foreign Student Program grantee from Indonesia pursuing a doctorate in FSU\u2019s School of Information, delivers remarks at the 2025 Fulbright Reception Tuesday, Nov. 18. (Bill Lax\/Florida State University)<\/p>\n Ruby Lee, director of the Dr. Persis E. Rockwood School of Marketing, the Bob Sasser Professor of Marketing, and director of Global Initiatives in the College of Business<\/a>, also delivered remarks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n A two-time Fulbright alumnus, Lee was awarded the Fulbright-Hanken Distinguished Chair in Business and Economics at the Hanken School of Business in Finland 2016-2017. Then, during the 2023-2024 academic year, Lee traveled to the University of Prishtina in Kosovo through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. She shared some of what she learned through both experiences during her remarks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFinland taught me about trust and curiosity, Kosovo actually taught me about courage and belonging,\u201d Lee said. \u201cI realized that my role isn\u2019t to build students\u2019 information\u2014it\u2019s actually to help them discover their own curiosity, to give them space to think, to make mistakes, and to grow. Education is not about perfection; it\u2019s actually about the progress.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ruby Lee, director of the Dr. Persis E. Rockwood School of Marketing, the Bob Sasser Professor of Marketing, and director of Global Initiatives in the College of Business, delivers remarks during the 2025 Fulbright Reception Tuesday, Nov. 18. (Bill Lax\/Florida State University)<\/p>\n Serhiy Kvit, rector of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and former Ukrainian Minister of Education and Science, also spoke at the event. Kvit was visiting FSU as a guest lecturer and was invited to deliver remarks as a special guest. Also a two-time Fulbright alumnus, he was a grantee of the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program at Ohio University in 2006-2007 and at Stanford University in 2017-2018.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the Ukrainian perspective, the Fulbright Program is just one feature of American leadership, and that leadership is especially important for us in this time of war,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Serhiy Kvit, rector of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and former Ukrainian Minister of Education and Science, delivers remarks at the 2025 Fulbright Reception Tuesday, Nov. 18. (Bill Lax\/Florida State University)<\/p>\n Hayk Bejanyan, a doctoral student in the Askew School of Public Policy and Administration<\/a> and Fulbright Foreign Student Program grantee from Armenia, also shared his experience at the reception. During his time at FSU, Bejanyan has helped foster a partnership<\/a> between his alma mater, the Armenian State University of Economics (ASUE), and the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship<\/a> and Learning Systems Institute at FSU<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The collaboration between FSU and ASUE aims to enhance entrepreneurship education and foster innovation and global connections through STEM and social entrepreneurship initiatives. Over the summer, Bejanyan and a group from FSU were on-site at ASUE to celebrate the grand opening of ASUE\u2019s new STEM Social Innovators Incubator \u2014 a key component of the project that\u2019s expected to become a launchpad for Armenian innovators and changemakers. Displayed on one of the walls is the FSU logo.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou can imagine how proud it is for me to have this university logo in my home country and see that every time that I return back home,\u201d Bejanyan said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bejanyan noted another accomplishment that\u2019s taken place during his Fulbright experience \u2014 this past summer, he and his wife welcomed a daughter, which he called the \u201cmost distinguished achievement I can have during the Fulbright.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis journey happened because of the best university in the world for me, Florida State University,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I believe that every Fulbright story is a success story.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Hayk Bejanyan, a doctoral student in the Askew School of Public Policy and Administration and Fulbright Foreign Student Program grantee from Armenia, delivers remarks at the 2025 Fulbright Reception Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (Bill Lax\/Florida State University)Hank Bejanyan (left), doctoral student in the Askew School of Public Policy and Administration and Fulbright Foreign Student Program grantee from Armenia, with his wife (right) and their baby. (Bill Lax\/Florida State University)<\/p>\n Bejanyan is also the vice president and treasurer of the Fulbright Students Association (FSA) at FSU, which aims to build a strong network of students who share the Fulbright experience. Interested students can fill out the membership form here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you are an undergraduate student or recent graduate interested in applying for a Fulbright, contact Bonnie Garcia-Gloeckner, associate director of the Office of National Fellowships<\/a>, at bjgarcia@fsu.edu. If you are a graduate student interested in applying for a Fulbright, contact Keith McCall, assistant director of the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards<\/a>, at kmccall2@fsu.edu<\/a>. If you are a faculty member interested in applying for a Fulbright, contact Peggy Wright-Cleveland, director of Faculty Development in the Office of Faculty Development and Advancement<\/a>, at mwrightc@fsu.edu<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n